One of the key insights from the MU Executive Barometer 2025 is this: while competitive compensation and benefits remain important (47.3%), they are no longer the only factors driving retention. Compensation matters, but it’s rarely the reason top talent stays—or leaves.
Three factors increasingly make the difference:
Top performers—whether emerging talent or executives—thrive on progress. They want to learn, evolve, and see a future for themselves within the organisation.
A fast-growing retail brand I partnered with had strong market visibility but was losing mid-level managers. The issue? A lack of structured development. Talented individuals couldn’t see how or when they’d move forward. They weren’t leaving for more money—they were leaving for more clarity.
Growth doesn’t always mean a promotion. It can be new assignments, cross-functional mobility, mentoring, or structured leadership tracks. The key is: it must be visible, and it must be intentional.
There’s often a gap between how leadership defines culture and how employees experience it. Culture lives in the everyday: how people communicate, how conflict is managed, how leaders show up.
One luxury hospitality group had a stunning employer brand—yet internally, the culture was unsustainable. Leadership was overstretched; wellbeing was overlooked. The CEO’s turning point? Realising that investing in culture wasn’t a “nice to have”—it was a strategic necessity.
When culture is strong, people stay—even through uncertainty. When it’s weak, no salary increase will fix it.
Many organisations have ambitious business plans but lack a strategy to build leadership from within. Without capable, confident leaders, teams lose direction, energy, and trust.
A European fashion group expanding across markets faced exactly this. Regional leaders were stretched; store managers felt unsupported. They decided to invest in an internal leadership acceleration program. Six months later, engagement scores were up, and internal promotions were on the rise.
Leadership is something you learn. It’s built through feedback, development, and support. And it must be championed from the top.
In the Consumer Goods and Luxury sector, talent strategy is business strategy. In an industry defined by heritage, excellence, and innovation, your people are your most powerful brand asset.
When you invest in leadership, growth, and culture, you don't just build loyalty—you gain a long-term competitive edge.
Let’s share ideas—I’d love to hear your perspective.