Chapter 2 UCK It Stops Here I think my manager actually could have kept me, but I don't think he ever saw it as his job. --A.J. see ASK When we ask supervisors and managers how to keep good people, many immediately respond, "With money." Research suggests that 89 percent of managers truly believe it's largely about the money. 2 These managers place the responsibility for keeping key people squarely in the hands of senior management. They blame organizational policies or pay scales for the loss of talent. Or they point the finger at the competition or the location. It's always someone else's fault. Well, the truth is, you matter most. If you are a manager at any level, a frontline supervisor, or a project leader, you actually have more power than anyone else to keep your best employees. Why? Because the factors that drive employee satisfaction, engagement, and commitment are largely within your control. And the factors that satisfy and engage employees are the ones that keep them on your team. Those factors haven't changed much over the past 25 years. Many researchers who have studied retention agree on what engages or satisfies people and therefore influences them to stay: meaningful and challenging work, a 20