This article is in response to a recent article by Bernard Coleman published in Inc. Magazine.
When you think of workplace well-being, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?
For me, it’s culture.
Because no wellness initiative can survive inside a culture that quietly burns people out. And no recruiting strategy works if the environment people walk into doesn’t match the story they were sold.
Every recruiting leader knows this truth: hiring great talent is only half the battle. If you don’t retain them, everything you invested in recruiting quietly slips away. From my work helping organizations banish burnout and build cultures people choose to stay in, I’ve seen the same patterns repeat themselves.
A recent Inc. article by my colleague, @Bernard Coleman highlights three types of workplace cultures that don’t just fail to attract talent, they actually scare it off. That insight lands squarely at the heart of what I call Recruit to Retain, the concept for my new keynote, that retention begins the moment a candidate encounters your organization, not after onboarding.
1. When Culture Promises One Thing and Delivers Another
Coleman points out how misrepresentation during recruiting destroys trust before someone’s first day of work. If you sell “work-life balance” and deliver 70-hour weeks, the trust tank starts at zero.
I once coached a client who joined a company that painted a picture of a cohesive, supportive team. Within months, she realized that image didn’t match the reality. Yes, some people got along, but the broader culture was rife with backstabbing. To make matters worse, the manager who hired her, someone she had worked with previously, left just two weeks after she started.
What was wrong with this picture?
The company misrepresented itself, as did her hiring manager.
She did what many professionals do. She made the best of it, built a few friendships, stayed for a year, and then moved on.
This is why clarity in recruiting matters so much. Organizations that want to boost retention must align what they say with what they actually live. Otherwise, turnover starts long before performance ever has a chance to rise.
2. Beware the Faux Family
Another culture Coleman calls out is the “faux family”, workplaces that lean on emotional language while treating people as disposable.
This is a cultural trap I see often. People want connection, not coercion. You don’t recruit adults into a family contract. You recruit them into meaningful, mission-driven work with clear boundaries, including respect for life outside of work.
Another coaching client worked for a company that missed Wall Street projections. Leadership asked employees to delay their annual salary increases for several months. What wasn’t discussed was whether the C-suite would do the same. Their compensation remained firmly in the millions.
That kind of disconnect erodes trust fast. And once trust cracks, engagement follows it out the door.
3. The Role of Trust in the Recruiting Journey
Coleman urges leaders to look beyond polished employer branding and dig into real patterns in employee sentiment.
Trust isn’t built through fancy perks or emojis in job ads. It’s built through consistency between the story and the experience.
One of the simplest ways leaders build trust is by actually listening. Asking for employee input and then acting on it. Scheduling regular one-on-one meetings. Coaching instead of correcting from a distance.
Just today, my colleague @Valerie Grubb shared a powerful reminder: leaders who complain that employees “aren’t getting it done right” often aren’t meeting with them or coaching them. She put it perfectly. “One-on-one meetings are where you teach people how to think, not just what to do. They’re where judgment is built and mistakes are caught early.”
4. What Happens When Companies Lean on AI Instead of People
All of this becomes even more relevant in today’s rush toward AI.
We’re seeing headlines about companies laying off thousands of employees and replacing them with AI tools. At the same time, emerging data suggests many of these investments are delivering far less ROI than expected.
Technology can automate tasks. It cannot replace trust, meaning, or psychological safety. When employees feel interchangeable with software, culture deteriorates quickly and retention suffers.
Used well, AI should support people, not signal that they’re expendable. Let’s remember that AI is a tool.
5. Culture Wins in Hiring and Retention
The bottom line is this: culture is not a “nice to have.” It’s the ultimate talent magnet.
Recruit to Retain is about recognizing that:
- Culture clarity determines who thrives after they’re hired
- Trust begins in recruiting and is reinforced daily by managers
- Technology works best when it strengthens, not replaces, human connection
When leaders put people first, retention improves. Productivity improves. And yes, the ROI on recruiting and human capital investments improves too.
If candidates experienced your culture before they applied, would they still want the job? If not, what are you going to do about it?
If you need a keynote speaker or facilitator / workshop leader to delve into this topic, get in touch at Janice@JaniceLitvin.com.