When the same seat keeps turning over, the seat is rarely the problem.
Picture a department manager posting the same job for the third time in two years. Each hire looked strong on paper, interviewed well, and started with energy. Each was gone within a year, and now the team is covering the work again. So the manager does what feels logical and opens another job requisition.
That is the leaky bucket problem. You can pour talent in as fast as recruiting can supply it, but if there is a hole in the bottom, the water level never rises. At some point, it makes more sense to set down the water pitcher and inspect the bucket.
Hiring is one of the most consequential decisions a leader makes, and getting it right matters. It works best, though, as a way to build a positive culture rather than repair a broken one. So when turnover climbs, the first question to ask is whether you have a hiring problem or a culture problem. The fix for each is different.
Why doesn’t replacing people fix a culture problem?
A new hire doesn’t arrive in a vacuum. Within a few weeks, they learn how decisions get made, how feedback is delivered, what happens when someone raises a concern, and how much work counts as normal. Strong performers respond in one of two ways: they adapt to the environment, flaws included, or they leave. Either way, the culture stays as it was.
Culture shows up in the turnover numbers. SHRM’s 2024 survey of more than 17,000 employed adults in 19 countries found that 57% of those who rate their workplace culture poor or terrible are looking for a new job or soon will be. Among those who rate their culture good or excellent, the figure is 15%.
The strain also lands on the people who stay. In iHire’s 2025 Talent Retention Report, respondents named the stress of covering for a departed colleague (26.7%) and disruption to team dynamics and workflows (22.4%) as turnover’s biggest repercussions, ahead of the cost of replacing the person.
The pressure is building, too. In Omnia’s 2026 Talent Trends data, more than 36% of organizations report increased turnover year over year, nearly double the rate reported in 2025.
How can you tell whether turnover is a hiring problem or a culture problem?
Start with the pattern of departures: who leaves, when, and from where. That sounds basic, but the same Talent Trends data found that 26.5% of respondents are unsure whether their turnover has increased at all. Leaders may also be seeing a different picture than their teams do. In SHRM’s 2024 research, 82% of executives rated their organization’s culture good or excellent, compared with 47% of individual contributors. You can’t plug a leak you haven’t located. Once you track exits by tenure, team, and manager, these patterns point you in a direction.
| What you see | What it points toward | What to look at next |
|---|---|---|
| New hires leave within the first few months | Hiring and onboarding | Whether the job ad, interviews, and offer described the role accurately, and whether anyone evaluated the behavioral traits the role demands |
| Solid performers leave after a year or two | Culture or management | What changed once the honeymoon period ended, and what the people who remained say in stay interviews |
| Departures cluster on one team or under one manager | Management approach or team dynamics | How that team’s turnover compares with the rest of the company, and how the manager and each team member work best |
| Different people leave citing the same frustration | Culture | The repeated theme in exit comments, which is your leak |
| People from varied backgrounds struggle in the same role | The role itself | Workload, expectations, and whether the job as designed can be done well by one person |
Treat these as directions, not verdicts. Many organizations find some of each, and it helps to know which is larger before you spend time and money on the fix.
What should you examine before opening the job requisition again?
Start with conversations, and hold them while people are still here. An exit interview is your one chance to ask a departing employee how the job compared with what they expected, what changed along the way, and what finally made them decide to go. Ask directly, because the reason people give on the way out is not always the reason they leave. In iHire’s survey, 26.8% of workers said they left a job because of a toxic or negative work environment, while only 13.4% of employers said departing staff had given them that reason.
A stay interview gives current employees the same opening: what keeps them in their jobs, and what would make them consider leaving. Only 30.5% of employers in iHire’s survey regularly hold stay interviews. Honest answers often point to a manager, a workload, or a communication gap within the first hour.
Then look at the match between your people and the way work gets done. A behavioral assessment such as the Omnia Assessment shows how people are naturally wired in assertiveness, sociability, pace, and structure, along with what motivates them. A manager who thrives on speed and improvisation can wear down a team that needs predictability, and nobody will name that as the problem. They will just start updating their résumés.
Omnia’s Team Dynamics Report shows how the behavioral traits across a team work together and where friction is likely. For a valued employee you’re worried about losing, the Omnia Retention Profile outlines their motivators and how they prefer to be managed. None of these employee retention tools replaces a good conversation, but they give you a sturdier starting point for that conversation.
When does hiring become the right answer again?
Once you’ve found and addressed the leak, hiring becomes your strongest tool again, and this is where it earns its place in building culture. Benchmark the people who already succeed in the role to define the behavioral traits it demands, then use a pre-employment assessment to see how candidates compare. The Omnia Selection Profile shows where a candidate’s natural behavioral traits align with the role and where they differ, so your interview questions go where they matter most.
Fit with the role matters for culture as much as for performance. People who work in positions that suit their natural traits spend less energy overriding them, which tends to show up as stronger engagement and less friction with teammates. A hire who matches the pace and structure the role calls for is more likely to find the team’s daily rhythm workable instead of draining. The goal is the traits the job requires, not a copy of the people already on the team. A strong hire who joins a healthy environment strengthens it, and each sound decision makes the next one easier.
What changes when the bucket holds water?
The signs show up in small ways first. Job postings stop reappearing. New hires are still around when their first anniversary arrives. Exit comments stop repeating the same theme. Managers spend their time coaching instead of onboarding the next replacement, and the team gets its capacity back because nobody is covering an empty chair.
Before you post that job a third time, it might be worth taking a long look at the bucket. The hole may be in the hiring, the role, or the way your team works together, and finding it costs less than refilling indefinitely. If you’d like a second set of eyes, reach out to the Omnia team. We’re glad to help you work out where the water is going.
Frequently asked questions
Can hiring the right people fix a poor company culture?
Rarely on its own. A few strong hires enter an environment that shapes their behavior from the first week, so lasting change depends on how leaders and managers operate day to day. Hiring supports a healthy culture once those practices are in place.
Who is responsible for company culture?
Leaders set the direction and standards, and HR supports them, but employees experience culture mostly through their direct manager. SHRM’s 2024 research names honest, unbiased management as one of five core drivers of a positive culture, and 22.8% of workers in iHire’s 2025 survey said they left a job because they were unhappy with their manager. That makes manager behavior a practical place to look first.
What should I ask in an exit or stay interview?
For exit interviews, try “What made you start looking elsewhere?” and “What would have changed your mind?” For stay interviews, try “What keeps you here?” and “What is one thing you would change?” People may be more candid with someone other than their direct manager, so consider who asks.
How do I start tracking turnover if we don’t have a system for it?
A simple spreadsheet is enough. Record each departure’s hire date, exit date, role, team, manager, and stated reason, then review it quarterly. Tenure at exit is one of the most useful fields because it separates early departures from those that come after someone has settled in.
