Welcome to another installment of “On Trend”! Earlier this month, we looked at “job hugging” from the job seeker’s side. Many security professionals now stay put out of self-defense and risk quiet burnout rather than bold progression.
That same dynamic has a leadership mirror: if you misread job-hugging as loyalty rather than caution, you will underinvest in the very things that convert anxious staying into genuine commitment. Security teams don’t just need people to stay; they need people who want to be there. The priority now is shifting from fear-based enduring to value-based retention.
Leaders seeking to retain their teams can apply one or more of the following retention strategies.
Some are easier to implement than others. All of these are designed to help reverse a potentially deteriorating team dynamic.
Make Work the Reason to Stay
- Give people ownership and involve them in decisions so they feel control rather than constant reactivity.
- Ensure organizational buy-in from executives so the security team knows their work has weight.
- Connect individual responsibilities to the organization’s large mission so employees see the direct impact of their contributions.
Design and Maintain Sustainable Roles
- Refuse to absorb vacancies into your team to avoid burnout.
- Keep time pressure within reason and don’t reward heroics that come from understaffing.
- Regularly assess responsibilities to ensure balance as priorities and resources shift.
Personalize the Value Exchange
- Use structured conversations to learn each person’s top two priorities for the next 18–24 months
- Translate those into specific, written commitments where possible, and revisit them regularly.
- Recognize that motivations evolve and stay attuned to changes.
Be the Best Place to Grow Skills
- Offer cross-functional work so people build portable, career-defining capabilities.
- Create pathways for advancement by linking education and development to future roles and opportunities inside the organization.
- Protect thinking and learning time as part of the job, not a perk.
Turn Reputation into a Retention Lever
- Develop and run a mature, industry-leading operating model that security practitioners are proud to talk about.
- Leverage relationships within your network so your team becomes recognized as a benchmark for excellence in the security field.
- Spotlight team members in internal briefings, external articles, and on conference agendas.
When security professionals see that staying grows their skills, reputation, and impact faster than leaving, the “job hugging” you see on the surface changes. It stops being slow-motion burnout and becomes a commitment to stay and build their security career with you.
About On Trend
Want to stay on top of the latest trends in security careers? Every other week SJN highlights a hot topic we just can’t seem to stop talking and hearing about. From top news stories to exclusive insights, we’ll break things down for you and help you stay on top of the professional security jobs market.
If you’re not already an active SJN member, subscribe to our mailing list or follow us on LinkedIn to get notified when a new installment is published!
Interested in finding a new position that supports your vision for your security career? Members have unlimited access to our listings. Join today to find the role that is the perfect fit for you!
Did you hear? Our parent company, SMR Group, is the leading security industry search firm chosen as “the most trusted recruitment partner” in their niche market. While you are here, register with them so they can reach out to you when they have new recruitment projects.
