Our HR scorecard shows we are hitting our weekly hiring targets, but our actual employee turnover is high and our culture is suffering. What leading indicators are we missing to measure true talent retention?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Hitting hiring targets while losing staff is a leaky bucket problem. If your HR scorecard only tracks recruitment activity, you are measuring the speed of filling seats without measuring the quality of the fit. To protect your culture and prepare the business for a clean exit, you must measure employee engagement and alignment before people walk out the door.

Start by tracking leading indicators that reflect team health and leadership accountability. For example, measure the percentage of scheduled quarterly conversations completed on time. You can also track weekly progress on core value alignment checks or the completion rate of structured onboarding feedback loops.

Another powerful metric is the weekly completion of one-on-one check-ins between managers and their direct reports. When these proactive touchpoints are skipped, employee frustration builds silently. By tracking these activity-based metrics, you catch leadership gaps and cultural friction early.

This shifts your HR focus from transactional recruiting to active retention, proving to prospective buyers that you have a stable, highly aligned workforce that does not depend on a revolving door of talent.