Retention is challenging for many organizations, especially in today’s tight labor market, where 63 percent of full-time employees say it is “somewhat likely” or “very likely” that they could find as good a job as the one they have now.

Retention can also be complicated. Pay and promotions alone can’t keep your best people. And your top performers likely come from different generations and demographic backgrounds.

One recent client Gallup worked with discussed a common theme it heard from internal focus groups: Young millennials want employers to invest in them and their personal development. Older millennials, often with young children, value more work flexibility.

Gender plays a factor as well. The percentage of women in the workforce is actually on the decline. The biggest workplace demand for women? Flexibility. Forty-six percent of female employees say flextime is the most important benefit a company can offer its workers.

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