Thermoforming Report

Keeping Great People Engaged and Fulfilled

In our most recent Harvesting Potential blog, we talked about how growth starts from within – by nurturing the people already on your team. This next chapter turns that idea into action with Pillar One: Retention – Keeping Great People Engaged and Fulfilled.

Like a good harvest, retention takes steady care, attention, and timing. It’s not about stopping turnover; it’s about building a culture where people feel valued, challenged, and connected – where they can see their best future with you. An August Forbes article captures this perfectly, “You can’t scale revenue if you can’t scale trust, and trust starts inside your own organization.”

Why Retention Comes First

Retention isn’t just a people issue – it’s a growth strategy. Every time a strong performer stays and continues to develop, you preserve knowledge, strengthen culture, and build momentum that hiring alone can’t replace.

The Forbes article above drives this point home: “Long-tenured employees build deeper client relationships, accelerate onboarding for others, and act as force multipliers across the business.”

And the data backs it up! The chart below (from this OnRamp article) makes the case clearly. The cost of turnover can reach 50–200% of an employee’s annual salary, and it can take up to two years for a new hire to hit full productivity. By contrast, engaged employees drive a 13% productivity boost and help create the kind of stability every growing business needs.

Simply put, turnover drains energy and resources – but retention grows them. It’s what turns good teams into great ones, and great cultures into lasting ones!

That’s why RETENTION comes first: it’s the foundation every other part of your talent strategy depends on – the key to long-term sustainability and success.

Why People Stay & How Leaders Keep Them

Now that we’ve established why retention matters, the next step is putting that understanding in action!

Retention isn’t about perks or fancy benefits – it’s about cultivating trust, growth, and connection. Like tending a garden, it requires steady attention, thoughtful care, and the right conditions for people to flourish. Employees stay when they see a future with your organization – not just a paycheck – and leave when leaders fail to provide guidance, recognition, and opportunity.

What really keeps people around? Research and experience show that three cornerstones matter most.

1. Trust in Leadership. People want to feel heard, supported, and empowered by the managers they work with every day.
2. Growth Opportunities. Your team needs to see a path forward – chances to take on new challenges, build skills, and advance their careers… all within your organization!
3. Connection and Purpose. When people feel their work matters and that they’re part of something bigger, engagement and loyalty naturally follow.

I’ve seen firsthand how fragile these cornerstones can be when leadership loses sight of what really matters. All three foundations were firmly in place for many years during my time at Kimberly-Clark. But after an executive leadership change in our division, the culture began to shift. Fear and intimidation replaced trust. Growth stalled as the environment turned political, and people focused more on pleasing the leader than serving the mission. Connection faded, and with it, engagement and loyalty.

Strong mid-level and senior leaders left first, and excellent individual contributors soon followed. Within a few years, the great culture we’d built – and the long-standing retention that came with it – were gone. It was a painful but powerful reminder that trust and connection aren’t just nice-to-haves – they’re the reason people stay!

Experiences like that reinforce an important truth: retention isn’t built through programs or policies, but through daily leadership behaviors. Turning these insights into action doesn’t require a massive initiative – just consistent, intentional steps. We’ve combined some actionable ways to cultivate loyalty with this Forbes article. Small but consistent actions can make a big difference in fostering curiosity, trust, and autonomy.

• Build Trust: Hold leaders accountable for engagement and retention, not just results.
• Show the Path: Make career growth and internal mobility visible and encouraged.
• Foster Connection & Purpose: Help employees see how their work contributes to the bigger picture.
• Build a Culture of Recognition: “Acknowledging contributions and celebrating wins – big or small – boosts motivation and long-term retention.”
• Encourage Curiosity: Create a culture that rewards curiosity and treats mistakes as learning opportunities – this inspires employees to be more engaged and solution-oriented.
• Prioritize Growth: “Leaders who provide learning opportunities, mentorship, and career development paths keep employees engaged.”
• Listen to Stay: Conduct stay interviews to understand what motivates employees and what challenges they face.

At the heart of it all is leadership. If we continue the ‘harvesting potential’ metaphor from our October blog, managers are the gardeners of talent, shaping potential every day. Leaders who coach, give meaningful feedback, and actively invest in talent are the ones who see retention truly take root. It’s not just about managing tasks – it’s about cultivating growth, building trust, and creating connection.

When leaders focus on trust, growth, and purpose, retention grows naturally. Employees feel supported, see a future, and know their work matters. That’s how organizations create an environment where great people don’t just stay – they thrive!

What Comes Next

Retention is only the first step in cultivating a thriving organization. By creating a culture where people feel valued, supported, and challenged, you lay the groundwork for everything that comes next. Just like a healthy harvest depends on well-tended soil, long-term organizational growth depends on the environment you create for your people today.

Strong retention doesn’t just reduce turnover – it builds stability, strengthens culture, and prepares your organization for sustainable success.

So, here’s the Takeaway for Pillar One: Great organizations don’t wait for talent to grow – they cultivate it, season after season. Invest in retention now, and you’re planting the seeds for future growth.

In the next chapter of our series, we’ll explore the Pillar Two: Internal Development – turning potential into performance and preparing your people – and your business – for what’s ahead.

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