Keeping good people and reducing avoidable turnover

Understand why people leave and where retention is being weakened.

7 questions answered

Questions answered on this page

01How do I keep good people once I’ve recruited them?
02Why are good employees leaving?
03Why is staff turnover much higher in some branches?
04How much is staff turnover actually costing the business?
05How do I improve employee retention?
06What motivates merchant employees besides pay?
07How do I retain younger employees?

How do I keep good people once I’ve recruited them?

Good people are more likely to stay when the job they experience matches the one they accepted. Give them a clear role, a useful induction, capable day-to-day management and regular conversations about performance and progress. Pay needs to be fair, but retention is also shaped by workload, recognition, trust, development and whether poor behaviour is allowed to continue around them. Do not wait for an annual review to discover what matters. Ask what helps them do their best work, what frustrates them and what would make them consider leaving. Then act on patterns that are within the business’s control. Retention improves when employees can see that good work is noticed, problems are addressed and there is a credible future for them.

Why are good employees leaving?

Good employees rarely leave for one reason alone. A higher salary elsewhere may trigger the move, but the decision often builds through weak management, limited progression, uneven workloads, broken promises or a lack of recognition. Strong people also become frustrated when repeated underperformance is tolerated because they end up carrying more of the branch. Look beyond the reason recorded on the exit form. Compare leaving patterns by manager, branch, role, service length and career stage, then speak with people who remain. Pay attention to changes in behaviour before resignation, such as withdrawal, reduced ideas or repeated questions about progression. The aim is not to prevent every departure. It is to identify the avoidable conditions that cause capable people to conclude they will do better elsewhere.

Why is staff turnover much higher in some branches?

Large differences between branches usually point to local conditions rather than the labour market alone. Compare the manager’s behaviour, induction quality, workload, rota stability, team relationships, absence, progression and the way poor performance is handled. Allow for genuine differences in location and recruitment difficulty, but do not let them explain every gap. A branch with repeated early departures may be recruiting inaccurately or failing to support people through their first months. Turnover among experienced employees may indicate management, recognition or career problems. Use rates, length of service and exit reasons together, then test the picture through confidential conversations. A high-turnover branch needs a specific diagnosis and owner, not another general recruitment campaign.

How much is staff turnover actually costing the business?

The cost is wider than recruitment fees and advertising. Include management time, vacancies, overtime, agency cover, induction, training and the lower productivity of a new starter while they learn. Add the commercial effect of disrupted customer relationships, missed follow-up, errors, stock problems and pressure placed on the people who remain. Some costs can be calculated directly; others should be estimated using sensible assumptions and shown as a range. Separate unavoidable turnover from repeated losses in roles or branches the business should be able to retain. This prevents an exaggerated headline while still making the impact visible. Once the cost is understood, compare it with the investment needed to improve management, induction, development and working conditions. Retention activity should be treated as a performance decision, not simply an HR initiative.

How do I improve employee retention?

Start with the groups and branches where avoidable turnover is concentrated. Review why people join, what they experience in their first 90 days, the quality of their manager, workload, pay fairness, recognition and access to development. Use stay conversations with current employees as well as exit information, because the people who remain can explain what is helping or weakening commitment now. Choose a small number of causes the business can influence and give each one an owner, measure and review date. Improve manager capability where local leadership is the pattern; change role design or staffing where workload is the issue. Retention will not improve through benefits or engagement surveys alone. It improves when the everyday reasons people lose confidence in the business are understood and corrected.

What motivates merchant employees besides pay?

People value different things, but common motivators include being trusted, treated fairly, recognised for useful work and able to see how their role contributes. Many want a capable manager, a stable team, clear standards and the chance to learn skills that create future options. Practical working conditions matter too: sensible rotas, the right equipment, manageable workloads and fewer preventable frustrations. Ask rather than assume, because a driver, counter colleague, salesperson and future branch manager may value different things at different stages. Pay remains important and cannot be replaced with praise, particularly where it is uncompetitive or inconsistent. The strongest approach combines fair reward with meaningful work, development, voice and good management. Motivation is built through repeated daily experience, not a single incentive scheme.

How do I retain younger employees?

Younger employees are not one group, but many leave when they cannot see how the role develops or when early promises remain vague. Give them a structured induction, clear standards, regular feedback and visible steps towards greater skill, responsibility and pay. Let them experience different parts of the merchant business so they understand the available routes, including sales, operations, stock, transport and management. Pair support with accountability rather than lowering expectations. Managers should explain why work matters, invite ideas and address problems quickly, while avoiding assumptions about loyalty or attention span based on age. Career conversations need to begin before someone asks for a promotion. Retention improves when progress is real and evidenced, not when a generic career path exists only on paper.

What you may be seeing

Capable employees leave soon after becoming fully productive.
Turnover is concentrated in particular branches, roles or managers.
Remaining employees absorb extra work and become more likely to leave themselves.
Exit interviews record pay as the reason, but earlier warning signs were missed.
Recruitment activity increases while the causes of repeated departures remain unchanged.

What good looks like

A business with healthy retention understands where and why people leave rather than relying on one overall turnover figure. New employees receive a consistent introduction, managers hold regular performance and career conversations, and strong contribution is recognised fairly. Workloads, rotas and operating problems are addressed before they become accepted reasons to leave. Employees can see credible ways to build skills and responsibility, while poor behaviour and underperformance are handled rather than transferred to the strongest people. Some turnover still occurs, but repeated losses trigger evidence-based action. Recruitment and retention work together, reducing disruption and protecting customer knowledge, team capacity and management time.

What may be happening underneath

Management: The everyday experience of expectations, feedback, fairness and support varies significantly by manager.
Early experience: Recruitment promises, induction and the reality of the first 90 days do not align.
Progression: Employees cannot see credible routes to build skills, responsibility or reward inside the business.
Work design: Vacancies, unstable rotas, poor tools or repeated operational problems create avoidable pressure.
Fairness: Strong performers see weak behaviour tolerated or reward and opportunity applied inconsistently.

Questions worth asking

01Where is avoidable turnover concentrated by branch, manager, role and length of service?
02What do our best people say keeps them here, and what could make them leave?
03Does the first 90-day experience match what candidates were promised?
04Are capable employees able to see and experience a realistic next step?
05Which daily frustrations are we asking people to tolerate rather than fixing?

Where to go next

Find the retention problems the business can control. BGC people and leadership resources help managers review the employee experience, strengthen everyday management and turn retention concerns into owned action.

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