Building Workplaces Where People Want to Stay: Recruitment and Retention That Actually Work
- Amanda Parriag
- Apr 1
- 3 min read
Lately, we’ve found ourselves doing a lot of workplace reviews — helping clients get underneath a key challenge: how to attract the right talent while creating an environment where people actually want to stay.
Time and time again, these conversations lead to the same place. A respectful, well-functioning workplace is the difference between a career stepping stone and a place where exceptional folks plant their roots. But getting there requires more than just intention; it requires evidence, analysis, and a clear understanding of how your workplace is really functioning.
Too often, recruitment and retention challenges are framed as labour market problems. In practice, they are usually issues related to culture, policy, systems, and compliance.
Through workplace reviews, we help organizations examine how roles are designed, how hiring decisions are made, and how policies are applied in practice. This includes looking closely at compliance, not just whether requirements are technically met, but whether they are consistently and meaningfully embedded into day-to-day operations. Where relevant, that includes alignment with federal expectations, such as CFP-related requirements, and broader obligations tied to equity and accessibility.
Recruitment isn’t just about filling roles. It shapes how talent is sourced, how candidates are assessed, and how decisions are made. Clear, transparent, and thoughtfully designed processes enable organizations to access a broader, more qualified talent pool and build credibility with the communities they are trying to reach. Without that level of intentionality, hiring efforts often reproduce the same gaps, over and over again.
That same logic applies to retention.
We regularly see organizations invest heavily in recruitment, only to experience ongoing turnover. Across Canada, the evidence is increasingly clear: people don’t leave jobs, they leave workplace experiences. Employees who feel their work is meaningful are up to 294% more likely to stay, and those who feel respected are over 100% more likely to remain (Great Place to Work Canada, 2025).
At the same time, turnover is not just a people issue; it’s a financial one. Canadian data suggests average turnover sits around 10.2% annually, with replacement costs of approximately $29,000 per employee (Great Place to Work Canada, 2025).
Through data, employee engagement, and policy review, the reasons behind turnover become clear: unclear advancement pathways, inconsistent policy application, limited accountability, and workplace cultures that don’t support all employees equally.
Retention is where culture, compliance, and performance intersect. Without clear structures for advancement, strong leadership practices, and effective mechanisms to address workplace issues as they arise, organizations risk disengagement, reputational damage, and avoidable financial loss.
This is where evidence matters. Drawing on research, literature reviews, and organizational data, we help clients move beyond assumptions to understand what is actually happening in their workplaces.
The broader Canadian context reinforces this need. For example:
13% of working Canadians report experiencing or witnessing workplace discrimination, rising to 31% among racialized employees (ADP Canada, 2020).
Within the federal public service, reported experiences of discrimination range from 13% among non-racialized employees to as high as 34% among Black employees in some departments (Office of the Auditor General of Canada, 2023).
At the same time, representation gaps persist even where progress has been made. In the federal public service:
Visible minorities represent 21.7% of the workforce, but only 15.2% of executive roles.
Persons with disabilities represent 6.9% of employees compared to 9.2% workforce availability (Privy Council Office, 2024).
These gaps don’t happen by accident, and they don’t close on their own.
Representation still matters. Not just as a principle, but as a signal. When people see themselves reflected in leadership, policies, and workplace culture, they begin to see a future for themselves within the organization.
Because, at the end of the day, recruitment gets people in the door — but retention, stability, compliance, and growth are what define a healthy organization.
References
Great Place to Work Canada. (2025). 3 workplace experiences that improve employee retention more than pay.
ADP Canada. (2020). New ADP survey shows Canadians believe workplaces have work to do on diversity and inclusion.
Office of the Auditor General of Canada. (2023). Report 5—Inclusion in the workplace for racialized employees.
Privy Council Office. (2024). Thirty-second annual report to the Prime Minister on the public service of Canada.
Comments