Employee retention strategies for high-performing talent in a competitive market

The professional services talent market continues to move at pace. With low unemployment in skilled roles and high demand across HR, sales and marketing, finance and operational functions, experienced professionals have more choice than ever before. For many organisations, attracting talent is no longer the hardest part. Keeping it is.

As Dee Bovingdon, NW Professional Services General Manager, explains, “the market is still moving very quickly. It’s a candidate-driven market right now, so you really do have to understand people’s motivators.”

While businesses continue to invest heavily in recruitment, the real risk often sits on the inside. Losing a high-performing employee is costly, disruptive and can have a direct impact on client relationships, team morale and productivity. Developing solid and sustainable employee retention strategies alongside a strong employer brand is absolutely a priority.

Why retaining high performers is harder than ever

Across professional services, several forces are combining to make retention more complex than it was pre-COVID.

Skills shortages remain acute across many specialist roles, and increased recruiter and competitor activity means high performers are regularly approached with new opportunities. Job mobility has also normalised, with professionals more open to moving if their expectations are not being met.

According to Dee, these challenges are consistent across functions. “We’re seeing retention challenges across the board,” she says. “It doesn’t really differ between finance, HR, marketing or executive roles. The market hasn’t slowed down. People might pause briefly, but then they’re back to it straight away.”

At the same time, expectations around flexibility, wellbeing and purpose have risen sharply. High performers have less tolerance for poor leadership, unclear progression or unsustainable workloads.

The cost of turnover is significant. Beyond recruitment fees, organisations face lost institutional knowledge, reduced productivity, disrupted teams and reputational risk with clients. As a result, retention is no longer just about pay reviews. It’s about the full employee experience.

What high-performing professionals expect in today’s market

While competitive remuneration remains important, it is rarely the main reason high performers choose to stay or leave.

“Beyond salary, it really comes down to management,” explains Dee. “People usually leave managers. A big part of retention is understanding what motivates each individual, because those drivers can be very different.”

Career progression and development consistently rank among the strongest retention drivers. Professionals want clear pathways, opportunities to build future-focused skills and the ability to grow without necessarily needing to leave. For some, this may mean advisory exposure or strategic ownership. For others, it may be influence, learning or leadership development.

Leadership quality plays a central role. Trust, open communication and regular feedback shape daily experiences far more than formal policies. Flexibility and work-life sustainability are also now baseline expectations, with autonomy and realistic workloads critical to keeping high performers engaged.

Feeling valued matters. “People want that personalised touch,” says Dee. “Strong benefits and policies won’t retain staff if they don’t feel seen or supported day to day.”

The role of career pathways and workforce planning

Unclear progression is one of the most common drivers of attrition in professional services. When professionals cannot see how they can grow within an organisation, they are far more likely to look elsewhere.

Defined role scopes and expectations provide a strong foundation for retention, but progression does not always need to mean promotion. Lateral development opportunities, project-based growth and exposure to new areas of the business can be equally powerful.

Upskilling and reskilling are also critical retention tools, particularly as roles evolve and new capabilities are required. When individual goals are aligned with business needs, professionals are more likely to stay invested.

Retention improves when people can clearly envision a future with the organisation, rather than feeling their next step requires a move.

The leadership impact on retention

Managers are often the deciding factor in whether an employee stays or leaves. Day-to-day leadership behaviours carry more weight than policies or benefits frameworks.

“Often the biggest blind spot is not identifying when staff are struggling,” Dee notes. “It’s about recognising burnout before people burn out, especially with high performers.”

She highlights the balance leaders need to strike. “There’s a fine line between giving people autonomy and checking in. You need both.”

Strong onboarding, particularly in the first 90 days, sets expectations and builds trust. Ongoing performance conversations allow leaders to stay close to their people and address issues early. Without this connection, even the best employee retention strategies and benefits programs struggle to compensate for weak leadership capability.

Common retention mistakes businesses make

Many organisations take a reactive approach to retention, relying on counteroffers once an employee has already disengaged. Others promote strong technical performers into leadership roles without adequate support.

“If people are promoted without support, they can struggle in the role and end up leaving rather than speaking up,” Dee explains. “Open communication should prevent that, but it’s not always there.”

One-size-fits-all employee retention strategies also fall short. High performers are driven by different motivators, and ignoring those individual drivers can accelerate disengagement. Retention is most effective when treated as an ongoing, strategic process rather than a last-minute response.

How NW Professional Services supports retention

NW Professional Services helps businesses think about retention well beyond recruitment.

“When we take a job brief, we ask the right questions,” Dee says. “Why is the role vacant? What’s been happening in the team? If there are retention risks, we identify them and talk them through with the client.”

This includes providing market insights on salary expectations, competitor activity and evolving role design, as well as supporting workforce planning aligned to business growth and succession. Strategic role design helps ensure roles are engaging, sustainable and positioned for longevity.

By focusing on long-term fit rather than short-term gaps, NW Professional Services supports organisations to build workforces aligned to purpose, capability and growth.

Building an employee retention strategy for the future

Retention is now a critical priority in a competitive professional services market. High performers stay where they can grow, feel valued and trust their leaders. Proactive planning consistently outperforms reactive replacement.

As Dee puts it, “The best advice I’d give leaders is to stay close to your people. Know what their motivators are and keep the lines of communication open.”

If your business is focused on retaining high-performing professionals and building a workforce that grows with your organisation, NW Professional Services can help. Get in touch with the team to discuss a smarter, long-term talent strategy.