The Cost of Losing Good People
Replacing an employee in Tanzania costs 50-200% of their annual salary when you factor in recruitment, training, lost productivity, and knowledge drain. For specialized roles, the cost is even higher.
Tanzanian employers face particular retention challenges: a young workforce with high mobility expectations, growing competition from international remote employers, and a cultural norm of job-hopping every 2-3 years for salary increases.
Why Tanzanian Employees Leave
**Low compensation:** The #1 reason across all surveys. If your salaries aren't competitive, retention strategies won't compensate.
**No growth path:** Ambitious employees leave when they can't see a clear promotion or development trajectory.
**Poor management:** "People don't leave companies, they leave managers." Invest in management training.
**Work-life imbalance:** Overworking employees without adequate leave or flexibility leads to burnout.
**Better offers elsewhere:** Tanzanian professionals, especially in tech and finance, receive frequent recruitment approaches. If your value proposition is weak, they'll leave.
What Works
**Pay competitively:** Use Nafasi's salary data to benchmark regularly. Adjust salaries annually — don't wait for resignation threats.
**Create growth paths:** Define clear career ladders with specific milestones for promotion. Share these during onboarding.
**Invest in training:** A TZS 500,000 training budget per employee is cheaper than a TZS 5,000,000 replacement cost.
**Recognize good work:** Public recognition, small bonuses, and genuine appreciation go further than many employers realize.
**Offer flexibility:** Hybrid work arrangements, flexible hours, and trust-based management retain modern Tanzanian professionals.
**Exit interviews:** When people do leave, understand why. Patterns in exit feedback reveal systemic issues you can fix.