Retention & Culture Diagnostic
An evidence-informed assessment of the organisational experiences that may be causing good people to disengage or leave. Ruth examines workforce information, employee voice and management practices to identify the most significant retention and culture risks and provide a focused, practical improvement plan.
Indicative fees from £1,750
You can see the turnover. The causes are harder to see.
High turnover rarely announces its causes. Exit interviews, engagement surveys and workforce reports each tell you something is wrong, but they seldom tell you why, and it is easy to mistake symptoms for root causes, or to act on the loudest voice rather than the strongest evidence. Meanwhile, the same roles are recruited again and again, at real cost.
Many leadership teams already hold plenty of employee data. What they lack is a clear interpretation of it: which experiences are genuinely driving people to disengage or leave, which groups are most affected, and which issues deserve attention first.
The Retention & Culture Diagnostic is designed to provide that clarity. It brings your workforce information, employee voice and management practices together into a single evidence-informed picture, and turns it into a prioritised, practical improvement plan rather than another general staff survey.
Who this is for
- Organisations experiencing high turnover or repeated recruitment into the same roles
- Teams with engagement, morale or trust concerns
- Leadership teams with employee data but no clear interpretation or priorities
- Organisations preparing a retention, culture or employee-experience strategy
What your organisation receives
- Leadership scoping session and stakeholder map
- Review of agreed workforce, survey and employee-experience information
- Tailored pulse survey where appropriate
- Stakeholder interviews or focus groups
- Review of relevant people processes and materials
- Written findings report and executive summary
- Leadership findings presentation
- Prioritised 30-day, 90-day and longer-term recommendations
Expected outcomes
What your leadership team should understand, and be better able to act on, after the diagnostic.
- Evidence of what is actually affecting retention and culture
- Clearer distinction between symptoms and root causes
- Prioritised areas for action and leadership ownership
- Evidence to inform investment and strategy decisions
- A practical roadmap rather than another general staff survey
How it works
Scope is agreed before any information is collected, so you always know what is being examined, why and by whom.
Enquiry
Complete a short enquiry form covering your organisation, the challenge you are seeing and your budget range.
Discovery call
A conversation about the questions you need answered, the groups involved and the evidence you already hold.
Tailored proposal
The precise scope, evidence sources, responsibilities, deliverables and fees are agreed before any information is collected.
Delivery
Evidence is gathered proportionately (interviews, focus groups and a pulse survey where appropriate) and analysed for themes, risks and quick wins.
Follow-up
A written findings report, executive summary and leadership presentation, with prioritised 30-day, 90-day and longer-term recommendations.
Indicative investment
| Engagement | Indicative fee |
|---|---|
| Retention and Culture Snapshot | £1,750–£2,250 |
| Full Retention and Culture Diagnostic | From £3,500 |
| Larger or multi-division organisation | £6,000–£12,000+* |
*Final fee depends on scope.
All fees are indicative and are confirmed against the agreed scope through a tailored proposal.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a diagnostic take?
It depends on scope. The Retention and Culture Snapshot is a focused piece of work concentrating on a specific team or question, while the full diagnostic examines the wider organisation and naturally takes longer. Timescales are set out in the tailored proposal before any work begins, so you know exactly what happens and when.
What evidence do we need to provide?
Only what is necessary for the agreed purpose. The leadership scoping session identifies which workforce information, survey results and employee-experience data already exist and which are genuinely needed. Where the existing picture has gaps, a tailored pulse survey, stakeholder interviews or focus groups can fill them, and the full evidence plan is agreed with you before anything is collected.
How much staff time is required?
Time commitments are agreed upfront and kept proportionate. Typical involvement includes a leadership scoping session, short stakeholder interviews or focus groups for an agreed group of employees, and time from whoever provides the agreed workforce information. The diagnostic is designed to shed light on the day job, not interrupt it.
How are findings reported?
You receive a written findings report with an executive summary, presented to your leadership team. Findings are grounded in the evidence, distinguish symptoms from root causes, and are translated into prioritised 30-day, 90-day and longer-term recommendations, so the report reads as a practical plan, not just a description of problems.
How is our data handled?
Carefully and proportionately. Only information necessary for the agreed purpose is collected. Reporting uses minimum group sizes and avoids identifiable quotations: a more honest safeguard than blanket promises of anonymity. Secure handling, storage and deletion of working information are agreed with you and your data-protection lead at the outset of the engagement.
What happens after the report?
The engagement closes with a leadership findings presentation, used to agree priorities, owners, timescales and success measures with your team. If you would like support turning the findings into a full strategy, the Retention Strategy Sprint is a natural next step, and ongoing advisory support is available during implementation.
Ready to find out what is really affecting retention?
Request a diagnostic consultation and Ruth will arrange a scoping conversation about your organisation, the questions you need answered and the evidence you already hold.