Retention Doesn’t Live in Perks—It Lives in People

We talk a lot about retention like it’s a big mystery to solve with better perks or clever policies. But if you zoom in on the day-to-day experience of employees, you’ll usually find one thing that makes or breaks their decision to stay: their manager.

In our February webinar, Today’s Manager Playbook Part 1, Douglas Brown & I discussed this in more detail. Managers sit at the center of so many retention decisions—whether they realize it or not. They set the tone. They build (or erode) trust. They shape culture in micro-moments, not policy memos. And here’s the kicker: they’re also the people best positioned to actually see their staff—not just as workers, but as humans navigating a workplace that often doesn’t make space for individuality.

This isn’t about becoming some perfect, all-knowing leader. It’s about choosing to pay attention. To care. To notice what matters to different people—especially across generations—and to be curious instead of assuming. It is about helping individuals feel seen, heard, and significant.

If you’re a manager looking to hold onto your people, here are three places to start:

• Ditch the template, ask real questions. Start with, “What matters to you right now?” and listen like their answer is the strategy.

• Build trust one micro-moment at a time. It’s not just big gestures. It’s remembering a detail they shared last week. It’s following through. It’s being consistent. 

• Get clear on what your team values—then respond. For some, it’s growth. For others, it’s autonomy. Generational context can help decode this—but don’t treat it like a checklist. Use it to ask better questions.

Retention isn’t a program—it’s a relationship. And it’s built moment by moment, conversation by conversation. Managers don’t need to have all the answers. But they do need to be the ones asking better questions.

“Employees with managers who actively support their development are 11X more likely to trust their manager.” (Source: Global Leadership Report)