Preparations for September departures begin in June: How can you retain your top talent before summer?
The Essentials
Decisions to leave are made over the summer: the window of opportunity for managers is in June, not September. The cost of an employee leaving ranges from 6 to 18 months’ salary, depending on the position. Compensation alone is no longer enough: leadership, recognition, and career advancement opportunities have become the primary drivers of retention. An effective retention plan relies on identifying early warning signs, mid-year reviews, and a comprehensive compensation strategy that includes fixed pay, variable pay, profit-sharing, and employee benefits.
Every year, the start of the new school year accounts for a significant portion of employee turnover. After a period of reflection during the summer break, many employees act on a decision they’ve been mulling over for several months. For companies, the challenge is therefore less about managing resignations in September than about identifying, as early as June, the factors that lead to them.
In a climate where recruitment remains challenging and the cost of employee turnover continues to rise, talent retention has become a strategic priority. And contrary to popular belief, compensation alone is no longer enough. Engagement, recognition, leadership, career advancement opportunities, and value sharing are now the true drivers of retention.
The question, then, is no longer how to retain employees when they announce their departure, but how to create the conditions that make them want to stay before they even consider leaving.
Why is September the month of career transitions?
Human resources professionals have long observed a recurring phenomenon: the start of the school year is one of the busiest times of the year for hiring and changing jobs.
This finding can be explained by several factors.
First, summer vacation provides an opportunity to step back that is rarely available during the rest of the year. Away from day-to-day operational demands, employees take the time to reassess their professional situation, their career prospects, and their work-life balance.
Next, the first half of the year serves as a litmus test. When promises of career growth haven’t been kept, the workload has become excessive, or the sense of appreciation has diminished, summer becomes the time when these frustrations come to a head.
Finally, the start of the school year traditionally marks the launch of numerous projects and recruitment campaigns. There are more opportunities, and candidates are more likely to take action.
For employers, waiting until September therefore often means taking action too late.
What are the early warning signs to watch for before summer?
Most departures never come as a complete surprise.
Long before a resignation is announced, there are several warning signs that can alert managers and HR teams.
Some of the most common signs include:
- A gradual decline in engagement.
- A decline in the number of initiatives taken.
- Lower participation in group projects.
- A growing lack of interest in the company's prospects.
- Repeated questions about career advancement or compensation.
- An increase in absences or behavioral disengagement.
These signals should be interpreted with caution. Taken on their own, they do not necessarily mean that an employee is considering leaving. However, when they occur in combination, they often serve as a warning sign.
Summer is therefore an ideal time to conduct mid-year reviews and identify expectations that, if left unaddressed, could lead to employees wanting to leave.
Read the article:Overhaul of the variable compensation system: a strategic driver of sales performance
Why Are Pay Raises No Longer Enough?
For a long time, employee retention relied primarily on compensation.
This reasoning remains partially true: an employee who feels underpaid becomes more susceptible to offers from the job market.
However, recent studies show that salary is no longer the only factor determining employee loyalty to a company.
Employees' new expectations also include:
- The quality of management.
- Recognition for a job well done.
- Outlook for future developments.
- Work-life balance.
- The meaning we give to our missions.
- Organizational flexibility.
- Value-sharing mechanisms.
In other words, companies that seek to address an engagement issue solely through across-the-board pay raises are likely to see limited results.
Compensation remains essential, but it must now be part of a comprehensive employee experience strategy.
Which customer loyalty strategies actually work?
Companies with the highest retention rates generally do not rely on a single strategy.
They create an overall environment that fosters engagement.
1. Recognition
The feeling of being recognized remains one of the key factors in building customer loyalty.
This recognition can be financial, but it can also be managerial or symbolic.
2. Total Compensation
Employees now evaluate their entire compensation package:
- fixed compensation;
- variable compensation;
- profit-sharing;
- participation;
- employee savings plans;
- employee benefits.
The overall impression often matters more than just the monthly salary.
3. Future Outlook
The lack of career prospects is one of the main reasons people choose to leave.
Employees need to understand what the company will enable them to become in the coming years.
4. Skills Development
Training, internal mobility, and career support directly strengthen employee loyalty.
5. The Quality of Management
Studies have consistently shown for several years that employees are more likely to leave a manager than a company.
The quality of the manager-employee relationship therefore remains a key factor in employee retention.
What Role Should Managers Play Before Summer Vacation?
Managers play a central role in any customer retention strategy.
As summer approaches, they have a particularly valuable window of opportunity.
Mid-year individual reviews make it possible, in particular, to:
- to assess the level of commitment;
- to identify frustrations;
- to clarify the outlook;
- to foster a sense of gratitude.
The goal is not to artificially retain employees, but to understand their expectations early enough to be able to meet them.
A conversation held in June can sometimes prevent a resignation announced in September.
Read the article:Managers: Compensation Needs to Be Explained!
How to Develop an Effective Retention Plan?
The most mature companies approach customer loyalty as a structured process.
Our experience shows that an effective retention plan is based on five steps:
1. Identify critical populations
Not all positions have the same impact on the company's performance.
2. Measuring Engagement
Internal surveys, questionnaires, and interviews help identify vulnerabilities.
3. Map the risks associated with leaving
The goal is to be proactive rather than reactive.
4. Develop Targeted Responses
Expectations vary depending on the population and occupation.
5. Long-Term Management
Customer loyalty is not a one-time project but an ongoing process.
What are the key metrics for talent retention?
A few trends deserve the attention of HR departments:
- The cost of leaving a job is generally estimated at between 6 and 18 months' salary, depending on the position's level.
- The primary reasons cited for leaving relate more to management and career prospects than to compensation alone.
- Engaged employees demonstrate significantly higher levels of productivity and loyalty.
- Replacing a key employee may take several months of recruitment and onboarding.
These figures serve as a reminder that investing in employee retention is often less costly than dealing with the consequences of employee turnover.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do employee departures tend to occur around the start of the school year in September?
Summer vacation offers a chance to step back that is rarely available during the rest of the year. Away from day-to-day operational pressures, employees reassess their career prospects, their work-life balance, and the frustrations that have built up over the first half of the year. The start of the new school year also coincides with the resumption of recruitment campaigns, which creates even more opportunities to take action. For employers, waiting until September to act often means it’s already too late.
What are the subtle signs that an employee is considering leaving?
The most common signs include a gradual decline in engagement, a decrease in taking the initiative, a lack of interest in team projects, and repeated questions about career advancement or compensation. Taken individually, these indicators do not necessarily mean an imminent departure. Their accumulation, however, poses a real risk that managers and HR teams must address before summer.
Is a pay raise enough to retain an employee who is considering leaving?
No, and recent studies confirm this: the primary reasons cited for leaving are more often related to the quality of management and a lack of career advancement opportunities than to compensation alone. An underpaid employee remains vulnerable to offers from the job market, but addressing an engagement issue with a blanket pay raise yields limited results. Compensation must be part of a comprehensive strategy that includes recognition, skill development, and the quality of the manager-employee relationship.
What is the manager's specific role in retaining talent before summer?
Managers are on the front lines: employees are more likely to leave a manager than a company. As summer approaches, mid-year one-on-one reviews provide an opportunity to assess engagement levels, identify frustrations, clarify career prospects, and reinforce recognition. A conversation held in June can prevent a resignation announced in September. MCR Groupe supports managers in implementing these performance management and employee retention practices.
What is the true cost of employee turnover for a company?
The cost of an employee leaving is generally estimated at between 6 and 18 months’ salary, depending on the position’s level, and includes the costs of recruiting, onboarding, and training the replacement. Added to this are indirect costs: loss of expertise, disruption to teams, and an impact on the engagement of remaining employees. Investing in employee retention is therefore, in most cases, a far less costly strategy than dealing with the consequences of unexpected turnover.
How can you develop an effective and sustainable talent retention plan?
A structured retention plan consists of five steps: identifying key employee groups, measuring engagement through surveys and interviews, mapping turnover risks, developing targeted solutions tailored to the expectations of each group, and managing the process over the long term. Retention is not a one-time project but an ongoing process. Specialized firms such as MCR Groupe support HR departments in designing and implementing these initiatives, integrating total compensation, sales management, and employee engagement.
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- Management, Compensation