Making team retention count

Most leaders understand that losing good people hits the bottom line, but what’s less visible is how much it slows things down. Once projects lose steam, it can take a while to get back on track.

The effect is even sharper in hybrid or fast-changing environments. If people feel disconnected or unsupported, they may look elsewhere – and if they leave, everything feels more disjointed. Connection and communication have become the key to making a success of our new normal: geographically scattered teams.

When teams are spread out across time zones, they need strong alignment to keep pace. Constant handovers and re-onboarding can chip away at delivery without anyone realising, until it’s too late. So, how can we keep our hybrid teams intact? There are many success stories.

Take Trip.com, for example. When they trialled a hybrid work model, resignation rates dropped by 33%, without any dip in productivity. This stability saved the business millions, proving that when people are trusted with flexibility and clear expectations, performance doesn’t suffer – it improves (Trip.com, 2022 - Stanford & HBR study).

A solid team often comes down to two things: knowing the work matters, and feeling trusted to get on with it.

In B2B, team retention often defines client relationships, with the most effective teams being those that stay consistent. This enables trust to build over time, with account managers able to fully understands clients’ requirements, and pre-empt issues.  

A case in point: one Infosys BPM client reduced staff reduction from 43% to 13% after investing in people-first changes. With a more stable team, service errors dropped to zero, efficiency shot up, and customer satisfaction jumped. This continuity created space for innovation too, delivering over $15 million in value from staff-led improvements (Infosys BPM case study, 2022). In B2B, longevity changes everything. 

Purpose matters too, particularly during times of change. When people understand the ‘why’, they’re more likely to commit to the ‘how’.

A Benevity study found that organisations with strong purpose programmes – things like volunteering and social impact initiatives – see 52% lower turnover among new joiners. It’s the sense that their work truly matters that makes people want to stay (Benevity Engagement Report, 2023). 

Right now, what’s helping most is supporting teams to get work done properly. Employees are more likely to stick around when they’re clear on priorities and trusted to make decisions. This means fewer hoops to jump through, and more space to get stuff done.

Hybrid teams in particular need more than good tech. They need structure and support that makes the work feel joined-up. That might be daily or weekly check-ins focused on progress, or tools that surface problems early. But more than anything, it’s about backing people to use their judgement.

If everything needs approval, less gets done. And that bottleneck can wear people down.

Technology can help, but only if the culture encourages people to use it openly, adapt as they go, and share what’s working and what isn’t.  

As more businesses figure out their version of hybrid, the ones that prioritise retention and team culture will move ahead faster. Because keeping people isn’t just about loyalty – it’s about pace, resilience, and long-term results.

Footnotes

1. Trip.com Hybrid Work Study
2. Nicholas Bloom et al., “Return to Office Doesn’t Work. Here’s What Does,” Harvard Business Review, 2022.
3. Infosys BPM, “Delivering Seamless Operations Through a People-First Strategy,” Case Study, 2022.
4. Michael Stahl, “Employee Purpose Programs Reduce Turnover by 52%,” From Day One / Benevity, 2023.