Periods of layoffs create a ripple effect that goes far beyond the employees who leave. In our work across education, edtech, and technology organizations, we consistently see a second wave of risk: the quiet disengagement or departure of top performers who were never intended to be part of the reduction.
What’s often underestimated is how widespread that risk actually is. According to Gallup, only 23% of employees worldwide are engaged at work, leaving a significant portion of the workforce either disengaged or actively disengaging—especially during times of uncertainty.
Leaders often assume that in a tighter job market, retention becomes easier. In reality, the opposite is often true. High performers have options. More importantly, they are paying close attention to how decisions are made, how communication is handled, and whether they still see a future for themselves inside the organization.
Retention in this environment is not about perks or quick fixes. It’s about clarity, trust, and intentional leadership.
1. Clarity Is the New Currency
After a layoff, ambiguity is the fastest way to lose your strongest people.
Top talent wants to understand three things:
- Where the company is going
- How decisions were made
- What success looks like going forward for the organization, their teams, and themselves.
Too often, leaders communicate the “what” of layoffs but not the “why” or the “what’s next.” That gap creates space for doubt.
In high-performing edtech organizations, we see leaders who over-communicate in structured ways. They provide context, outline priorities, and define how each team contributes to the path forward. They also let each team member clearly know how they are performing.
This doesn’t require having every answer. It requires being transparent about what you know and what you’re still working through.
2. Re-Anchor Your Top Talent to Purpose
In education and edtech, mission matters deeply. But during periods of instability, even the most mission-driven employees can feel disconnected.
This is where leadership needs to be highly intentional.
Reconnecting top performers to:
- The impact of their work
- The students, institutions, or customers they serve
- The tangible outcomes they are driving
…can significantly increase engagement.
We’ve seen organizations successfully retain key leaders by reframing their roles in terms of impact, not just output. This is especially important for go-to-market and product leaders navigating shifting priorities.
3. Redefine Roles with Precision
Layoffs often leave teams with expanded responsibilities but unclear expectations. This is one of the most common drivers of burnout and attrition.
Strong organizations take a structured approach to redefining roles:
- What has changed?
- What has been deprioritized?
- What does success look like in 6–12 months?
This is where a more data-driven, structured evaluation mindset becomes critical. Instead of relying on assumptions, leading companies assess both cognitive and commercial capabilities to ensure alignment between the individual and the evolved role.
When people feel set up for success, they stay. When they feel set up to fail, they leave.
4. Double Down on Your Managers
Your frontline leaders are your retention strategy.
In times of uncertainty, employees don’t stay because of company messaging alone. They stay because of their direct manager.
This is backed by data. McKinsey & Company has found that a primary reason employees leave jobs is their relationship with their manager, not the organization and not the compensation level.
We consistently advise organizations to invest in:
- Manager enablement and coaching
- Clear frameworks for performance conversations
- Tools for identifying disengagement early
High-performing managers create stability even when the broader organization feels uncertain. They translate strategy into day-to-day clarity.
Without that layer, even the best strategic messaging falls flat.
5. Identify and Actively Engage Your “Quiet Flight Risks”
One of the biggest mistakes we see is assuming that retention risk is obvious.
It’s not.
Some of the most at-risk employees are:
- High performers who are not vocal
- Individuals in critical but less visible roles
- Leaders carrying disproportionate load post-layoff
A proactive, data-informed approach is essential here. Organizations that excel at retention don’t wait for signals; they actively map talent, assess engagement, and prioritize outreach.
This is where a high-touch, relationship-driven approach makes a meaningful difference. Retention is not a one-time conversation. It’s an ongoing dialogue.
6. Retention Happens One Conversation at a Time
In uncertain environments, retention strategies don’t succeed at the organizational level unless they’re activated at the individual level.
This is where we see a meaningful gap.
Leaders understand the importance of retention, but they don’t always create the space for the right conversations to happen consistently. And without those conversations, even the most thoughtful strategies fall short. Of course, a way to ensure you create the space is to schedule and conduct employee 1:1s.
One of the most effective approaches we’ve seen in 1:1s, especially in edtech and technology organizations, is the use of structured “stay conversations.” Not performance reviews. Not engagement surveys. Real, direct dialogue designed to understand what’s keeping your best people and what might cause them to leave.
The key is asking your top talent questions that go beyond surface-level feedback. Here is a list of questions that continue to be highly effective:
- Where do you feel you are creating the greatest impact today? Where are you under-leveraged?
Surfaces how effectively talent is being deployed against business priorities.
- When you reflect on your best days here, what conditions enable that level of performance?
Identifies the environments and conditions that drive peak performance.
- How does your current role align with your longer-term career trajectory and ambitions?
Reveals alignment between individual growth and organizational opportunity.
- Are we fully utilizing your capabilities and potential? Where could we be more intentional?
Highlights gaps in stretch, scope, and leadership investment.
- To what extent do you feel your voice influences decisions and direction?
Assesses inclusion, trust, and executive-level engagement.
- How effectively do we recognize and reward high performance in a way that is meaningful to you?
Evaluates whether recognition aligns with what top performers actually value.
- What factors would most likely cause you to consider another opportunity?
Pinpoints forward-looking retention risks before they materialize.
- When external opportunities arise, what most influences your decision to stay or explore?
Clarifies the true drivers behind retention versus attrition.
- If you were in my position, what would you prioritize to retain top talent over the next 12–18 months?
Invites strategic, peer-level insight into retention priorities.
What matters just as much as the questions is what happens next. We consistently advise leaders to:
- Listen for signal, not just sentiment
- Identify patterns across high performers and critical roles
- Act with urgency on high-impact gaps
- Close the loop with clarity and accountability
Retention at the executive level is not about satisfaction. It is about alignment, growth, and sustained impact.
7. Retention Requires a Talent Mindset, Not a Moment
Perhaps the most important shift is this: retention is not a reaction to layoffs. It’s a continuous leadership discipline.
The organizations that retain top talent through disruption tend to share a few characteristics:
- They treat workforce planning as a strategic priority
- They use structured, consistent approaches to evaluating talent
- They invest in relationships before they need them
- They balance data with human insight
In many ways, the same principles that drive effective hiring also drive effective retention.
Key Takeaways
- Clarity reduces risk: Transparent communication about direction, decisions, and performance is essential
- Purpose still matters: Even in uncertain times, mission connection drives engagement
- Role definition is critical: Ambiguity leads to burnout and attrition
- Managers are the linchpin: Investment in managers directly impacts retention
- Retention should be proactive: Identify and engage flight risks early
- Think long-term: Retention is part of a broader, strategic approach to talent
At TRN, we’ve spent over three decades partnering with education and edtech organizations through moments of growth and contraction. The pattern is clear: companies that approach talent with structure, intention, and humanity consistently outperform those that rely on instinct alone.
Layoffs may be necessary at times. Losing your best people afterward is not.
If you’re thinking about how your team or leaders need to evolve to achieve repeatable commercial growth, get in touch with TRN today. We’d welcome a conversation.
