
280. Building Trust at Work: The Retention Strategy Nobody Talks About
From Bringing the Human back to Human Resources by Traci Chernoff
June 9, 2026 · 39 min
About this episode
Traci Chernoff interviews Greg Roche about the importance of intentional connection as a retention strategy in organizations.
This week, Traci sits down with Greg Roche, founder of Retention and Rewards Partners and author of The Fast and Easy Guide to Networking for Introverts, to explore why intentional connection is the most underrated retention strategy in any organization. Greg shares the "stepping over the line" framework he's used throughout his career in total rewards, walking through the exact moment an employee mentally checks out, why most organizations are trying to solve engagement from the top down when the real work happens between individuals, and what leaders can do right now to build the kind of trust that makes people genuinely want to stay. What We Cover: – The "stepping over the line" moment – what's actually happening in an employee's mind right before they quit – Why proximity created connection before 2020 and what we lost when it disappeared – Top-down engagement strategies vs. small intentional acts and why one actually works – The 15-minute calendar invite that could change how you're perceived in your organization – What happens in the brain when someone talks about themselves (and how to use it) – Why new leaders who skip relationship-building create stranger danger for the…
People in this episode
Host: Traci Chernoff
Guest: Greg Roche
Topics covered
- trust at work
- employee retention
- intentional connection
- engagement strategies
- relationship building
- organizational culture
Keywords
- employee engagement
- retention strategy
- trust building
- organizational behavior
- leadership
- relationship first
- cultural value
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Retention and Rewards Partners
Books & works: The Fast and Easy Guide to Networking for Introverts
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