Stop the Exit Before It Starts: How to Retain Your Best Talent

Ever feel like your best people are quietly job hunting? You’re not alone. The cost of turnover isn’t just a vacant seat—it’s lost knowledge, heavier workloads, and another hiring scramble. And if you’re waiting until someone resigns to address retention, you’re already too late.

Retention isn’t just about salary. It’s about making employees feel invested in, valued, and balanced. Here’s how to keep your top finance talent engaged at every stage:

Retention starts with Recruiting

Effective retention begins with strategic recruiting. Solutions, like Arena , leverage predictive analytics and AI to help organizations identify candidates who are not only qualified but also more likely to remain in their roles long-term. By analyzing numerous data points specific to each role and organization, companies can predict employee retention likelihood, enabling them to match the right candidates to the right jobs. This data-driven approach minimizes turnover and fosters a more stable, productive workforce.

Retention Incentives That Actually Work

Once employees are hired, give them the proper incentives to be rewarded for their work.  Ensure they have clearly defined incentive programs that they can track their success against.

For early-career professionals (0-5 years), offering tuition reimbursement and covering certification costs can alleviate financial burdens and demonstrate an organization's commitment to their growth. Implementing rotational programs allows these employees to gain diverse experiences across functions like Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) and Treasury, fostering a well-rounded skill set.

Mid-career professionals (5-15 years) benefit from financial incentives such as phantom stock programs, aligning their success with the company's performance. Providing leadership roles in high-impact projects, including Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementations and strategic initiatives, keeps them engaged and challenges their capabilities. Additionally, management training and executive education programs are crucial for their continued advancement.

Fix Workload Imbalance Before Burnout Hits

Overloaded finance teams don’t just burn out—they leave. Reduce manual work and free up time for strategic initiatives by leveraging finance automation tools.  Take a look at processes that you've put in the bucket of "if it ain't broke don't fix it". We see a lot of finance teams performing tasks the same way for 10+ years, which can make it difficult to retain top employees that are motivated by process improvement.

Automate repetitive tasks:

Automating repetitive tasks is essential to prevent burnout from heavy workloads. Tools like Tipalti 's Accounts Payable (AP) automation can significantly reduce manual invoice processing time by up to 80%, allowing teams to focus on strategic activities. AI-driven account reconciliations also streamline month-end processes, enhancing efficiency.

Offer flexible schedules:

Offering flexible work arrangements, such as structured hybrid or remote work options, improves work-life balance. While the trend over the past 6 months is for companies to start return-to-office requirements, be careful not to let the desire for increased collaboration drive your top employees to other companies. Flexibility enhances employee satisfaction and contributes to a productive finance function.

The result? A team that’s not just surviving but thriving.