It is rarely only money. Rota fairness, kit, and whether anyone answers the phone at 6pm come up more than you would expect.
Rota fairness beats rota generosity
Engineers accept unsocial hours. What they do not accept is watching the same two people absorb every awkward shift while others are quietly protected. Publish the rota logic and apply it consistently and a large slice of resignation risk disappears.
Kit is a respect signal
A van with 180,000 miles, a failing test meter and a two-week wait for parts tells an experienced engineer exactly where they sit in the organisation. It is a small line in a fleet budget and a large factor in whether they take the call from someone like us.
The 6pm test
Ask your engineers who they call at 6pm when a plant room floods. If the answer is a name they trust, retention is largely solved. If it is a voicemail box, no salary review will hold them.
