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Forbes Names DRi One of the Best Executive Search Firms in the U.S. for Sixth Consecutive Year

ARLINGTON, VA – Development Resources, inc. (now DRiWaterstone Human Capital) has been named to the Forbes list of America’s Best Recruiting Firms 2022. This prestigious award is presented by Forbes and Statista Inc., the world-leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider. The awards list was announced on May 3, 2022, and can currently be viewed on the Forbes website here.

As a top-level Executive Recruiter, DRiWaterstone Human Capital places senior leaders across all types of non-profit and social enterprise organizations and position functions, including Board members, CEOs, C-Suite leaders, and fundraising positions. A partial list of DRiWaterstone’s clients is available here.

“We are honored to be named one of America’s best executive recruiting firms by Forbes for the sixth consecutive year. We are privileged to work with some of the sector’s finest organizations and institutions—enterprises that touch lives and strengthen communities across the nation and around the globe,” said Jennifer Dunlap, CEO and Nancy Racette, COO at DRiWaterstone. “DRiWaterstone is thrilled that our work helping non-profits and social enterprise organizations to grow, thrive, and excel has been successful. We appreciate this honor and are proud to be recognized on the Forbes list as one of America’s best Executive Search firms.”

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Talent acquisition has been front and centre in conversations about today’s employee-driven labour market. But attracting top talent is only part of the equation. Companies looking to stay ahead in today’s competitive market also need to have a comprehensive retention strategy in place.

The costs of employee turnover can be high (according to one article at Psychometrics.com, up to 20% of salary for mid-level employees and as high as 213% of salary for C-Suite leaders) making a strong retention strategy vital.

Tools for employee retention

In our retained executive search clients program, we’ve found that regular and transparent communication, pulse surveys, learning and development plans, total rewards packages, and meaningful recognition are now table stakes for any employee retention strategy. Companies looking to stand out from the crowd are adding to their retention toolkits – flexible work schedules, work from anywhere policies, expanded benefits programs and more.

One tactic that has grown in popularity is the stay interview – it’s an important tool that competitive companies today are using to measure employee engagement and improve employee retention.

Stay interviews let leaders:

  1. determine how their team is feeling about the company and its culture,
  2. get a sense for how individuals feel about their role, their impact on the company and its goals, and whether they have the tools they need to be successful,
  3. talk with their team members about road blocks and challenges, and to identify any issues that may cause a high performer to self-select out of their role or out of the company, and
  4. recognize and celebrate successes, and demonstrate to team members that their leaders want to help them excel.

Conducting a successful stay interview

Successful stay interviews start with open communication. Make sure your team members understand the purpose of your conversation in advance, and encourage them to be open and honest in their answers. You’ll also want to make sure they understand how feedback will be used and what next steps will be (if any).

Here are 10 stay interview questions that can help you kick-start your conversation:

  • What do you look forward to at work every day?
  • What makes you feel proud to work here?
  • What do you like least about working here?
  • What keeps you working here?
  • What skills and strengths do you have that are not being fully utilized here?
  • What do you think about how employees are recognized and valued here?
  • How do you like to be recognized?
  • If you could change one thing about your job, team, or company, what would it be?
  • What might tempt you to leave?
  • What can I/we do to make your experience here better?


Stay interviews help leaders put their people – and culture – first. They’re an excellent tool to support employee recognition and, just as importantly, employee retention.

Finding it difficult to recruit and retain top talent in today’s work environment? DRiWaterstone Human Capital can help. Book a meeting with our team to talk about your needs.

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