Retaining Leadership Talent
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Retaining Leadership Talent
This course is part of Leadership Psychology: Motivation, Resilience & Well-Being Specialization
Instructors: Chris Croft
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What you'll learn
Building a culture of growth, connection, and belonging that keeps people committed and engaged.
Spotting early signs of disengagement and addressing them before turnover starts. Increasing talent retention long term.
Understanding why retention matters — and the true cost of losing top performers. Then gaining practical tools to reduce employee turnover.
Skills you'll gain
- Recognizing Others
- Talent Management
- Human Resources Management and Planning
- Employee Engagement
- Management Training And Development
- Communication
- Talent Acquisition
- Human Resource Management
- Workforce Development
- Corporate Communications
- Human Resource Strategy
- Employee Coaching
- Employee Retention
- Employee Relations
- Employee Training
- Talent Pipelining
- Employee Performance Management
- Human Resources
- Motivational Interviewing
- Interviewing Skills
Details to know
April 2026
See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills
Build your subject-matter expertise
- Learn new concepts from industry experts
- Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
- Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
- Earn a shareable career certificate
There are 6 modules in this course
Fiona Dewar brings 35 years of hands-on HR and leadership experience to this course. She's helped organisations struggling with high turnover, built retention strategies from the ground up, and coached leaders on how to keep top talent engaged and thriving. The tools and approaches you’ll learn come from real stories, real challenges, and real results - tested in the workplace, not lifted from textbooks.
Are you losing great people faster than you can replace them? Struggling to keep your high performers motivated, engaged, and committed? In a competitive talent market, retention isn’t a “nice to have” - it’s a leadership priority. Whether you work in HR, lead a team, or run an organisation, this course gives you practical, proven strategies to keep your best people right where they belong. Retention isn’t luck. Pay and benefits matter, of course, but employees stay for deeper reasons: belonging, growth, recognition, development, clarity, connection, and great leadership. This course moves beyond theory and gives you straightforward, actionable tools you can apply immediately to strengthen engagement, reduce turnover, and create a workplace people don’t want to leave. This course is for HR professionals, leaders, managers, and organisations wanting practical, evidence-based tools to retain top talent and reduce costly turnover. Retention doesn’t happen by chance - it happens through leadership. If you want to reduce turnover, strengthen morale, build a culture of commitment, and keep your best people growing with you rather than leaving for someone else, enrol now and start building a workplace where great people want to stay.
Let's set the scene, and understand why retention is so important both financially and ethically at your business.
What's included
4 videos4 readings1 assignment
4 videos•Total 15 minutes
- Welcome To The Course•3 minutes
- Introduction•1 minute
- Why Retaining Top Talent Is Critical for Organisational Success•5 minutes
- The Role of Pay and Benefits in Employee Retention: Getting the Basics Right•7 minutes
4 readings•Total 40 minutes
- Calculating the Cost of Staff Turnover•10 minutes
- Why compensation rates are so important•10 minutes
- Should pay rates be transparent?•10 minutes
- Workbook One - Retaining Top Talent•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
- Retention and Pay•30 minutes
Although everyone at a company can play a role in improving retention, in this section we examine the role of leadership in building a positive culture with a long term mindset.
What's included
5 videos5 readings1 assignment
5 videos•Total 17 minutes
- Introduction•2 minutes
- Who's responsible for retention in organisations?•3 minutes
- Meeting needs and expectations – rule number one of retention.•5 minutes
- How Growth, Feedback, and Recognition Drive Employee Retention and Engagement•3 minutes
- The Heart of the Team-Belonging, Purpose, and the Power of Connection•4 minutes
5 readings•Total 50 minutes
- Transparency and praise {video}•10 minutes
- Understanding Engagement Factors•10 minutes
- Latest global engagement results•10 minutes
- Adding meaning to work {video}•10 minutes
- Workbook Two - Retaining Top Talent•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
- Engagement at your organisation•30 minutes
Here we look at disengagement - why employees leave, or why they stay but don't produce their best work. Transforming these two metrics in your company will make a powerful difference to your bottom line.
What's included
4 videos7 readings1 assignment
4 videos•Total 15 minutes
- Introduction•3 minutes
- Why Employees Stay or Leave: Key Factors Every Leader Must Understand•5 minutes
- Understanding Employee Engagement: Differences Between Engaged and Disengaged•2 minutes
- How to Spot and Address Employee Disengagement: Key Signs•4 minutes
7 readings•Total 70 minutes
- Why do people leave? {video}•10 minutes
- Building a Sustainable Workforce Strategy•10 minutes
- Retention statistics {video}•10 minutes
- Employee Engagement Summary•10 minutes
- The three signs of a miserable job•10 minutes
- Quiet Quitting•10 minutes
- Workbook Three - Retaining Top Talent•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
- Untitled•30 minutes
Now let's look at the communication aspects of retaining talent - how to run development interviews, have honest conversations and progression opportunities, and keep everyone motivated whilst still being honest.
What's included
7 videos5 readings1 assignment
7 videos•Total 28 minutes
- Introduction•3 minutes
- How to Run Effective Development Interviews•6 minutes
- Navigating Blind Spots: Giving Feedback on Unseen Behaviours or Learning Needs•5 minutes
- Managing the Mismatch-When Career Expectations Exceed Ability•5 minutes
- Introduction•2 minutes
- How to Have Honest, Tough Conversations When Promotions Aren’t Available•3 minutes
- Creative Benefits to Retain Top Talent•4 minutes
5 readings•Total 50 minutes
- Honesty in career options•10 minutes
- Workbook Four - Retaining Top Talent•10 minutes
- Talking about the future with your team•10 minutes
- Pay and Reward report•10 minutes
- Workbook Five - Retaining Top Talent•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
- Untitled•30 minutes
Now we look at things you can do to go over and above with employee engagement. Proactive steps to make sure retention is a priority for you and you are laying positive foundations pre-emptively before any issues even arise.
What's included
6 videos3 readings1 assignment
6 videos•Total 32 minutes
- Introduction•4 minutes
- Stay Interviews: The Proactive Retention Tool Every Manager Should Use•5 minutes
- Metrics That Matter: Using Indicators to Improve Employee Retention•8 minutes
- The difference between succession and career planning•5 minutes
- Succession Planning: The Essential Proactive Tool for Retaining Top Talent•6 minutes
- Leadership Transitions and the Continuity of Talent Development•5 minutes
3 readings•Total 30 minutes
- Succession planning {video}•10 minutes
- The "Nine Box" {video}•10 minutes
- Workbook Six - Retaining Top Talent•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
- Applying the Nine Box to your team•30 minutes
Next, let's explore generational differences when it comes to talent. Recruiting and retaining people of all ages to ensure your company is balanced and varied. Then finally we come to mentoring and coaching - investing in your people and yourself to ensure continuous growth.
What's included
6 videos6 readings1 assignment
6 videos•Total 28 minutes
- Introduction•3 minutes
- Different types of employees – the generational challenge of retention•9 minutes
- How to Retain Top Talent: Balancing Ambition and Wellbeing to Prevent Burnout•5 minutes
- The Banana of Boredom•4 minutes
- The Power of Mentoring: Retaining Top Talent Across Generations in the Workplace•5 minutes
- Wrap Up/Summary•1 minute
6 readings•Total 60 minutes
- Retention of Gen X vs Millennials etc•10 minutes
- Recruiting and motivating the different generations•10 minutes
- The purpose of a mentor•10 minutes
- The evolution of a mentor relationship•10 minutes
- Coaching vs mentoring {video}•10 minutes
- Workbook Seven - Retaining Top Talent•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
- Your career engagement plan•30 minutes
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