Bernadette BoasExecutive Leadership Coach, Trainer and Speaker, Ball of Fire Coaching · Become the Leader Everyone Wants to Follow and No One Can Overlook.

Why Employees REALLY Leave And How To Keep Them!

1 Apr 2026 · 2 min

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1:39

In this monologue, the speaker emphasizes that the first and most critical question for retaining employees is whether they are genuinely happy and want to stay. She argues that financial incentives alone are insufficient for long‑term retention; true motivation must include deeper factors such as fit, purpose, benefits, and flexibility. Once an employee demonstrates commitment and proven contribution, the employer can earn trust and be willing to make concessions—better pay, improved benefits, or remote‑work options—to keep them. The speaker also stresses a supportive attitude: regardless of the employee’s ultimate decision, the manager will back them, recognizing that “the grass isn’t always greener” elsewhere.

Chapters

First thing I said to this person was, first and foremost, are you happy here? And do you want to stay here? Because everything after that is irrelevant. Do you want to stay here? And are you happy? What's really like— what we have to be thoughtful is understanding that people are staying for the right reasons. What are the motivations, right? You don't want the motivation to just be a little bit more money. You have to really have more interest beyond the financial gain, right? Because I think the financial gain is a short-term thing, not a long-term thing. So that's why I started with, hey, if the answer is yes to the following question, then I'm willing to work with you on these other areas, right? Title and money and benefits, right? But first, I need to know that you really want to be here, right? And so I think for them, Yeah, it's, it's, it's a combination of, hey, there's a little bit more money, maybe this benefit is better, maybe there's more flexibility in working from home than we currently have. And to me, those are all things that become a conversation between employee and employer. And for the right person, I am willing to bend over backwards and make concessions because now I have trust in this employee. They've been with us for a couple years, they have proven that they're contributing in a positive way. They also have a desire to be here. And then the other thing that was really important that they did say to me was the one unknown to them, because I did say, listen, grass is often browner, not greener. So I support you whether you stay or go because I like you