Employee retention has been one of the most persistent challenges across industries over the past several years. We’ve seen this struggle in tech companies and have also spoken with fleet organizations facing operational turnover. According to Gallup, “Manager engagement fell from 30% to 27% in 2024. Young managers and female managers experienced the largest declines. If managers are disengaged, their teams are too. Seventy percent of team engagement is attributable to the manager.”
It’s time to rethink the role of manager. So the question is no longer whether retention matters; rather, it’s how leaders can meaningfully influence it. The way leaders support their teams matters just as much as compensation, perks or job titles. Specifically, companies that emphasize coaching over traditional management are better positioned to retain engaged, motivated employees over the long term.
Why employees really leave
There’s a well-known statistic that consistently shows up in retention research: at least half of employees who leave their jobs cite their manager as a primary reason. Up to 70% of the variance in workplace experience is attributed to how a manager runs their team, suggesting that people often don’t leave companies; they leave leadership experiences.
When employees disengage, it’s rarely sudden. More often, it starts with burnout, a lack of clarity about growth or a feeling that their work no longer connects to anything meaningful. When people believe they’re headed toward burnout with no support or future in sight, they tend to exit before reaching that breaking point. Once someone is stuck in this mindset, it gets more difficult to ask for help, often causing them to leave without communicating the problem at all.
This shows up across industries, but especially in roles where:
Job responsibilities change significantly or often after hiring
Employees feel disconnected from the long-term impact of their work
Growth paths are unclear or feel out of reach
Retention, then, is about more than keeping people busy. It’s about helping them feel invested.
The importance of “skin in the game”
One factor that influences resilience at work is how connected employees feel to what they’re building. People who feel a sense of ownership, who understand how their work contributes to customers or the broader mission, tend to weather challenges better than those who feel like replaceable cogs in a machine or purely transactional.
This doesn’t mean everyone needs the same motivations. Purpose can look different for different people. For some, it’s career growth or mastery of a craft. For others, it could be financial stability or building something that didn’t exist before. The key is that employees can articulate what they’re personally getting from the work beyond a paycheck or title. When leaders help employees identify and nurture that internal motivation, retention becomes a by-product rather than a constant uphill battle.
Change is inevitable, but disengagement doesn’t have to be
Another common driver of turnover is change: roles evolve, business needs shift, and new technologies alter how work gets done. When change is introduced without context or investment, employees often experience it as something being done to them rather than done with them.
We’ve seen in the fleet space, through customer conversations, that some employees are resistant to changes, such as adopting new software. Back when telematics started being widely used, drivers had that “big brother is watching” mentality. This understandably made them uncomfortable and led them to feel as though it was happening because they’d done something wrong or because leadership didn’t trust them. In reality, telematics is primarily used to protect the asset, the driver and the company as a whole, especially as regulations began to shift and the technology became mandatory for many fleets.
That history has shifted how fleet managers discuss new technologies with their teams. Digital fleet maintenance and optimization platforms also encountered resistance at the driver and technician levels, because they saw them as an additional thing they had to learn and use, rather than a replacement for “the old way” of doing things. The discomfort of what is perceived as a burdensome new task can quickly sow disengagement. Many of our customers have experienced this with previous fleet solutions, so when they bring it up as a concern, we’re able to offer support on the training and onboarding side to make it as painless as possible.
It is, of course, up to the manager to communicate the change to their team, which ultimately drives morale and excitement about the change rather than dread. How is this technology going to roll out? What if we make mistakes? What are the expectations around when we’re supposed to be proficient in using it? How will it benefit the day-to-day?
The difference comes down to framing and follow-through. Successful organizations don’t pretend change is painless. Instead, they clearly explain why the change is happening and acknowledge what’s difficult about it. They also invest in training and skill development alongside new expectations. When employees can see what they’re gaining, change feels like growth rather than erosion.
Managing vs. coaching: A critical distinction
One of the most common leadership pitfalls is confusing managing with coaching. Both are important, but they serve very different purposes. Managing is outcome-oriented. Because managers are accountable for timelines and results, their role requires structure and, at times, firm decision-making. When you’re managing, you’re attached to the outcome.
Coaching, on the other hand, is development-oriented. A coach doesn’t need to have the answer or even a preferred outcome. Coaching focuses on asking thoughtful questions, helping someone process challenges and supporting growth that may not directly impact immediate business results.
Problems arise when leaders believe they’re coaching but are actually managing in disguise. If every conversation is directive or tied to performance metrics, employees lose autonomy and eventually motivation. Strong leaders know when to switch hats. They’re explicit about when they’re managing and when they’re coaching, and they give space for both.
Coaching builds retention by demonstrating leadership’s commitment to investing in employees. These efforts include helping employees develop skills that outlast any single role, supporting long-term career thinking and creating two-way conversations rather than top-down instruction, all of which reinforce trust and psychological safety. When employees feel invested in, they’re more likely to stay, even during periods of uncertainty or change.
The role of technology and the human element
As AI and automation continue to reshape work, many employees worry about replacement rather than augmentation. Companies that treat new technology as a productivity tool rather than a shortcut for removing people are better positioned to retain talent.
The most effective approach frames AI as an accelerator: a way to improve creativity, efficiency and learning, not eliminate human judgment. Employees still need to think critically, provide oversight and apply emotional intelligence, skills that technology can’t replace. Retention improves when employees believe their company is investing in their evolution, not planning around their obsolescence.
Retention is a leadership practice
Ultimately, retention isn’t a single initiative or program. It’s the result of daily leadership behaviors, such as how managers communicate, handle change and coach for growth rather than simply manage tasks. Companies that get this right not only keep people longer, they also build teams that are more resilient, adaptable and genuinely engaged in the work ahead.
Opinions expressed by SmartBrief contributors are their own.
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