04Feb
In Part One of our latest Insights series, we explored the structural myths and data blind spots that keep employee turnover stubbornly high. Now in Part Two, we turn to the heart of the issue: the lived experience of working in care.
Because when we strip away the spreadsheets, the rota challenges, and the workforce pressure – retention ultimately comes down to one thing:
How people feel.
How they feel about their work. How they feel about their team. How they feel about their manager. How they feel about their future.
Across our focus groups, interviews, and exit and stay conversations right across social care, one truth came through louder than any other:
People don’t leave organisations – they leave experiences.
And those experiences are shaped by communication, leadership, development, and culture.
This part of the series explores the human‑centred themes that consistently influence whether people stay, thrive, or walk away.
Communication & Engagement: The Everyday Experience That Makes or Breaks Retention
Communication came up in every single conversation we had with providers – not as a “nice to have” but as a decisive factor in retention.
A decision to leave rarely comes from one bad day.
It comes from multiple small disconnections:
– Managers who are too stretched and busy to listen
– Surveys with no follow‑up
– Rota changes with no explanation
– Off-the-shelf policies written for compliance with no co-production with teams for clarity
– Lack of visibility from leaders
– A sense that “nothing ever changes”
These moments accumulate. And eventually, they push people out.
The organisations reducing attrition are the ones who close the loop.
The “You said, we did” model isn’t new – but it’s powerful when done well.
We heard examples of providers who:
– Share learns and actions after every engagement survey
– Use pulse checks to gather quick, real‑time insight
– Conduct stay interviews to understand what keeps people
– Use exit interviews to inform local action plans
– Communicate outcomes clearly and consistently
When people see their voice shaping decisions, trust grows. When they don’t, disengagement grows.
Leader visibility matters more than ever.
In our focus groups, we heard frontline teams repeatedly telling sector colleagues “I want to see leaders – not just hear about them.”
Providers shared examples that made a real difference:
– CEOs hosting informal coffee drop‑ins
– Exec teams touring on roadshows
– Leaders spending time on the floor
– Managers doing “walk and talk” check‑ins
– Senior leaders personally thanking staff
– Leaders becoming a frontline worker for a week to “walk in their shoes”
These moments create psychological safety which is the foundation of honest communication.
Digital tools are helping, but only when communication stays human.
We heard examples of organisations embedding:
– Internal communication apps
– Digital screens in services to share news and updates
– Bite‑sized video updates
– Push notifications for key messages
– “This is me” profiles to help teams understand each other’s communication styles
But technology only works when communication feels human, consistent, and two‑way. And in organisations where communication is strong, early turnover reduces dramatically. Communication isn’t a channel. It’s a culture.
Development & Culture: How Growth, Belonging, and Leadership Shape Stability
If communication is the heartbeat of retention, development and culture are the backbone. Across our research, two themes consistently emerged as the strongest predictors of whether people stay:
– Can I grow or develop here?
– Do I feel like I belong here?
Let’s take them one at a time.
1. Development: Where the Turnover Cycle is Challenged
In Cohesion’s data:
– 92% of new starters say development is important
– 57% of unhappy leavers cite lack of growth as a key reason for leaving
This is one of the clearest patterns in the entire retention landscape.
The problem?
Many organisations still equate development with promotion. But not everyone wants to be a manager.
And when progression only means “move up or move out” – people choose the latter.
What do employees actually want?
Across our focus groups, staff described wanting:
– Skills development
– Ability to focus on specialisms
– Recognition
– Opportunities to contribute
– A sense of purpose
– A future they can see
What are providers doing well?
We heard some excellent examples:
– Tailored pathways for new vs. experienced staff
– Apprenticeships used for progression, not just entry
– Internal promotion checklists to make the process transparent
– Development conversations during probation
– Learning matrices mapping out every opportunity
– Peer mentoring and buddy systems
– Specialist roles such as Dementia Leads, PBS Leads, Nutrition Champions
– Neurodiversity‑inclusive training approaches
These approaches don’t just build skills – they build belonging.
Champion roles: the hidden gem
Champion roles came up repeatedly as a powerful retention tool. They offer recognition, responsibility, influence, purpose and growth. And they cost very little to implement.
Cohesion’s perspective
When development is visible, varied, and inclusive, retention improves across every job family. When it’s unclear or inaccessible, attrition spikes – especially between months 3 and 12. Development isn’t a perk. It’s a retention strategy.
2. Culture & Leadership: Where Retention Begins and Ends
Culture is the invisible force behind every decision to stay or go. Across the 35 organisations we engaged with, we saw both ends of the spectrum. Providers with strong, co‑created values and visible leadership had turnover rates of 10–15%. Some providers recognising pockets of negative culture saw turnover rise above 50%.
The biggest risk? Accidental managers
Brilliant carers promoted into leadership roles without training. They are dedicated, committed, and well‑intentioned – but without support, they can unintentionally communicate poorly, avoid difficult conversations, fail to recognise team efforts, create inconsistency and eventually erode trust. This is one of the most common and most fixable drivers of turnover.
Values must be lived, not laminated
Providers told us that values only matter when:
– Teams help create them
– Leaders model them
– Recognition reinforces them
– Decisions reflect them
Culture is shaped daily – not by posters, but by people.
Cohesion’s perspective
Our data shows that poor local leadership is a contributing factor in over half of early leaver cases. Conversely, strong leadership correlates with higher engagement, lower sickness, and significantly better retention.
Culture isn’t a project. It’s a practice.
