The Challenge
TechFlow was hemorrhaging engineering talent at an alarming rate. With a 28% voluntary turnover rate in their engineering department, the company was spending millions on recruiting and losing institutional knowledge with every departure. Exit interviews revealed a consistent theme: engineers felt isolated, lacked growth opportunities, and had no meaningful connections outside their immediate team. Traditional team-building events and hackathons were not addressing the root cause.
The Solution
- Launched 12 cross-functional peer forums mixing engineers from different teams (frontend, backend, infrastructure, data)
- Trained 12 senior engineers as forum moderators using Forum@Work's certification program
- Set weekly 60-minute sessions during work hours, signaling organizational commitment to the program
- Used Forum@Work's health tracking to monitor engagement and identify forums that needed support
- Created a dedicated Slack channel for inter-forum knowledge sharing
“The forums created connections between teams that simply did not exist before. Engineers started solving problems together instead of in silos.”
-- VP of Engineering, TechFlow
Implementation Timeline
Week 1-2: Moderator training and forum group formation
Week 3-4: First sessions focused on introductions and ground rules
Month 2-3: Forums established regular rhythm; first cross-team collaborations emerged
Month 4-6: Measurable impact on retention metrics; program expanded to product and design teams
The Outcome
Within six months, voluntary turnover in engineering dropped from 28% to 18.5%, a 34% reduction. Forum attendance averaged 91%, far exceeding the industry benchmark for optional programs. In the annual engagement survey, engineering team scores rose by 19 points. Perhaps most telling, 87% of forum members said the forums were the single most valuable professional development activity offered by TechFlow. The program has since expanded to all departments, with 28 forums now running across the company.