In 2019, we reached out to local businesses with strong reputations for employee engagement and retention. Through one-on-one interviews with managers at these organizations, we have cultivated a list of best practices for retention. Additionally, we conducted two focus groups with local job seekers in order to further understand their experiences. In particular, we wanted to have a more comprehensive understanding of why people choose to quit employment, and what employers might be able to change within their workplaces in order to minimize this turnover.

This project is, therefore, comprised of the following qualitative data sources:

• Interviews with managers and business owners in the region who have been identified as having successful retention strategies, in order to review best practices
• Focus groups with job seekers, in order to further explore results from the 2018 Employee Survey, with a particular focus on why people are voluntarily leaving jobs and what might impact their desire to stay with a company long-term