What GTM Can Learn From HR About Retention

There’s a phrase often used in both HR and marketing: retention is the new acquisition. It’s not a new idea,  but it’s rarely explored through the lens of how the strategies overlap.

Josh Bersin, a leading voice in HR strategy and founder of The Josh Bersin Company, often frames it in the context of talent. He emphasizes the importance of retaining high performers, particularly in specialized or senior roles where recruitment is costly, and the impact of turnover is felt deeply.

But the same principle applies to customers, especially in vertical SaaS, HR tech, and early-stage fintech where loyalty is not a given. Many of these companies use free-to-play or low-commitment pricing models, making it easy for users to sign up but just as easy to disengage. In fact, trial-to-paid conversion rates can hover below 20% in some segments, meaning most users never make it past the first few interactions. (source: OpenView SaaS Benchmarks 2023) These are categories where switching is easy, attention is short, and retention depends less on stickiness and more on consistent engagement.

Retention Isn’t a Phase. It’s a Strategy.

As Marketers, we talk about retention as if it’s a funnel stage. But in reality, it’s a growth strategy. It starts before a contract is signed and lasts long after.

Whether you’re leading teams or acquiring users, the core question is the same: How do you keep the right people engaged, long after Day 1?

This is where marketing has a lot to learn from HR, and vice versa.

The Parallel Pressure

In many organizations today, especially those operating with leaner teams and tighter budgets, retaining proven talent can feel more strategic than recruiting new. It’s not just about saving on hiring costs   it’s about preserving knowledge, momentum, and performance.

The same shift is happening in go-to-market teams. Acquisition costs are rising, and paid channels are delivering less efficiency. While some SaaS platforms are deeply embedded and hard to replace, many are not. In vertical SaaS, HR tech, and fintech, retention is fragile. Users drop off. Accounts go dark. Stakeholder turnover can reset an entire relationship.

Too often, marketing teams treat onboarding like a checklist and loyalty like a reward for longevity. But high-performing teams use rewards across the journey. From acquisition hooks to post-signup reinforcement, rewards are a lever for engagement.

The Retention Playbook and Where It Overlaps

Here’s where things get interesting. The methods HR uses to retain employees often mirror what great product and marketing teams do to retain customers.

The principles are the same. Help people see value quickly, make them feel understood, and reward the behaviors that lead to long-term engagement.

Why This Matters More Than Ever

Retention is not just more cost-effective. It is more strategic. The experience someone has after they sign up or join shapes:

• Their likelihood to stick around
• Their willingness to advocate
• The overall brand perception they carry forward

And let’s face it. Growth that is built on retention is more sustainable, more efficient, and more defensible than growth built on paid acquisition alone.

Cross-Pollination = Opportunity

What if more marketing teams borrowed from HR’s playbook? What if more HR teams thought like marketers?

• What if customer onboarding looked more like employee onboarding?
• What if sales enablement adopted the cadence of talent development?
• What if product engagement borrowed from culture-building?

We’re all solving the same problem: How do we make people want to stay?

And in both worlds, rewards used with intention can drive action at every stage. Before acquisition, they spark momentum. After acquisition, they reinforce habits and deepen engagement.

I’d love to hear how others are thinking about this. Are you seeing the lines blur? What strategies have worked in your world, whether for customers, teams, or both?