Date of Conferral

8-11-2026

Date of Award

August 2026

Degree

Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.)

School

Management

Advisor

Theresa Neal

Abstract

Retail banking organizations lose billions of dollars annually to nonofficer employee turnover, disrupting operations, degrading customer service, and burdening human resource (HR) leaders with repeated recruitment costs. When retail bank HR leaders experience nonofficer employee turnover among their frontline workforces, it can influence profitability and community trust. Grounded in stakeholder theory, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry was to identify and explore effective strategies used by retail bank HR leaders to retain nonofficer talent. The participants were 10 HR leaders in U.S. retail banking institutions who had successfully implemented nonofficer retention strategies. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and a review of publicly available organizational documents. Through thematic analysis, seven themes emerged: (a) manager quality and accountability, (b) career pathway visibility, (c) feedback incorporation and employee voice, (d) compensation and benefits adequacy, (e) onboarding and early tenure investment, (f) organizational culture and psychological safety, and (g) strategic use of technology and measurement. A key recommendation is for retail bank HR leaders to embed voluntary turnover as a weighted component of branch manager performance evaluations while implementing individual career visibility conversations and phased onboarding programs. The implications for positive social change include the potential to improve economic stability and professional development for nonofficer employees, strengthen community banking relationships, and advance workforce equity across the U.S. financial services sector.

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