The holiday season is upon us, a time when many professionals are evaluating (or re-evaluating) their jobs, satisfaction levels, and career paths. They’re reflecting on what they accomplished during the year and whether they achieved their goals.    

The approach of a new year often triggers a psychological reset. Behavioral science shows us that a clean break in the calendar year tends to motivate people to act. Most of us can identify with this. People see January as a fresh start to fix things and leave burnout behind. And it’s during the extended holiday season when pressure starts building among top performers to make those changes, including a job change. Consider this year-end survey…  

Exactly one year ago today, Gallup research revealed that more Americans were looking to switch jobs than at any point in the past decade. In November 2024, more than half of 20,000 U.S. workers surveyed said they were watching for or actively seeking a new job. “Employees across America are feeling increasingly detached from their jobs,” they said.  

This year, keep your team engaged, on board, and excited for the New Year!  

I’d like to share four big ways you can increase talent retention, starting now and into the New Year, so that your valuable employees are less likely to spend their holidays looking for new jobs.  

Spoiler alert: A recent Gallup and Stand Together national survey among U.S. working adults, published in November 2025, reveals that employees with a strong sense of purpose at work are 5.6 times as likely to be engaged in their jobs as those with a low sense of purpose. They are also much less likely to feel burned out or be watching for or actively seeking a new job. 

As promised, here are some ways to build a stronger retention strategy, a sense of purpose, and higher job satisfaction and employee engagement among your team members. 

1. Confirm promotions and raises sooner rather than later  

If you’re planning to promote people or give them a raise, tell them now! Waiting until the New Year may be a few weeks too late. By sharing the good news immediately, even if promotions or raises don’t take effect until January, those key employees will move through the holidays excited for their new roles and compensation. 

Instead of focusing on finding a new role somewhere else, your high-performing employees will be thinking about how they’ll transition, as well as new ideas and ways to contribute to your organization. In other words, give them time to take mental ownership of the new role or raise before January arrives – and watch employee engagement levels grow!  

Promoting people before the start of the year lets them prepare to achieve goals, to think through building the right teams, and to hit the ground running the first week of January with those goals in mind. This avoids a late start to the year (by weeks or even months), which is beneficial for you, your employees, and business outcomes.  

2. Make sure salaries match the role  

When planning salary increases for existing employees, think through what it would cost to hire someone new for those roles. For most professional roles, a quick calculation is that recruiting, the onboarding process, and training can run roughly 15-25% of the first‑year base salary.  

Other factors include larger investments to fill senior and executive-level roles, relocation assistance, sign-on bonuses, and other costs. Aside from possibly relocation assistance, these expenses won’t apply to existing employees – but the base salary should match that of a new hire for two important reasons: One is to project in the market that you offer competitive compensation. The other is to ensure existing employees in the same roles receive the same compensation as a new hire.  

So, make sure salaries are competitive for the role and the market, keeping in mind that salaries often differ by region, city, or state. This is important; otherwise, you may end up handing someone an opportunity to make a lateral move to a different company, using the same title as leverage to earn a higher salary.  

Having been in the talent recruiting space for nearly 20 years, I can tell you that many existing employees and new hires will stick it out with you until you give them the title they’re after – but if the salary doesn’t match that director, VP, or other title, they’re likely to look elsewhere for the same title with higher pay in the marketplace.   

3, Return to office only if it’s purposeful  

Millions of employees have become accustomed to working remotely or in a flexible work arrangement. They have grown to love the improved quality of life that comes with it. If you’re planning to bring employees back into the office, consider a hybrid structure instead, where they only need to be in the office on certain days.  

Recognizing that lack of work-life balance is a dealbreaker for today’s top talent, employers are working to satisfy the demand for remote work. However, most are doing so with hybrid work models. They’re investing in collaboration tools, meeting‑room technologies, and location-independent workflows, so that remote and in‑office employees have equal access to information and systems.  

Isolation is mitigated by arranging in‑person team days, retreats, and regular one-on-one check-ins between managers and employees.  

You don’t want to frustrate employees by demanding they come into the office, only to sit on Zoom calls each day that are just as easily joined remotely. The bottom line: Create a purposeful return to office (RTO) policy, so that you can focus your leadership efforts on talent retention, rather than recruiting to fill newly vacant roles.  

4. Build stronger connections with your people   

The holidays are a great time to interact one-on-one with your team members. Honestly, this is an important effort to maintain year-round. Strong employee relationships are built through frequent, high‑quality interactions, and especially follow-through when they bring up concerns or recommend better ways of doing things. Engage. Listen. Act on what you hear.  

Let employees know you’re grateful for their contributions and be specific about their individual achievements. For example, “This is what your hard work made possible, and these are the reasons it mattered to our team and company.”   

Start this holiday season by asking your team members what they’re doing for the holidays. Ask how you can make their jobs better in the weeks and months ahead. Learn more about their career aspirations and share ideas and development opportunities that will help them grow. And keep those check-ins coming. 

Eliminate their temptation to look elsewhere for a brighter career path  

No matter the time of year, every employee wants to feel valued and needs fresh challenges in their work. As mentioned, top performers and new hires need a sense of purpose in their jobs to feel satisfied – and stay. These and competitive compensation are the keys to employee retention. 

Make a commitment this holiday season to give your people reasons to stay. Use the above recommendations and in no time, you’ll be surprised by the shifts in loyalty, employee engagement, and productivity.  

Contact us when you need top talent. Despite any company’s best efforts to retain talent, circumstances arise and people leave. It just happens. Companies also grow and expand, prompting the need for the right people to take on key roles. In either situation, talk with the experts at Goodwin Recruiting. Let us help you make your next great hire!