Ever asked your people why they stay and why they go, then changed your whole people strategy because of what they said?
That’s exactly what mental health support services provider Everyturn Mental Health did in partnership with our sister company, MI-Say. And the results were transformative.
Why Listening Came First
In the middle of a talent crunch in UK health and social care, Everyturn Mental Health set an ambitious target: support 100,000 people per year, up from 50,000. That kind of growth would require more than just recruitment, it meant building the kind of workplace people actively wanted to stay in.
To do that, they needed to understand why colleagues were leaving, what was keeping others engaged, and how to act on both.
Start With Listening.
Here’s what the national picture looks like for context. In the 2024 NHS Staff Survey, only 65% of staff said they would recommend their organisation as a place to work, and just 32% were satisfied with their pay. Turnover across the health and social care sector regularly hits 30% or more.
To stand apart, Everyturn Mental Health needed insight, not just opinions.
MI-Say worked closely with Everyturn Mental Health’s People and Talent teams to deeply understand the challenges they were facing and create a listening programme that spanned the entire colleague journey:
- Independent exit interview analysis with leavers, achieving a 67% response rate, well above sector norms
- A stay interview survey to understand what current colleagues valued and what might drive them away
- Quarterly insight reviews with Everyturn Mental Health’s People and Wellbeing Board to convert data into decisions
- Leader-led listening sessions focused on psychological safety, change, and open conversations
Everyturn Mental Health’s dedicated People and Talent teams worked closely alongside our listening strategy, integrating findings with ongoing insights from our ‘Great Place to Work’ and wellbeing surveys. With structured quarterly reviews through the People and Wellbeing Board, decisions turned quickly from insight into impactful, tangible change.
The goal wasn’t just to collect feedback. It was to prioritise action, knowing what to fix first, and why.
What Changed
Everyturn Mental Health turned insight into progress. Based on what they heard, they:
- Launched a Future Leaders programme and expanded development pathways (leadership, clinical skills, suicide prevention)
- Began a digital transformation process to streamline systems and free clinicians to focus on care
- Aligned therapy pay with NHS bands, staying competitive in a challenging market
- Redesigned their recruitment to create clarity and reduce turnover
These weren’t surface-level changes. They tackled the heart of what mattered most to their people.
What Happened Next
The impact was clear and quick:
- 35% drop in early turnover
- Overall turnover stabilised between 18–28%, well below sector averages
- 67% of leavers would consider returning
- Great Place to Work scores jumped 10 points:
- 74% say Everyturn Mental Health is a great place to work (NHS average 65%)
- 77% say they feel supported in career development
- Over 90% fairness scores across diversity and inclusion questions
- 55% increase in face-to-face learning
- 16% increase in internal promotions
Most importantly, Everyturn Mental Health met their growth goal. They’re now supporting over 100,000 people a year and expanding services to include children and young people.
Why It Worked
Because they didn’t just gather feedback. They closed the loop clearly and quickly. They told people what was heard, what would change and why it mattered.
That transparency turned feedback into trust and trust gave people a reason to stay, grow, and do their best work.
What Everyturn Mental Health Said
“Having people within the MI-Say team who are very focussed on organisational development and workforce psychology, means the insight report is really valuable.
I would definitely recommend MI-Say leaver and stay interviews as part of a broader colleague listening strategy to fellow HR professionals.”
Sarah Dewar, Executive Director of People and Digital, Everyturn Mental Health
Sources – External Benchmark data drawn from:
- NHS Staff Survey National Results 2024
- NHS Employers Survey Summary