Top Talent Is on the Move: What Leaders and Executive Candidates Should Know

Mercer’s 2025 U.S. Turnover Survey reported average voluntary turnover at 13.0%, showing that retention remains a meaningful workforce issue even as turnover has moderated.

Employee engagement and recognition research continues to show that employees are more likely to stay when they feel seen, supported, and connected to the organization.

Early-tenure employees can be especially vulnerable when onboarding, manager support, growth visibility, or cultural connection are weak.

Nectar reported that 46% of employees planned to look for a new job within the next three months, reinforcing how quickly retention risk can become active search behavior.

Top performers rarely leave for one reason alone. Compensation matters, but it is often not the only factor. High performers may leave when they do not see growth, recognition, flexibility, trust, or a clear future inside the organization.

Common drivers include:

• Limited growth path
• Weak manager support
• Lack of meaningful recognition
• Burnout or workload imbalance
• Poor onboarding or integration
• Unclear career development
• Low trust in leadership
• Better external opportunities
• Misalignment with culture or values

Retention weakens when high performers cannot see a future that matches their contribution.

Recognition matters because employees who feel seen are less likely to disconnect quietly or begin looking elsewhere.

Many organizations treat onboarding as a 30, 60, or 90-day process. For key roles, that is often too short.

High performers need more than orientation. They need context, relationships, decision clarity, manager support, and a realistic understanding of how influence works inside the company.

A stronger first-year experience should include:

• Clear role expectations
• Early relationship mapping
• Regular manager check-ins
• Access to decision context
• Cultural integration
• Feedback loops
• Growth conversations
• Visible success milestones

Retention begins before disengagement appears. For many employees, it begins in the first year.

A rejection does not always mean the relationship is over.

Executive hiring decisions can change. A company may reopen a search, redefine the role, replace a first-choice hire, or return to a candidate who stayed professional and visible.

The point is not to wait passively. It is to stay connected in a way that adds value.

Senior hiring decisions can change when a first-choice candidate struggles with fit, stakeholder alignment, onboarding, or unclear expectations.

A professional follow-up strategy should be light, relevant, and value-based.

• Thank the decision-maker or recruiter professionally
• Ask to stay connected for future roles
• Send occasional relevant updates, not constant follow-ups
• Share thought leadership or industry insight when useful
• Congratulate the company on meaningful wins
• Continue building relationships inside the organization
• Stay clear on the business value you bring
• Avoid sounding disappointed, bitter, or overly persistent

The goal is not to chase the role. It is to remain easy to remember if the need returns. Professional follow-up keeps the relationship warm without making the candidate appear dependent on one opportunity.

Talent movement creates risk and opportunity at the same time.

For leaders, it exposes gaps in recognition, growth, onboarding, and trust. For candidates, it shows why a closed door may not stay closed permanently.

The same market pressure that creates retention risk inside companies can also reopen opportunities for executives who stay visible, credible, and connected.

Avoid these patterns:

• Waiting until resignation risk becomes obvious
• Treating recognition as occasional praise
• Offering growth only during annual reviews
• Assuming top performers are engaged because they are productive
• Underinvesting in first-year integration
• Letting managers operate without retention accountability
• Ignoring workload, flexibility, and trust signals
• Failing to explain how employees can grow inside the business

Avoid these patterns:

• Disappearing completely after rejection
• Following up too often without adding value
• Sounding frustrated or entitled
• Reframing every message around your job search
• Ignoring company changes that could reopen the conversation
• Failing to clarify your leadership value
• Treating one “no” as a permanent market signal

In both cases, timing and trust matter. Leaders need to act before talent leaves, and candidates need to stay visible before the next opening appears.

• Talent movement creates both retention risk for leaders and opportunity for executive candidates.
• High performers often leave when recognition, growth, trust, flexibility, or onboarding are weak.
• Retention should begin before employees show visible signs of disengagement.
• Leaders need to treat onboarding, recognition, and development as ongoing leadership responsibilities.
• Executive candidates should not disappear after a role does not move forward if the relationship remains professional and relevant.
• Roles can reopen when priorities change, searches restart, or first-choice hires do not work out.
• The goal for leaders is to keep top talent connected. The goal for candidates is to remain visible without chasing.

Talent movement is not only a retention issue. It is a leadership signal.

For corporate leaders, the message is clear: high performers stay where they feel recognized, challenged, trusted, and connected to a future. Retention requires more than compensation. It requires consistent leadership behavior.

For executive candidates, the lesson is different but related. A rejection may close one decision, but it does not always close the relationship. Staying visible, professional, and relevant can keep a candidate in the conversation when priorities shift.

The market is moving. Leaders who understand why people leave and executives who know how to stay connected will be better positioned for what comes next.

Question: What matters most in retaining top talent: recognition, growth, trust, flexibility, or leadership quality?