In 2025, employee mobility is no longer an exception, it’s the norm. Employers in the Republic of Moldova face growing challenges: talent is scarce, candidate expectations are rising, and loyalty is no longer automatic. It must be earned and sustained.

Retention is not about keeping people on the payroll. It’s about keeping them engaged, aligned, and emotionally connected to the company’s mission. But according to recent market data, this connection is often fragile.

This article examines three strategic blind spots revealed in the regional survey conducted by wherewework, and outlines actionable solutions HR teams can use to build more resilient, people-first organizations.

Mistake #1: Treating salary as a cost, not an investment

In the Republic of Moldova, 57.8% of employers say that salary and benefits are the main tool they use to motivate staff. That shows a positive level of awareness. But in practice, execution falls short.

Only 16.7% of companies have recently increased their benefits budget, and 20.0% have introduced new benefits. At the same time, 18.9% of employers offer no benefits at all beyond base salary. These gaps leave many employees without clear signs of recognition.

When compensation is treated as a fixed cost rather than a signal of value, retention erodes before it begins.

Mistake #2: Neglecting professional growth

49.4% of employers in the Republic of Moldova offer training or development opportunities. That’s encouraging, but it also means more than half of companies do not embed growth into a structured retention strategy.

For today’s employees, development is not a nice-to-have, it’s a dealbreaker. Without a clear path to grow, long-term motivation fades.

In the same survey, 74% of employees in the Republic of Moldova said they are open to changing jobs, and 29% are actively looking. Career stagnation is no longer invisible. It’s a direct risk to retention.

Mistake #3: Listening without structure

28.3% of employers in Moldova rely on informal feedback to understand employee needs. While informal signals can be helpful, they are rarely consistent or measurable.

Without structured feedback mechanisms, it’s difficult to anticipate dissatisfaction or disengagement. Companies often don’t act early, not because they don’t care, but because they don’t have the tools.

Meanwhile, dissatisfaction with compensation and benefits is rising, and employees are increasingly willing to leave. The message is clear. The question is whether companies are truly hearing it.

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’s strategy based on real data. The platform provides HR professionals with tools that close the gap between perception and reality:

1. Employer Branding

Build internal and external trust through authentic employee feedback. Anonymous reviews provide real insights into workplace culture, helping companies base both recruitment and retention on truth, not assumptions.

2. HR Analytics Dashboard

See what matters before it escalates. This tool enables teams to track internal sentiment, detect early signs of disengagement, and measure the impact of policy changes in real time.

3. Salary Benchmarking Tool

Provides up-to-date salary ranges for roles and industries relevant to the Republic of Moldova. Helps recruiters align expectations and increase offer acceptance rates.

These tools are not only practical, they are essential for any company that wants to build a lasting, human-centered talent strategy.

Final Thought

Retention is no longer a reactive task. It’s a proactive business responsibility. The data shows that employers in the Republic of Moldova understand what’s broken: salaries that don’t inspire, missing growth plans, and employee voices that go unheard.

The good news? All of this can be fixed, but only if we treat retention as strategy, not administration.

In 2025, top talent won’t stand still. They’re informed, mobile, and clear about what they expect. HR’s job isn’t just to keep people from leaving. It’s to give them a real reason to stay.