From abandoned clients to drained colleagues and soaring recruitment bills, the cost of talent loss runs deeper than most CEOs admit.
In Uganda’s tight talent market, HR experts unpack why staff walk, where churn bites hardest, and what leaders must do to stem the silent bleed.
Employee turnover isn’t just an empty desk—it’s cash out the door, strategy on pause, and momentum lost.
Every resignation triggers recruitment and training costs, slows delivery, and drains institutional knowledge.
The heaviest blow is often silent: clients feeling abandoned and colleagues carrying extra weight.
Many CEOs obsess over revenue and expansion, yet rarely measure the impact of churn on the bottom line.
In Uganda, employee turnover ranges from 8 to 15 percent.
In a country and a region with thin talent pipelines and fierce competition, attrition is no longer an HR footnote; it’s a boardroom risk.
Why people leave
Pay remains a major lever, especially in Uganda. “Uganda’s labour market price is probably one of the lowest in the region. I’ve seen employees move for as little as UGX100,000 more,” says HR practitioner Ruth Ndwiga, the founder of Badili Consults.
But money isn’t the whole story. Recognition and career visibility matter.
“Employees stay when they feel valued, not just compensated,” notes Moses Wasswa, a human resource practitioner.
Culture often tips the decision. Staff quit when they feel blocked by a manager or boxed out of growth.
“If the team feels a leader is limiting opportunities, they will walk, even for a small increase, rather than confront the perpetrator,” Ndwiga notes.
Toxic dynamics with bosses or peers accelerate exits.
For Gen Z, rigidity is a deal-breaker: “We have a new breed of employees not interested in the eight-to-five. Without a hybrid model, the workplace looks unattractive,” she says.
As career paths unspool, some professionals pivot to gigs, social media, remote freelancing, ride-hailing, or start businesses. Lack of learning and mobility is another push factor.
Wasswa, who is also the co-founder/ CEO of Swift Minds, points to rising expectations for skill building. A Workplace Intelligence/Amazon report found 74% of Millennials and Gen Z would quit jobs that don’t develop them.
Milton Owor, the Human Resource Manager at NSSF, notes that although the roles of finance practitioners do not change significantly, they also desire growth.
That is unlike sectors such as manufacturing, where employees perform technical jobs and advance through the ranks, thereby driving internal growth.
“In the finance sector, employers want fresh ideas, as the jobs are relatively similar. Therefore, one can move from Absa to Equity, and the edge is a new idea, which the company desired,” he says.
Some leave because of the ‘feel-good’ factor, more so when they are headhunted.
Owor says these are usually good at what they do, and a promotion and salary pay would eventually come.
Nonetheless, the fact that someone has reached out propels them to leave, which is akin to recognition, a needed thing, more so in one’s evening years.
A global wave, a local squeeze
The report further notes that at the global level, resignations surged from 2021 and haven’t fully relented.
Universum reports 36% of highly skilled European workers considering a move.
The ripple is also affecting East Africa: mid-level and technical talent is migrating to the Middle East, Canada, and Europe, while NGOs and multilateral organisations are drawing seasoned locals away.
Covid-19 widened the exit lanes—remote work lets Ugandans serve global firms without relocating.
“This wildfire is creating a big challenge to local players,” Ndwiga warns. “A thin market now competes with giants offering attractive packages.”
Counting the cost
Some Ugandan CEOs still treat turnover as routine. Action often comes only when donor confidence, revenue, or client retention is visibly at risk.
By contrast, multinationals and sectors such as banking, telecoms, and oil & gas link their HR strategy to financial outcomes.
“They understand that high attrition threatens revenue, compliance, and service delivery,” Wasswa says.
The bill adds up fast: recruitment and onboarding, insurance, lost productivity, overtime, and the intangible cost of eroded trust.
Therein is the cost of organisational culture, as each loss means starting from scratch to inculcate the system into an employee.
Owor says this is crucial because the organisational values are the company’s brand and take time to learn.
“An HR practitioner will sum up what it took to build that employee’s capability, then tally the exit cost,” Ndwiga explains.
Firms that track talent loss (exits ÷ average headcount × 100) often find that double-digit churn stalls projects and sharply pushes up operating costs.
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Where churn bites hardest
Talent loss isn’t evenly spread. Sales is a revolving door – low retainers, poorly structured commissions, and relentless pressure.
Customer service also bleeds talent; transferable skills make job-hopping easy, and low pay fuels burnout.
Tech is a poaching ground: “One tech person could have over five jobs at one time,” says Wasswa.
Entry-level roles in hospitality, FMCG, and clerical functions see the highest churn.
“This reduces as people move into mid-level positions,” notes HR practitioner Shamim Walusimbi, and notes that by then, responsibilities, perks, and family commitments encourage stability.
However, Milton Owor, the Human Resource Manager at NSSF, also notes that there is high turnover in the financial sector.
Continuity is a system, not a slogan
Too many organisations plan for departures only after they happen.
“This person is not returning. The information and relationships leave with them,” Ndwiga notes.
Practical fixes help: daily activity reports, shared CRMs and files, and at least two co-owners for every client relationship.
“That way, projects aren’t tied to one individual,” she says.
Getting the CEO to buy in
Employee growth is crucial for retention, but this also drives up the company’s expenditure budget.
For the CEO, whose eyes are trained on the profit and loss sheet
as well as the expenditure sheet, justification is key.
Owor says the best justification is a return on investment analysis where the HR clearly shows the necessary training, the trainee, the problem it will solve and the profit to the company.
“With that, the CEO will not only buy in but also ask you to have more training because every organisation wants employees who are positioned to solve problems,” he says.
What actually retains people
Prevention beats replacement. Visible career paths, recognition, wellness, and leadership development all reduce exits.
“Firms that implement structured promotions and mentorship will see measurable reductions,” says Wasswa.
While Ndwiga urges continuous learning and international exposure from multinationals to give local talent a global perspective, Walusimbi, the board public relations officer at the Africa Human Resource Confederation, adds flexible work and profit-sharing to the mix.
Owor says it also boils down to having improved employee engagement- the quality of the relationship between the employer and the employee.
That is a shift from a worker-employer relationship to team collaboration, and it can only be measured by the employee.
“The stronger that relationship is, the better the staff commitment and loyalty. Employers must polish this as it might be the only reason staff stay in the face of better opportunities.”
Owor says they have done this at NSSF to understand what is important to their staff, what they are dealing with, but also invest in their growth.
Fairness or equity is also crucial, as every employer must ensure they are not demanding more than they are giving their staff.
Owor says that equity is best done through competitive rewards, so people do not feel like statistics. That drives your connectedness with people.
However, deep pockets don’t guarantee employee retention.
“Some global strategies ignore local realities,” Ndwiga says.
In Uganda’s relationship-driven market, ubuntu matters: show up, understand rhythms, and avoid weekend grind by default.
Pay equity also matters—disparities breed resentment. Succession planning is crucial:
“Groom local leaders because expatriates won’t stay forever,” she adds.
Hybrid models and gig work are here to stay. Demand for digital skills, now digital intelligence, is intensifying, accelerated by AI.
Startups are experimenting with equity and profit-sharing as complements to traditional salary structures.
At its core, talent loss is a test of leadership and foresight. Companies that treat it as a routine cost undermine their future.
Those who confront it early, by building culture, careers, and continuity, earn resilience.
The difference is whether leaders react after the damage or invest before it shows.
Talent loss affects both the employee and the employer.
The employee suffers because they need to move around to get a place that allows them to achieve their career aspirations.
For the employers, it is a case of investing without tangible returns, which also affects the shareholders.
