Business Roundtable

What Employees Really Want Isn't a Raise

July 3, 2026·38 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

When a great employee leaves, most leaders assume it was about pay. Larry Salazar has the data to argue otherwise. The single largest contributor to the financial stress that drives turnover is housing, and almost no employer is doing anything about it.Larry is the President and co-founder of NestSTEPS, a platform that turns home ownership into an employee benefit. In this conversation with David Carr he makes the business case: replacing an employee costs 50 to 200 percent of their salary, housing eats roughly a third of household spending, and financially stressed employees lose about 9 percent of their work time to money worries.He shares the personal story behind NestSTEPS, leaving a company he loved because he could not figure out how to buy his first home nearby, and what a national study revealed: 78 percent of employees would switch employers for a home ownership benefit, and 89 percent would stay even after receiving help. Then he walks through exactly how the program works, from a financial wellness platform to live workshops to an employer funded contribution at closing, and how smaller companies can offer it through a PEO.You will walk away rethinking what really keeps your best people, and what benefit could set your business apart.Connect with Larry Salazar on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larrysalazar/NestSTEPS: https://www.neststepsbenefits.comSign up for Larry's newsletter: https://bit.ly/3OAGcp8Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/business-roundtable--6049255/support.Connect with Steward Your Business:Book a Leadership Clarity Call: https://calendar.stewardyourbusiness.com/ccCall: +1 909.404.9865Website: https://stewardyourbusiness.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidwcarrWatch more episodes  and subscribe on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@steward_your_business

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