We’ve treated “retention” like handcuffs for far too long.
Throw in a few perks. Offer flexible Fridays. Maybe bump someone’s title and cross your fingers they won’t walk out the door. But here’s the thing… people don’t stay because of coffee machines and job titles.
They stay when they grow. They stay when they feel trusted.
They stay when they can see a future with you.
The problem isn’t loyalty. It’s the box we keep people in. We build rigid structures, lock people into roles, and call it a career path. Then we act surprised when great humans outgrow the box and take their magic elsewhere. That’s not betrayal …. that’s a signal. They’re growing. We’re not.
Mobility isn’t a risk. It’s your greatest opportunity. When people can move, stretch, and explore inside your organisation, they don’t need to leave to level up. Real mobility is about runways, not ladders. It’s giving people permission to pivot, experiment, and build capability across the ecosystem – not just in the tiny corner they started in.
This only works when the culture backs it. Too often, mobility is treated like something exceptional or a last-resort retention tactic. Leaders hoard talent because they’re scared to lose their star performers. But let’s be honest… if your best people feel like they have to leave to grow, you’ve already lost them. The organisations that thrive are the ones that sponsor mobility, not block it. They make moving normal. They celebrate it.
Retention isn’t built through one-off perks or policies. It’s built through trust. It’s a long game, and mobility is the bridge between belonging today and thriving tomorrow. This is what we’re built on and where our Radical HR pillars come to life. Attract people who want to grow. Align around a shared sense of purpose and possibility. Lead in a way that lifts people up instead of holding them down. And Retain by building pathways that let them keep evolving without walking out the door.
So how do you create internal mobility?
This is where we stop talking and start building. You don’t need a 200-page policy (that no one is going to read!). You need intentional structures and brave leadership. Here are a few practical ways to make mobility real – not just a buzzword on a slide deck:
👓 Make career pathways visible, not hidden.
Most people don’t move because they can’t see where to go. Create clear, transparent pathways that show what’s possible inside your organisation… not just the next rung up the ladder.
🏃♂️ Normalise movement – make it expected, not exceptional.
Celebrate internal moves the way you celebrate external hires. Talk about them. Share stories. Show that mobility isn’t a risk… it’s part of your culture.
🔗 Build capability bridges, not silos.
Offer secondments, cross-team projects, shadowing opportunities, and rotational roles. These create safe, supported spaces to stretch and explore new areas without the pressure of “leaving” a team.
🎓 Coach your leaders to stop hoarding talent.
Mobility dies when leaders cling to their people. Teach them to see mobility as a sign of good leadership … not a loss.
💎 Match strengths to stretch.
When you align someone’s strengths with the right challenge, magic happens. Mobility isn’t just about changing seats. It’s about unlocking new potential.
📋 Create capability maps.
Instead of just job titles, build portable capability maps that follow people across teams. It gives visibility to what people can do – not just what they’ve always done.
💡 Remove friction.
If people have to jump through hoops to move internally, they’ll just go externally. Make internal transitions faster, cleaner, and more human.
This is also where real listening comes in. Too many leaders wait until an exit interview to understand why someone’s leaving… by then, it’s already too late.
💬 Stay interviews show you what’s coming… before people walk out the door.
They’re not performance reviews or retention gimmicks, they’re simple, honest, human conversations that uncover what matters most to your people before they look elsewhere. What lights them up. What might stretch them. What’s missing.
A few good questions can change everything.
What do you love about your role right now?
What would make it even better? What’s the next skill or experience you’re craving?
Where do you see your next stretch?
These conversations give you visibility of your talent’s energy and aspirations while there’s still time to act on it. And when people see you listening (and backing it up with action) trust grows. So does loyalty.
Mobility requires courage. It means letting go of the idea that good people must stay in one place. It means designing systems that create movement, not friction. But when you trust your people to grow, something beautiful happens… they trust you back. And that trust is worth far more than any retention bonus you’ll ever offer.
The future of work isn’t about holding people tighter. It’s about giving people room to grow, not through control – but through movement and trust.
People don’t leave when they can see a future with you. So build one for them.
👉 Find out more about Stay interviews here
Author:
Lisa Shaw
Chief Empowerment Office (CEO) / Founder
Radical HR
lisashaw@radicalhr.nz
029 226 8862