4 In 10 companies point to a lack of growth opportunity as the main reason for losing talent

The 30th edition of Robert Half Confidence Index (ICRH) it brought details about the turnover rate, known as voluntary turnover, which Brazilian companies experienced in the last year. The survey revealed an increase among companies that lost talent due to the lack of growth opportunities. Although it already occupied the second position in the ranking in 2023, the representativeness of this alternative rose from 25% to 40% of responses in 2024.

The reasons behind voluntary departures

The survey was attended by 387 professionals responsible for recruitment in organizations and, in their evaluation, the five aspects that most encouraged employees to resign were:

• Best proposals elsewhere (71%)
• Lack of growth opportunities (40%)
• Wages below market average (24%)
• Uncompetitive benefits (22%)
• Lack of recognition and rewards (22%)

More companies are turnover above 10%

In 2024, almost half of the companies (44%) registered a turnover rate below 5%. Already 21% of the organizations presented indices between 5% and 10%, while 28% reported turnover above 10%. The remaining 6% could not respond.

“Se, on the one hand, there was an increase in the proportion of companies with indicators below 5%, on the other, the number of companies with rates above 10% also grew. These figures indicate a greater polarization: more organizations with low turnover, but also an advance of those with high turnover”, analyzes Lucas Nogueira, regional director of Robert Half.

High rates can result in loss of organizational knowledge, impact on quality of deliveries and waste of training investments. However, very low values may indicate an accommodation scenario, which is also not positive.

Actions to mitigate turnover
Companies are adopting or planning strategies to increase employee retention. According to the recruiters interviewed, the five main initiatives are:

• Leadership training (39%)
• Training offer for the team (36%)
• Career development programs (35%)
• Improvement in working conditions and the organisational environment (35%)
• Improving performance management (31%)

“Voluntary turnover is definitely a critical indicator for companies, but the challenge is at the extremes. A healthy level of turnover promotes team renewal and diversity of ideas, while very high or very low rates can be warning signs. Fact is: retention begins in the recruitment process, with the alignment of expectations from the” interview room, concludes the regional director of Robert Half.