05 Strategies to Retain Talent in the Era of Flexible Work

24/11/2025

As Vietnam’s labor market enters a period of major volatility in 2025–2026, the challenge of retaining talent has become a top priority for businesses. The rise of Gen Z—agile, technology-driven, flexible, but also quick to change jobs—has made traditional management models less effective.

At the same time, flexible work, hybrid models, freelancing, and “quiet quitting” are creating new demands for employers: enhancing employee experience, increasing transparency, optimizing internal processes, and building an environment where talent feels empowered and heard.

From NIC Global’s HR expertise, the article below analyzes why Gen Z leaves jobs faster, why “quiet quitting” is on the rise, and how businesses can use HR data, technology, along Payroll & HR Outsourcing solutions to improve employee engagement in the new era.

05 Strategies to Retain Talent in the Era of Flexible Work

1. Gen Z Leaves Jobs Faster – Why?

Gen Z (born 1997–2012) is becoming a major share of Vietnam’s workforce and will peak within the next 3–5 years. Despite their energy, tech skills, and strong learning ability, they tend to leave jobs earlier than previous generations. This comes from differences in career mindset and workplace expectations. Gen Z values experience over long-term loyalty. They are willing to leave if a job no longer provides learning opportunities, career growth, or alignment with their lifestyle. They also care deeply about transparency, two-way feedback, respect, and empowerment. Businesses need well-aligned hiring and retention strategies to avoid losing this high-potential talent group.

2. Quiet Quitting – When Employees Don’t Leave, but They’re No Longer “There”

Quiet quitting doesn’t mean employees resign. It means they do only what’s required—no extra effort, no initiative, no emotional commitment. This often stems from:

  • Repetitive, unchallenging work
  • Misalignment between employee and company values
  • Managers lacking transparency or communication
  • Uncompetitive compensation or benefits

Quiet quitting silently erodes productivity and engagement, and it is difficult for businesses to detect early. This trend is especially common among Gen Z, who expect recognition, development, and the chance to use their full capability.

To address this, businesses need both long-term strategies and operational tools to measure and improve workforce health.

tính lương

Strategy 1: Build a Data-Driven Employee Experience (EX)

Instead of focusing only on pay, businesses must create a holistic Employee Experience covering workplace environment, internal processes, and company culture.

Using HR data enables businesses to:

  • Analyze turnover by department, role, and reason
  • Predict employees at risk of quiet quitting
  • Measure satisfaction and engagement levels

With complete data, companies can design more accurate policies—targeted training, process improvements, benefit adjustments, and enhancements to employee touchpoints such as onboarding, performance reviews, or career pathways. retain talent.

Strategy 2: Make Compensation Transparent – The Role of Payroll Outsourcing

Transparency is essential for Gen Z. They often lose trust when they encounter:

  • Unclear payroll calculations
  • Errors in attendance, shifts, or leave
  • Changes in benefits without notice
  • Slow or inconsistent approval processes

NIC Global’s Payroll Outsourcing service solves these issues by:

  • Standardizing payroll operations to international standards
  • Automating attendance–shift–leave–OT management
  • Minimizing manual errors
  • Providing transparent reports to both employees and employers

When payroll is consistent, accurate, and transparent, employee satisfaction increases significantly—reducing turnover and strengthening workplace trust.

Strategy 3: Build Clear Career Pathways – Gen Z’s Top Priority

Despite being labeled as “job-hoppers,” Gen Z has strong learning ambitions. They want clear training programs, visible promotion paths, and opportunities to be empowered within 1–2 years. retain talent.

Businesses should:

  • Establish clear career paths for each role
  • Publish transparent performance evaluation criteria
  • Design training programs tailored for each employee group
  • Combine internal mentoring with external training

NIC Global recommends using HR Outsourcing for training, C&B, and project-based HR roles to reduce the load on internal teams and ensure consistent implementation. ret

Strategy 4: Build a Flexible Culture That Respects Employee Choice retain talent.

In the hybrid era, flexibility is a must—especially for Gen Z. Flexibility doesn’t mean “loosening control,” but redefining effective ways of working. retain talent.

Top-performing companies:

  • Provide structured remote-work options
  • Evaluate based on performance, not time in office
  • Encourage two-way communication and feedback
  • Build an open, inclusive, cross-generational culture

A well-designed flexible culture not only retains talent but also attracts new high-quality candidates. retain talent.

Strategy 5: Optimize HR Operations with HR Outsourcing – Reduce Internal HR Overload

HR teams today face heavy workloads: recruitment, training, C&B, administration, compliance, contracts, labor issues, and more. Being responsible for “everything” makes it hard for HR to focus on strategic initiatives.

NIC Global’s HR Outsourcing solution helps businesses:

  • Specialize each HR function (Recruitment, C&B, Admin, Contracts…)
  • Reduce workload for internal HR
  • Ensure labor law compliance
  • Optimize HR costs by 20–40%
  • Redirect resources toward long-term talent retention strategies

When HR has time to focus on strategic work—data analysis, EVP design, engagement programs—organizations significantly improve talent retention rates.

Retention in the Flexible Work Era Is a Strategic Challenge retain talent.

Gen Z and flexible work models are reshaping HR management. To retain talent, companies cannot rely on traditional “basic benefits.” They must adopt data-driven, transparent, employee-centered approaches. retain talent.

By combining modern HR strategies with NIC Global’s Payroll Outsourcing and HR Outsourcing solutions, businesses can:

  • Maintain stable workforce operations
  • Increase employee engagement
  • Reduce turnover
  • Attract and retain top talent long term

NIC Global is committed to supporting organizations in building an efficient, flexible, and sustainable workplace in the new HR era.

For contact and support:

Facebook: NIC Global – Human Resource Solutions
LinkedIn: NIC Global Sourcing JSC
Website: www.nicvn.com
Email: info@nicvn.com
Hotline: (+84) 981.23.43.76
Address:

  • Hanoi Office: No. 3A Thi Sach, Hai Ba Trung Ward, Hanoi, Vietnam
  • Ho Chi Minh City Office: Dakao Center Building, 35 Mac Dinh Chi, Sai Gon Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

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