Engage and Retain: Secrets to Happy Employees

What’s the secret to keeping your employees happy, motivated, and sticking around? In this episode of The PeoplePro Podcast, we’re diving into the practical strategies that actually move the needle on employee engagement and retention. From the first-day experience to long-term recognition and growth opportunities, we’ll uncover what really makes people feel valued—and why it matters more than ever in today’s workplace.

You’ll walk away with actionable tips, fresh ideas, and real-world examples you can implement right away to build a culture that people don’t want to leave.

Tune in and discover:

• The top drivers of employee happiness in 2025
• What actually works for engagement beyond free snacks and ping pong tables
• How great leaders build loyalty through intentional actions
• Quick wins you can start today to boost retention

Whether you’re an HR professional or a people leader, this episode will help you engage your team and retain your best talent.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey people pros, welcome back.
I'm your host, misty McCraw,and today we're talking about
something every leader andbusiness owner wants to master
how do we engage and retain ourpeople?
Let's face it hiring isexpensive, turnover hurts and in
today's workplace, employeesare more likely than ever to
leave if they don't feelfulfilled.
But here's the good news youhave so much control over what

(00:22):
keeps people happy and motivatedin your organization.
And no, it's not just aboutsalary or flashy perks.
So let's jump into the secretsto happy employees.
I want to start with a coretruth Engaged employees don't
just work harder, they care more.
Engagement is not about beingbusy, it's about being
emotionally invested.

(00:43):
When employees are engaged,they're energized by their work,
they're connected to themission and they're loyal to
their leaders.
But here's where it gets tricky.
Engagement is deeply personal.
What motivates one employeemight not matter at all to the
other.
So how do we get it right?
I want you to ask yourselfthese five engagement check-in
questions.

(01:04):
Do employees know what'sexpected of them at work?
Are they equipped with thetools and resources they need?
Do they have an opportunity todo what they do best every day?
Do they receive recognition andfeedback on a regular basis,
and do they feel that theiropinions count?
When employees can answer yesto these questions, engagement

(01:25):
soars, and when they can't,that's when quiet quitting
starts to take root.
So I want to give you apractical tip that you can use
in your organization todayEncourage your managers to build
engagement moments into thework week.
These are simple, intentionaltouch points, like a five-minute
shout-out at a team meeting, orasking what's one thing you'd

(01:46):
change about your role if youcould.
Or just celebrate the personalmilestones, not just those
professional ones.
These micro-engagements buildmacro-loyalty.
Now let's talk about retention.
Retention isn't about justlocking people in.
It's about giving them a reasonto stay.
Too often, businesses focus onreactive solutions like counter

(02:11):
offers, last minute incentivesor exit interviews.
But if you're hearing whysomeone's leaving only after
they've made up their mind,you're already too late.
So let's talk about someproactive retention strategies.
So first we've got growthopportunities.
People actually want to learnand level up.
If they can't do that in yourcompany, they're going to go

(02:32):
find somewhere else to do it.
So provide mentorshipopportunities, stretch
assignments and developmentbudgets.
Outline career paths clearly,even in smaller organizations
organizations so that they cansee what those growth
opportunities are.
Number two is work-life harmony.
Flexibility is no longer just aperk, it's a requirement.

(02:54):
So offer remote or hybridoptions when possible and, most
importantly, respect time offmodel that balance from the top
down.
And number three, manageeffectiveness.
As the saying goes, peopledon't leave companies, they
leave bad managers.
So invest in training yourleaders, in things like
emotional intelligence, coachingand conflict resolution.

(03:17):
Our leadership training programis the number one requested
program by companies across thecountry when it comes to
investing in their leaders, andit's very important because this
makes one-on-ones moremeaningful and not just feel
like some status update.
I want to give you this statbecause I think it's important

(03:37):
to know that, according to WorkInstitute's retention report,
three out of four reasonsemployees quit are preventable.
That's great news for yourorganization, because what that
means is there's a lot that youcan do to keep great people.
Now I want to talk aboutsomething that's free, fast and
often forgotten the power ofappreciation and recognition.

(04:01):
Appreciation is one of the mostpowerful engagement drivers,
but it has to be sincere, timelyand specific.
Some recognition best practicesI want to give you is to
recognize both the results andthe effort.
Not every win is a revenuenumber.
Sometimes it's a creativesolution or a difficult customer

(04:22):
conversation, or consistentreliability.
Solution or a difficultcustomer conversation or
consistent reliability.
So tailor it.
Some employees love publicpraise while others prefer a
quiet thank you or a handwrittennote.
And make it frequent.
Recognition shouldn't justhappen during performance
reviews or during employee ofthe month.
Make it part of your dailyculture.
A fun idea that you can try isrotate a kudos board in your

(04:45):
break room or on your Slackchannel so team members can
shout out each other.
Or implement a peer-to-peerrecognition program where
employees nominate each otherfor living out the company
values.
Recognition equals retentionperiod.
So I want to bring all of thisto life with a quick story.
So I want to bring all of thisto life with a quick story.

(05:07):
A client of ours is a mid-sizedmanufacturing company was facing
a high turnover, especially intheir younger workforce.
They assumed the solution wasjust higher pay.
After conducting stayinterviews, they realized that
what employees really wanted wasrecognition, career growth and
more flexibility in their shifts.
So what'd they do?
They introduced a monthlyspotlight for high performers,

(05:28):
complete with personalizedawards and a feature in the
company newsletter, created adevelopment roadmap for every
employee, outlining clear growthopportunities from day one, and
they gave shift leads, moreautonomy to adjust schedules and
accommodate work-life needs.
The results Turnover dropped by28% in six months, internal

(05:49):
promotions increased by 35% and,most importantly, employee
satisfaction scores rose acrossthe board.
So don't just guess what yourpeople want.
Simply ask them and then makesure you follow through.
Now, as we wrap up, I want youto remember engaged employees
don't just stay.

(06:10):
They perform, they innovate andthey advocate for your business
.
If you want happy employees,start by being an intentional
leader.
Show up, communicate, recognizeand keep asking how can I help
you grow?
That's all for now, but untilnext time, keep leading with
purpose and putting people first.