The Human Side of Retention: Why Compensation Alone Won’t Make People Stay with Greg Roche

Welcome to a brand new episode of Voice Activated: Tuning Employee Insights At Work. Our host Sean Fitzpatrick, CEO of TalentMap, is joined by Greg Roche, founder of Retention Rewards and longtime Total Rewards leader. Today, we explore why people leave long before they resign, why counteroffers rarely work, and how simple, intentional conversations across the organization can create the kind of culture people don’t want to leave.

What You’ll Learn:

Why do people leave months before they resign
How internal networking boosts retention and mobility
Why counteroffers fail and what to do instead
The five-step playbook for building a relationship-first culture
How listening (not surveys) becomes a core leadership skill
Why retention is a systems problem, not a one-time fix

Greg Roche is the founder of Retention Rewards and creator of The Introverted Networker, a coaching platform helping people build authentic connections at work. With more than 20 years of experience leading Total Rewards strategies through mergers, transformations, and growth phases, Greg has served in roles across compensation, benefits, and HR analytics. He now teaches organizations how to build cultures of connection, where trust, not transactions, drives employee engagement.

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Highlights & YouTube Chapters:

[00:00] Introduction
[03:21] From SAP to HR: Greg’s Unlikely Career Path
[07:02] What Total Rewards Really Means
[11:26] Why Counteroffers Don’t Work
[13:10] Crossing the Line: The Real Moment People Decide to Leave
[16:38] Internal Networking and Talent Visibility
[23:18] Building Connection in a Hybrid World
[29:05] The Leadership Habit That Builds Trust
[33:08] Why Mentorship Should Be Employee-Led
[38:28] Turning Surveys into Dialogue
[45:55] Greg’s 5-Step Playbook for a Relationship-First Culture
[47:48] Listening as a Core Value
[48:54] How to Reach Greg

Quotes:

“By the time someone hands in their resignation, they have already left two or three months ago.”
“It doesn't matter how much you pay them. If they feel disconnected from the organization... nothing you pay them is gonna keep them.”
“Listening is our core value. That it is one of the most important things we can do.”

Episode Resources:

Greg Roche’s Website: https://www.retentionandrewards.com/
Greg Roche on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregsroche/
The Introverted Networker: https://theintrovertednetworker.substack.com/
Sean Fitzpatrick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-j-fitzpatrick/?originalSubdomain=ca
TalentMap Website: https://talentmap.com/

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