Why Filipinos Want to Leave Their Jobs and What Leaders Must Do | James Matti| Cherry Africa Podcast

What if the real reason your people are leaving has nothing to do with pay? In this episode, Coach Cherry Africa sits down with James Matti, Managing Consultant of Willis Towers Watson Philippines, a 40-year career veteran, and one of the most seasoned voices in people strategy across Asia, for a conversation that every Filipino leader needs to hear. James brings the data and the wisdom: companies with high employee engagement outperform their peers by up to 30% in operating results and profit margins. And yet, most organizations still reach for pay as their first retention tool. This episode challenges that reflex and replaces it with something far more powerful. James opens up about leading a 6,000-strong team where attrition consistently runs well below market, not because of compensation alone, but because of culture. He shares what Kumustahan looks like at the leadership level, the radical simplicity of a check-in, and why empathy is not a soft skill added at the end of a process but the discipline that makes every other leadership practice work. And then there's the story that stopped the room: a farmer's child from the foot of Sierra Madre, crossing rivers on foot to reach school, who ended up at Harvard. This is also the first episode of the Cherry Africa Podcast recorded with a live HR community on Zoom, including insights from ICF Philippines past president Irvin Domingo and an HR leader from BPI BanKo on the real ownership question behind attrition: when does employee turnover stop being an HR issue and become a leadership problem? IN THIS EPISODE: 00:00 Introduction 01:02 Help Us Spread the Message 02:24 AI Fears and Upskilling 03:04 Culture Beats Pay 05:09 Engagement Drives Results 06:19 Purpose Beyond Salary 08:28 Leaders and Human Capital 10:34 Generational Shift and Loyalty 15:36 Keeping Gen Z and Millennials 17:09 Hybrid Work and Trust 21:13 Empathy and Check Ins 24:10 Leadership Accountability 29:55 High Performance Without Burnout 31:55 Empathy and Leadership Vetting 33:54 Building Culture Daily 34:52 Zigzag Careers and Mobility 38:17 Breaking Silos for Retention 40:56 Rewards and Recognition Systems 43:24 Stock Options and PH Pay Trends 47:45 HR Community Q&A on Mobility 51:11 HR as Strategic Partner 54:34 Green Earth Farm Mission 58:19 Harvard Scholar Success Story 01:02:44 Ego and Servant Leadership 01:05:02 Closing Reflections and Wrap Coach Cherry Africa Podcast | Empath to Success Hosted by Cherry Africa, The Emotions Expert | NLP Master Trainer | Author of Empath to Success World Stage International | The Change Expert | People Performance Philippines IN THIS EPISODE: 00:00 Introduction 01:02 Help Us Spread the Message 02:24 AI Fears and Upskilling 03:04 Culture Beats Pay 05:09 Engagement Drives Results 06:19 Purpose Beyond Salary 08:28 Leaders and Human Capital 10:34 Generational Shift and Loyalty 15:36 Keeping Gen Z and Millennials 17:09 Hybrid Work and Trust 21:13 Empathy and Check Ins 24:10 Leadership Accountability 29:55 High Performance Without Burnout 31:55 Empathy and Leadership Vetting 33:54 Building Culture Daily 34:52 Zigzag Careers and Mobility 38:17 Breaking Silos for Retention 40:56 Rewards and Recognition Systems 43:24 Stock Options and PH Pay Trends 47:45 HR Community Q&A on Mobility 51:11 HR as Strategic Partner 54:34 Green Earth Farm Mission 58:19 Harvard Scholar Success Story 01:02:44 Ego and Servant Leadership 01:05:02 Closing Reflections and Wrap Hosted by Coach Cherry Africa, The Emotions Expert | World Stage International ------ Cherry Africa – Link Hub 🎙 Watch / Listen to EmPath to Success Podcast 📘 Get the Book: EmPath to Success → https://cherryafrica.com/ 🎧 Prefer listening? 📩 Work with Coach Cherry → https://cherryafrica.com/contact-cherry/ Follow Coach Cherry: Instagram: / @coachcherryafrica TikTok: / @coachcherryafrica Facebook: / @coachcherryafrica LinkedIn: / @cherryafrica