Why talent retention solutions have to evolve before 2030

Why talent retention solutions have to evolve before 2030

The global war on talent is intensifying. In September 2024, the United States posted 8 million job openings, but reported only 6.8 million unemployed workers. With this trend anticipated to continue, global economies could face a talent shortage of more than 85 million by 2030. 

Fuelled by early retirements, an aging workforce and a declining labor participation rate, companies across the globe are confronted with major stagnation in their future competitiveness and growth. 

Widening skill gaps demand a future-ready workforce 

The talent shortage is just one side of the problem. The rise of AI and automation is shortening the lifespan of skills and widening the gap between workforce capabilities and future business needs. As roles evolve faster than ever and new ones emerge, the workplace demands a different blend of capabilities: technical fluency, adaptability, analytical thinking, and soft skills like communication and leadership.

This shift is particularly urgent in technology-driven sectors, where innovation cycles are shorter, and the cost of a skills mismatch is high. Enterprise leaders can no longer rely on traditional retention strategies or performance alone. They must take a more strategic approach—building a workforce that is not only highly skilled today, but equipped with the capabilities the future demands.

What is a healthy retention rate

A common misconception is that the higher the retention rate, the better. But companies with a retention rate above 90% may actually be holding on to the wrong people. High retention isn’t beneficial if it comes at the cost of performance, engagement, or innovation.

Not everyone should be retained at all costs. The real opportunity lies in identifying and keeping top performers, high-potential talent, and those aligned with future business needs. These are the employees who will drive transformation, change, and organizations’ bottom line.

However, the right retention benchmark isn’t one-size-fits-all. Industry context and company size matter. In high-turnover sectors like retail or hospitality, a 70% retention rate might indicate strong performance. In contrast, for knowledge-based industries, rates below 85% could signal deeper issues—broken career paths, ineffective leadership, or a lack of purpose and growth opportunities.

That’s why the question for today’s HR and L&D leaders isn’t only how to stop attrition, but how to keep and develop the people with the skills the future demands.

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What top performers value for long-term retention 

With the need to retain a future-ready workforce, organizations need to implement effective retention solutions. Solving the talent and skills deficit doesn’t only fall on the shoulders of C-level leaders - senior leadership teams are increasingly turning to HR and L&D as strategic partners in ensuring the organization’s future readiness. 

Where should people teams focus their attention to regenerate depleted talent pipelines, close skill gaps and sustain enterprise growth?

According to a LinkedIn research, 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if they received career mobility - both horizontally and vertically. Talent who haven’t received career mobility after 3 years in the same position display a 45% chance of staying versus 70% for those who do.  

“Top talent wants to learn, to be challenged, and to contribute to something that matters. HR and L&D can play a pivotal role by ensuring development is personalized, not one-size-fits-all, and by advocating for career pathing that goes beyond promotions. If you’re not prioritizing internal mobility, you’re already at risk of losing your best people.” Jennifer McClure, Founder and CEO at Unbridled Talent

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However, there are other factors influencing retention rates, leaving HR and L&D teams with multiple fronts to cover. The quality of leadership, employee wellbeing and compensation are key influencers on talents’ willingness to stay at a company. 

A strategic way to approach retention and employee-led growth

With the growing need to retain high-performing talent, reskill the workforce and ensure a healthy turnover balance, people leaders need to focus on implementing customized career development plans and the relevant opportunities for skill enhancement. 

To support this shift, Lepaya has launched the Employee Retention Tool - built to provide HR, L&D and business leaders with the analytical insights they need to develop the right retention solutions. By using this tool, talent specialists will be able to: 

• Calculate your current retention rate in the organization 
• Identify in which talent group the attrition risk is highest
• Analyse the attrition causes and actionable next steps to improve retention rates

With these initial insights, HR can make more strategic decisions on workforce development and build healthy talent pipelines that address the shortage by 2030.

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