Unmuted Podcast | Episode #71
Topic: When Low Turnover Is a Warning Sign: Rethinking Retention in an Uncertain Job Market
Guest: Jocelyne Beaulieu - Head of People & Operations at Koru
Host: Jeff Waldman - Founder & HR Tech Evangelist at ScaleHR & SocialHRCamp
Episode Overview:
For years, HR leaders have treated low turnover as a sign of organizational health. If people were staying, it meant the culture was strong, engagement was high, and leadership was doing something right. But today’s job market is different.
With AI disruption, economic uncertainty, layoffs, and global pressures like tariffs, employees may not always stay because they’re thriving. In many cases, they’re staying because they’re cautious.
Welcome to the Retention Paradox.
Low turnover may no longer mean stability. In some organizations, it may actually signal fear, stagnation, or disengagement hiding beneath the surface.
In this episode, Jocelyne Beaulieu joins us to explore why traditional retention metrics are becoming less reliable, how macroeconomic uncertainty is shaping employee behaviour, and what HR leaders should start measuring instead.
We explore:
👉 Why low turnover is no longer a reliable indicator of organizational health
👉 How AI disruption, layoffs, and economic uncertainty are changing employee decision-making
👉 The hidden risks of mistaking stagnation for stability
👉 What signals HR leaders should be paying closer attention to beyond retention
👉 Practical ways organizations can rethink how they interpret retention data
If you’re an HR leader, founder, or executive trying to make sense of workforce dynamics in an unpredictable market, this conversation will challenge how you interpret one of HR’s most commonly used metrics.
About Jocelyne Beaulieu:
With over 15 years of experience in people-centred leadership roles, Jocelyne Beaulieu has built her career partnering with founders and business leaders across multiple industries and geographies. Her work focuses on building and shaping people practices that create high-impact employee experiences from end-to-end, helping organizations scale while maintaining strong cultures and engaged teams.
About ScaleHR:
The Unmuted Podcast is powered by ScaleHR (https://goscalehr.com/), a rapidly growing company that supports emerging HR, Recruitment, and Work Tech startups and SMBs with brand awareness and lead generation.
Our proprietary solution, Catalyst, blends content strategy, influencer marketing, and omnichannel distribution to help brands cut through the noise.
📩 Connect with ScaleHR: https://www.goscalehr.com/
#Podcast #HR #Retention #EmployeeEngagement #FutureOfWork #Leadership #HRTech #PeopleAndCulture #UnmutedPodcast
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