Voluntary attrition in engineering had climbed to 28% amid rapid growth, with exit interviews pointing to unclear career paths and manager quality as the top drivers.
Partnered with the CTO on a leveling framework, rolled out manager enablement cohorts, and instrumented a quarterly engagement pulse tied to team-level action plans and manager scorecards.
Voluntary attrition dropped from 28% to 8% within three quarters, internal mobility doubled, and an estimated $4.2M in replacement and ramp costs was preserved.
Alongside the system work, I coached 14 newly promoted engineering managers through their first year — building feedback muscle, calibration confidence, and the career conversations their teams had been missing.