🎙️ Why Employee Retention Will Make or Break Your Business in 2025
While revenue and growth dominate business discussions, retention rates could make or break your success in 2025. Former Verb CEO Ben Askins reveals why 75% of staff exits trace back to management.
When we talk about business success, revenue and growth often dominate the conversation. But there’s a critical metric that businesses consistently overlook – retention rates. In my recent conversation with Ben Askins, founder of green technology company Gaia and former CEO of luxury digital marketing agency Verb, we explored why retention rates might just be the difference between thriving and merely surviving in 2025.
The Hidden Cost of Poor Retention
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“About 75% of people who leave a company do so because of their boss or manager,” Askins reveals, highlighting a startling disconnect between management perception and employee reality. Having built and sold Verb, which worked with prestigious clients like Aston Martin and Omega, Askins speaks from experience about the true cost of overlooking employee retention.
What makes his insights particularly compelling is how they challenge the common narrative around employee turnover. While many companies view staff departures as inevitable, Askins argues that most exits are preventable and stem from a series of small, fixable issues rather than singular dramatic events.
Beyond Pizza Fridays: Real Employee Engagement
One of the most striking aspects of our discussion was the gap between what managers think their employees want versus what they actually need. “Entrepreneurs are very quick to deprioritize their job in motivating a company,” Askins notes. “If you are the leader, it is your job to provide that vision and provide that motivation.”
His approach to improving retention focuses on three key metrics:
- Staff engagement scores
- Employee departure rates
- Preventable losses
The solution? Regular engagement surveys every 3-4 months, followed by concrete action plans based on feedback. But surveys alone aren’t enough. Askins emphasizes the crucial distinction between status updates and true one-on-one management meetings: “The worst thing you can have is someone coming and thinking they’ve absolutely smashed the year, and their boss thinking they’ve done a terrible job.”
The Remote Work Reality Check
In our post-pandemic world, retention strategies have taken on new complexity. Askins is particularly direct about companies struggling with remote work management: “I get so frustrated when I hear companies say things like, ‘I can’t manage people when they’re working from home’ or ‘You can’t build a culture when they’re working from home.'” His view? After four years, such excuses simply don’t hold water anymore.
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He advocates for a hybrid approach – typically two days in the office, three days from home – while emphasizing that the core principles of good management remain unchanged regardless of working location.
Small Companies, Big Advantages
For smaller companies competing for talent, Askins offers an unexpected perspective. Rather than seeing size as a disadvantage, he points to the unique opportunity smaller organizations have to provide direct access to leadership and meaningful involvement in company direction. “It’s much easier to motivate juniors when it’s a small business because they feel like they’ve got access to the founder. They feel like they’re part of the journey a little bit more.”
Perhaps most compelling is the direct correlation Askins has observed between employee satisfaction and business performance. As he puts it, “Take care of your team, and they’ll take care of your clients.” This isn’t just feel-good advice – it’s a proven path to improved customer satisfaction and business growth.
One Actionable Step for Better Retention
Askins’s immediate recommendation for businesses looking to improve their retention rates? “Have a one-on-one meeting with every single person on your team. If you have up to 50 employees, make it a priority over the next two months to have a half-hour meeting with every single person… I promise you that will give you the best understanding of what’s good about your company and what’s bad about your company.”
After selling Verb, Askins has turned his attention to sustainability with Gaia, a green technology company providing software solutions for environmental compliance. The company offers carbon accounting software and a marketplace for natural assets, demonstrating how ethical business practices and commercial success can go hand in hand.
Hear More from Ben Askins at The Business Show 2024
For those interested in learning more about retention rates and their impact on business success, Ben Askins will be delivering his keynote “Why Retention Rate is the Most Important Metric for Financial Success in 2025” at The Business Show (ExCeL London, 14th November at 11:00 in Keynote Theatre 1).
Event Details:
- Free to attend
- £100,000 startup package opportunity
- Networking opportunities
- Expert insights and masterclasses
For more insights on ethical business practices and company building, connect with Ben Askins on LinkedIn or visit Gaia .
This article is part of The Sovereign Magazine’s coverage of The Business Show 2024. The Sovereign Magazine Podcast brings you conversations with industry experts and successful entrepreneurs, delivering practical insights and professional expertise across various business sectors.