A low paying job that you’re garanteed for a long time > a high paying freelance gig that lasts two weeks. Every time. Trust me.”

Sir, you are totally missing Mark’s primary point. There is no single thing that “people want”. Each of us is different, and must be understood as an individual. The manager needs to do the work of building relationships, understanding each person, and working to optimize what the company offers to what the person wants. The manager will likely find that the effort (by itself) will improve the turnover situation because of improved relationships.

As an employee, I’m not just looking for basic variation in my job, I’m also looking for the potential for substantial variation in the form of promotions. Promotions are *not* just about money and power…as apparently some people have assumed here. They’re about JOB SECURITY. And that is, by far, THE most important thing an employee seeks.

A low paying job that you’re garanteed for a long time > a high paying freelance gig that lasts two weeks. Every time. Trust me.

Your company better be prepared for a looong headache-inducing period of super high turnover if they continue down this path.

This is not the company’s problem, it’s yours. Their structure is their structure. Every structure has an associated set of problems that come with it – you’re at the problem nexus of your org structure right now. The company needn’t spend money simply because that is one thing to do.

Retain them the old fashioned way – by understanding what they want and working to craft a better future for them internally.

First the obvious … if the organization is flat and vacant senior positions are filled from outside, then there is very little advancement opportunity. Everyone needs to be aware of that, from the point of hire. There is virtually nothing that you can do to change that.

I don’t really understand the stuff about business pressures requiring that you only have senior level people. I would press on that some and get to the real issue. It is far more likely management laziness or cowardice than some amorphous “business unit pressures.”

I think you are missing something in analysis of why people are leaving. The issue is likely not that they want a “promotion”, it is that they want more interesting and challenging work, more responsibility, and the corresponding increase in pay. Every organization has junior level work; senior people doing junior level work get bored and leave. Further, management is usually unwilling to pay senior level money to people doing substantial junior level work. So the company has painted itself into a corner. Senior people are not going to stay in a position where they are doing low level work for low level pay. Would you?

One alternative may be to cultivate a stable of consultants/”hired guns” available to pickup when your staffing is not optimal. This may in fact be the best approach, rather than trying to provide something (a career path) which is not possible in your organization. The senior people can manage the hired guns, which should serve to fill their need for more diverse, challenging work. Then, sometime down the road, you may be able to push the cost savings from having juniors on staff instead of consultants.

If you want internal folks now, you are framing the question improperly. Restructure the work so that instead of x senior positions being required it can be done by y senior and z juniors. When the extra cost and headcount are brought up as (legit) objections, counter with the idea of functional redundancy and reduced risk when people leave. The current dilemma will work in your favor making this argument.

Good luck!

I would call some of these peope who left and find out WHY they left. They have nothing to lose like a good reference after the exit interview. You need to search deep inside and ask yourself what you or the organizations cold have done better.

Not all people go for the money – sure it’s nice but the effects will last for a short time. What in your office can you change? People like challenges.

People also crave praise but seldom give it. If someone does something good then tell them on the spot and not during their annual review and in front of others – hold them up as an example to others!

To follow up with Julia, what do your people really want? Is your pay competitive? Are there non-monetary benefits you can offer?