Become an Employer of Choice
How Ohio Can Retain & Engage the Best Leaders in the Country
The Buckeye State has many economic tailwinds. Like others, we also face significant workforce challenges that cost Ohio companies billions annually in employee turnover. While Ohio invests $100M+ in technical training annually, a critical gap in leadership drives talent to competitor states.
Alift strengthens Ohio’s workforce and builds resilient leaders who drive innovation, retain top talent, and navigate constant disruption. Learn how Alift can help the leaders of your mid-market organization thrive into the future.
Get Ahead, Stay Ahead
Ohio’s Changing Workforce
Ohio confronts many of the same workforce challenges other states face:
- 143,000 monthly voluntary departures – far exceeding layoffs and discharges
- 19% brain drain* of highly educated workers leaving for our competitor states
- Only 62% of business leaders use data-driven retention strategies
The financial toll is staggering. Employee turnover at Ohio institutions accounts for 35% of salary for working-level and staff and 200% for management roles.
Organizations lose $450 billion annually to ineffective leadership. Ohio’s mid-market companies in particular face pressure because they often can’t offer competitive compensation packages that keep employees with the skills tonavigate digital transformation and new regulatory environments.
The root cause isn’t compensation. It’s leadership. Career advancement limitations rank are the primary reason employees leave, while 91% of millennials cite growth concerns. Leaders promoted from technical roles often lack change management skills needed for AI adoption, cross-functional collaboration, and cultural transformation in regulated environments.
*Ohio ranks sixth worst nationally for educated worker outflow. The state experiences 19% gross brain drain, meaning 19% more highly educated people leave than stay.
“Ohio loses $2.4 to $9.6 billion annually in employee turnover costs – with 42% of departures being preventable through better leadership practices.”
Your Partner In Retention
Build a Safe Harbor for Your Team
Business is complex. Executives have competing priorities. Leaders have too much on their plates. Alift is a partner that helps re-engage your leaders by guiding them through our program in just 5 hours per month.
Struggling with these issues? (click to expand)
If your organization faces these challenges or sees similar data as your industry, know you are not alone.
Alift helps Ohio-based organizations across a variety of sectors. It works to pull leaders out of turbulent waters and acts as a beacon of hope – arming your leaders with training, tools, and resources that empower them and their teams to thrive.
Talent Retention
- 143,000 voluntary departures to other states each month
- 47.7% regional turnover rate in the Midwest region including Ohio
- 683,148 manufacturing jobs at risk with higher-than-national turnover
- $70,003 avg. manufacturing wage still losing workers to other industries
Lack of Engagement
- Only 30-35% of digital transformations succeed nationally (Ohio companies included)
- 24% of employees report working for their worst manager ever in 2024
- 70% of teams’ engagement determined solely by the manager
- 38% of Ohio leadership report skills gaps have worsened in past year
Cost of Retention
- 30-200% of annual salary cost to replace departing Ohio employees
- 12,000+ HR professionals across Ohio’s 26 SHRM chapters ready for solutions
- Average $7 return for every $1 invested in leadership development programs
Why Top Leaders Leave Ohio – and How to Help Them to Stay
Ohio loses 16,831 residents annually to Florida alone, with educated professionals leading the exodus. The pattern is clear: talented employees don’t just leave companies—they leave the state entirely when they don’t see opportunities to grow.
Why Top Performers Exit Ohio
- Poor leadership and management practices drive 63% of healthcare workers to consider leaving bedside roles
- Limited advancement opportunities push 77% of manufacturing workers to seek positions in other industries
- Toxic workplace cultures cause 82% of employees nationwide to actively job search
- Lack of innovation and professional development sends tech talent to Silicon Valley and other hubs
When your best people leave, they take institutional knowledge, client relationships, and other top performers in train. Meanwhile, remaining employees see the exodus and start questioning their own future in Ohio.
Alift Solutions
Built for Ohio Workforce Leaders By Ohio’s Best Kept Secret
Alift was created by S4 Consulting, an Ohio-based strategic management firm with decades of experience working with organizations from the Fortune 500 to regional, mid-market leaders.
It is a science-based solution addresses the unique challenges Ohio workforce leaders face. The hybrid approach combines leadership development with cross-functional collaboration training to build transformation-capable leadership teams across Ohio industries.
Stabilize
Healthcare Leadership
Attract your share of Ohio’s 9,000+ unfilled nursing positions and and combat 22.5% turnover rates with leaders who prioritize staff wellbeing and patient safety. Learn to manage workplace violence concerns affecting 60% of healthcare workers, build psychological safety cultures, and develop the emotional resilience needed for Ohio’s demanding healthcare environment.
Scale
Technology Growth
Position your Ohio tech company to compete with Silicon Valley for talent retention in our 820,000+ employee sector. Develop innovation leadership that leverages Ohio’s $2.2 billion venture capital ecosystem, cross-functional collaboration skills for rapid scaling, and transformation capabilities that keep high-performers in tech hubs like Columbus, Cincinnati, and Cleveland.
Strengthen
Manufacturing Excellence
Build leaders who balance productivity with people development in Ohio’s 680,000+ job manufacturing sector. Alift develops succession planning skills, safety-focused leadership, and cross-generational management that addresses the 77% of executives citing skilled worker shortages. Transform your shop floor supervisors into retention-focused leaders who compete with higher-paying industries.
How Alift Helps
Alift’s 12-month hybrid solution combines online learning modules with live coaching sessions specifically tailored for Ohio’s mid-market business environment. In just 5 hours per month, leaders progress through the 5-Step framework while participating in cross-team cohorts that mirror Ohio’s diverse economic landscape – from Columbus tech startups to Cincinnati manufacturing and Cleveland healthcare systems.
For a fraction of each leader’s annual salary (starting at Ohio’s $70,003 manufacturing average), you get comprehensive development that delivers measurable ROI through improved retention, enhanced productivity, and successful transformation outcomes that keep your best people in Ohio.
Prepare Teams Across Any Sector
Manufacturing
Supply Chain
Healthcare
Financial Services
Technology
Utilities
Private-Public
Hospitality
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Learn How Alift Can Help Solve Your Ohio Workforce Issues
We know we can help because we, too, are focused on keeping the best and brightest in our great state.
Find out how your leadership team can retain and engage its best employees to keep your organization – and the state of Ohio – competitive today and into the future.
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2 Miranova Place
Suite 200
Columbus OH 43215
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Reach out to see what how Alift can help your leaders and their teams thrive through change.