8 reasons why you’re losing employees, and how to keep them.

There’s a growing disconnect in your workplace. Getting to the bottom of why you’re losing employees is more than essential. Your taskforce is up against rising living costs. The 2025 Randstad Employer Brand Research Report spells out the consequences. 40% of the Canadian workforce is jumping ship for better pay.

This statistic is quite telling. The road ahead for high-skilled talent is particularly tumultuous. For instance, employees in the domain of IT and technology are constantly weighting new offers. While culture matters, it’s not enough to keep them.

What’s more? Our research covered a blunt truth. Salary and benefits structure remains a top priority for employees across all specializations. With raising costs, a clever compensation structure is an added imperative to your already comprehensive employer brand persona.

Furthermore, for new hires and seasoned staff, this gap is a deal-breaker. It can quickly erode their connection to your company. Having said that, you must get a handle on what drives these departures. That’s when you can prevent them.

In this article, let’s dig into 8 prominent reasons why your top talent might be clearing out.

1. uncompetitive compensation demotivates employees.

Let’s be clear. The numbers don’t lie. Figuring out why your employees leave is the hardest part of the workplace equation. While compensation is a glaringly telling factor for that revolving door, it hits some demographics harder.

This trend shakes women more than men. When employees feel underpaid, they’re not just dealing with financial stress. They feel undervalued. This is when your most talented teams start looking around. Losing this talent costs you a fortune.

The cost of re-hiring to replace that expertise void is almost higher than bumping up their pay. Why? Factor in training expenditure. Your existing teams must deal with lost productivity. One thing leads to another, piling up your wholesome recruitment cost.

2. employees don’t buy into a toxic workplace.

The ripple effects of bad management can turn a dream job into a daily struggle. Most employees end up leaving because of a toxic workplace culture. This about thinks: half of all employees who see their managers as ineffective plan to move on within a year.

Bad management manifests in many forms. It may show up as a leader who’s never around. It can be a boss who micromanages every detail. What’s more? It can be belittling behavior. The result is always consistent. These employees poison the environment.

They drive away your best talent. When employees feel unsupported, their job satisfaction plummets. The old saying rings true: people quit bosses, not companies. You need to get ahead of this problem. To protect your culture, vet your leadership candidates.

Look past their technical skills. Drill into their emotional intelligence. Keep a tab on their leadership philosophy. Do the goals of your leads and managers run parallel with your overall organizational vision?

If yes, your managers are emotionally equipped to step up for your employees’ needs, not just by offering guidance. But also through mentorship and nurturing, which become a critical feedback loop in the long-term.

​3. employees need a strong company culture.

If you’re losing employees, it’s about time you look at your cultural fit. This issue often seems secondary to compensation. It’s a make-or-break factor for one simple reason. Your employees invest a lion’s share of their waking hours at work.

That said, if they feel at odds with your company’s values, they won’t stick around. What’s more? This matters even more for your younger employees. When employees won’t click with their colleagues, they become isolated.

Your makeshift begins before their first day. Be upfront during the recruitment process. Spell out your culture and values right from the first interaction. Don’t sell them a promise that’s far fetched from reality. When the mask slips, even your best people will head for the exit.

4. workplace burnout is real.

Work-related stress is burning your people out. It wrecks havoc on their physical and mental health. You see it in disrupted sleep. You see it in persistent fatigue. For a significant share of your workforce, this stress bleeds over into their personal lives.

In fact, work has turned into a major source of anxiety in the current times. How? It stems from from heavy workloads, long hours and harassment. Randstad’s research shines light on this. Work-life balance is a top priority for job seekers. It’s what they look for in an employer.

However, we found a clear disconnect. Employees crave balance. If you’re proactive, deal with this head-on. Nurture a supportive, inclusive environment. Set up loud and visible boundaries. Furthermore, get a handle on workloads.

Start by establishing safe channels. Empower your employees to raise concerns without fearing the consequences. When talent feels heard and protected, they are likely to stick around for the long haul. Strengthen your communication pipeline to address blowbacks and announce new initiatives.

5. disrespect is deleterious for your workplace.

Nothing pushes your people out faster than hypocrisy. Rules form a big part of your workplace management methodology. But this playbook must be applied across the board, at all levels. If the leadership doesn’t abide to this, the chances for an engaged workplace are bleak.

Unless a policy explicitly says otherwise, everyone must play by the same rules. Designation or level of seniority is not an excuse. That ‘do as I say, not as I do’ stirs contempt. Moreover, it erodes trust. Furthermore, leaders who put themselves above the rule book drag morale down.

Hence, lay out clear and achievable expectations. Set up a robust feedback loop. Don’t act on every idea you receive. Pursue the ones that display potential. Every implementation or policy change must put to view that you’re listening to your employees.

6. disconnection from meaningful work derails growth.

When employees can't see how their work matters, there's a good chance they'll start updating their resumes. Staff who view their role as unimportant or disconnected from a larger purpose often disengage, particularly those in specialized positions who focus on single tasks. 

Smart leaders make connecting daily work to company priorities a top concern, helping every team member understand their impact. Create regular opportunities for skill development and honest dialogue about job satisfaction. 

When employees feel safe voicing concerns about their work without fear of backlash, you can address issues before they become dealbreakers. But if workers face criticism for sharing their thoughts, you might not discover their unhappiness until they hand in their resignation.

​7. lack of autonomy turns employees disgruntled.

That revolving door often traces back to micromanagement. People want to weigh in on decisions and goals. When you back off and let employees make choices, they step up. They assume ownership. That said, occasional mistakes are part of the process.

Freedom, however, sprout innovation. This calls for managers to be mentors, not controllers. You’ve hired your employees because they’re specialists. So, trust them to get on with their work. Ensure this: your employees should run to leadership only when they hit a wall.

A visible approach to showing trust amplifies employee confidence. Don’t hem in when they’re thinking. They need a place that values their judgment.

​8. sluggish career growth is a problem.

Employees need to see a way up. As they sharpen their expertise, they naturally want to take on senior roles. If you can make these promotional pathways visible and clear, you tend to nurture emotionally safe and engaged teams.

If the locus is tense, ask your employees if they feel stuck. Check if your leaders are constantly hemming in. Look for traces of suspicion and doubt. If nothing rings a bell, take stock of how happy your employees are, about their roles.

If your company offers cross-training or lateral moves, make these options known. Spell them out. When your workforce knows that there’s scope for career exploration in your organization, they won’t look for it elsewhere. They expand their skill profile for your growth vision.

​take action now.

Are your top performers heading for the exits? It's time to look inward and examine how your employer brand measures up: not just in compensation but across all these key factors that influence retention.

Your people shape your reputation as an employer. Give them the resources, support and recognition they need to thrive, and you'll build a resilient team that stays and grows with your organization. Talk to our team of expert talent consultants today, to crack the talent strategy code.