What services does Thoroughgood Development offer?

We provide three core services: personalised 1:1 executive coaching, evidence-based training solutions for teams and leaders, and business psychology consultancy covering areas like employee engagement, culture, wellbeing, and organisational development.

Who is Thoroughgood Development for?

We work with growing organisations, senior leaders, HR teams, and individuals who want to develop their people. Our clients range from SMEs to large international organisations across all sectors.

Where is Thoroughgood Development based?

We are based in London (Covent Garden) and deliver services across the UK and internationally. Executive coaching and training are available both in-person and virtually.

How do I book a consultation?

Contact us through our website to schedule a free initial consultation. We will discuss your needs and recommend the most appropriate service, whether that is coaching, training, or psychology consultancy.

What makes your approach different?

Our founder Dale Thoroughgood is a qualified occupational psychologist (MSc, BPS member) with 20+ years of experience. Every solution is evidence-based, personalised, and designed to create measurable, lasting change — nothing is off the shelf.

Thoroughgood Development

After the "Great Resignation," retaining your best and even average performing people is a critical risk. According to the CIPD's Resourcing and Talent Planning Survey (2023), 77% of companies had trouble hiring last year. Plus, PwC's Future of Work Survey (2023) found that 1 in 4 UK workers are thinking about switching jobs because of cost-of-living pressures.

What Really Keeps Talent Around?

What if I told you that even with great salary packages, your company might still be missing what really matters to your employees?

The CIPD's Good Work Index (2023) shows that while fair pay is important, things like job design, work relationships, and growth opportunities play a huge role in keeping employees happy and loyal. Deloitte (2022) found that companies with a clear and relatable purpose have 40% higher retention rates than their competitors.

Key Insight: Once financial needs are met, other factors become crucial for engagement and loyalty (Gallup, 2022).

Three Proven Strategies That Work

After working with many companies facing retention issues, I've found three strategies that consistently deliver results:

1. Purpose-Driven Work Environments

Research from Bailey et al. (2019) in the MIT Sloan Management Review shows that meaningful work is a top predictor of retention, even more than pay and promotions.

Action Step: Ask yourself, do your employees really understand how their daily work connects to meaningful outcomes? Or do they feel like a cog in a wheel?

2. Clear Development Pathways

LinkedIn's Global Talent Trends report (2023) found that 59% of professionals rank career growth and learning opportunities as their main priority when looking for new jobs, even above pay.

Action Step: Can your teams clearly explain the growth paths within your company? If not, you might be losing talent unnecessarily.

3. Psychological Safety as a Retention Tool

Google's Project Aristotle research (Rozovsky, 2015) identified psychological safety as the number one predictor of team effectiveness. A study in the Journal of Applied Psychology by Frazier et al. (2017) found that psychological safety significantly reduces turnover intentions.

Action Step: Assess your team environments. Can people speak up, suggest ideas, and make mistakes without fear of repercussion? What's the real underbelly of your organisation's culture?

Putting These Insights to Work

With retention challenges hitting companies across all sectors, here are some practical steps you can take right away:

Use Stay Interviews: Instead of just exit interviews, try stay interviews. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM, 2022) reports that companies using stay interviews see a 20% improvement in retention rates.
Audit Your Psychological Contract: Research by Guest and Conway (2002) in the British Journal of Industrial Relations shows that unmet expectations in the psychological contract directly predict turnover intentions.
Invest in Authentic Leadership Development: Gallup's research (2022) confirms that manager relationship quality accounts for at least 70% of the variance in team engagement scores. Most companies underinvest in people management skills.

From Insight to Action

The CIPD (2023) reports that 36% of UK companies cite retention as one of their top three workforce challenges. Yet many still rely on throwing money at the problem, despite evidence pointing to more effective strategies.

Thoroughgood Development specialises in turning these insights into practical talent strategies that deliver real results. Through executive coaching, tailored training solutions, and business psychology interventions, your company can not just survive but thrive in today's competitive talent market.

Take the Next Step

Is your company struggling to keep and grow your talent? Let's connect to discuss how these proven strategies can be tailored to your specific challenges.

Message me directly to arrange a free consultation where we'll identify your biggest talent challenges and outline potential solutions.

The Science of Talent: Proven Tips for Attracting and Keeping Top Performers