From Staff to Stakeholders

How to Build Commitment That Lasts

Retention isn’t about perks. It’s about purpose, ownership, and growth.

If your best people feel sidelined or stuck, they’ll disengage. Some will leave. Others will stay but stop caring. Both outcomes cost you momentum.

To keep great people, treat them like stakeholders - not just staff.

Explain the "why" behind the work.

People want to know what their effort contributes to. Not just tasks, but:

·       Bigger goals

·       Strategic context

·       Client outcomes

When people see the purpose, their effort becomes invested, not transactional. Knowing you’ve made a difference is incredibly rewarding.

Give them ownership.

Let people lead, decide, and influence.

That might mean:

·       Owning a client deliverable

·       Running a process

·       Shaping internal systems

It’s not about giving away control. It’s about building pride and giving agency and opportunity for development and growth.

Have real conversations.

Not just check-ins. Not just performance reviews. But:

·       Honest discussions about what’s working

·       Their ideas and concerns

·       What they want to learn or lead

Engagement requires connection. Connection needs dialogue. A 1-1 without the above isn’t worth the diary time. It should be a two-way conversation about meeting objectives and goals from both sides.

Let go of some control.

You can’t scale if everything still depends on you.

Start small:

·       Delegate outcomes, not just tasks

·       Let them handle client moments

·       Support them, even when they mess up

Confidence builds capability. And capability builds loyalty. Everybody starts somewhere and we all have to learn. There can be no learning without opportunity.

Invest in their growth.

Great people want to evolve. Help them:

·       Learn new skills

·       Try stretch projects

·       Map a future inside the business

Loyalty doesn’t come from obligation. It comes from alignment.

Commitment is a two-way street. If you want people to treat your business like it matters, treat them like they matter.

This aids retention, reduces turnover, training burden, slowed client onboarding or even the risk of client loss.

Stakeholders think long-term. They challenge, care, and contribute.

Make more of your team feel like that, and you’ll go further - together.

After all, the risks in not doing so go beyond recruiting a replacement.