In 2025, employee mobility is not a trend, it is a reality. HR leaders in Greece are navigating rising pressure. Talent is scarce, expectations are shifting, and the companies that once relied on loyalty are learning that loyalty must be earned and sustained.

Retention is no longer about simply keeping roles filled. It’s about maintaining engagement, alignment, and emotional connection to the organization’s mission. According to fresh data from employers in Greece, that connection is fraying.

This article explores three key strategic blind spots identified in the regional wherewework survey, and what HR teams can do today to build more resilient, attractive organizations

Mistake #1: Treating salary as just a cost

According to the wherewework survey, 48.7% of Greek employers say that salary and benefits are their main motivational tool. That reflects good awareness. But in execution, the cracks show.

Only 14.7% of employers have recently increased their benefits budget, and 14.0% have introduced new benefits. Meanwhile, 10.0% report offering no benefits at all beyond base pay. That means many employees may not feel seen or supported.

When compensation is treated as a fixed line item instead of a meaningful signal of value, retention erodes from the start.

Mistake #2: Ignoring the development gap

Only 15.3% of employers in Greece include training and professional development in their offer to employees. That means over 80% are not positioning growth as a core retention lever.

But development matters. Employees want to advance, learn, and move forward. When those opportunities are missing, long-term commitment fades.

And the data supports it: 72% of Greek employees are open to changing jobs, and 28% are actively looking. Growth is not a bonus, it’s a baseline.

Mistake #3: Listening without depth

In Greece, 36.7% of employers say they rely primarily on informal feedback to understand what employees want. While that can offer insight, it lacks structure, consistency, and trackability.

Without clear listening systems, companies can miss early signs of disengagement, not because they don’t care, but because they aren’t equipped to act.

Meanwhile, dissatisfaction with pay and benefits remains high, and willingness to leave is growing. The signals are there. The question is: are companies listening closely enough?

The insights in this article are grounded in data from the Regional Survey: Salaries & Benefits – Balancing Expectations and Offers, conducted between April and June 2025 across Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, and Republic of Moldova. With a total of 9,888 responses, including 990 employers and 8,898 employees, the study offers a deep, comparative look at how compensation and benefits are perceived and misaligned across the region.

Solutions That Work: Tools for HR Leaders from wherewework

At wherewework, we believe retention is not guesswork. It is strategy based on evidence. The platform provides HR teams with targeted tools to close the gap between perception and reality:

1. Employer Branding

Build internal and external trust through authentic reputation management. Anonymous employee reviews offer unfiltered insights into company culture, helping recruitment and retention efforts rest on truth, not assumptions.

2. HR Analytics Dashboard

Track what matters before it becomes a problem. This tool allows HR to monitor internal sentiment, detect disengagement early, and measure the impact of policy changes.

3. Salary Benchmarking Tool

Stay competitive with updated salary benchmarks for specific roles and industries. Reduce offer rejections and align compensation with expectations.

These tools are not just helpful,  they are essential for companies building long-term people-first strategies.

Final Thought

Retention is no longer a passive HR function. It is a proactive business responsibility. The data shows Greek employers are aware of the gaps: salaries that miss expectations, development paths that don’t exist, and employee voices that go unheard.

The good news? These are all solvable problems for teams willing to treat retention as strategy, not a checkbox.

In 2025, talent won’t wait. They’re informed, mobile, and in control. HR’s job isn’t just to stop them from leaving, it’s to give them a reason to stay.