Manny Gatt, managing director, Business Link Nottinghamshire:

A personal approach is the key to retaining staff. Making staff feel involved, valued and indispensable should cut the high turnover.

Other incentives could be offered to employees, such as profit sharing and training schemes. Staff could also be tied to the company contractually.

Keeping positions open when newly qualified staff go travelling may help to ensure they come back to the clinic on their return.

It is hard for MFS to compete with London wages, but working outside the capital has obvious benefits, and Anna Kavanagh should concentrate on work-life balance to recruit and retain staff.

The quality of life outside London is often a draw, and many staff will value this over higher wages. MFS could also explore recruiting overseas.

The company is forward thinking in that it offers flexible working hours, and this could be marketed to potential staff as a major benefit, especially for women.

Ask staff for their views

Paul Ballman, director, YSC:

MFS needs to retain its key staff if it is to grow. While the service is easy to sell, for some reason the ‘employment product’ isn’t. The bosses need to go back to employees

— and past employees — and question them more about their experience at work. Crucially, the company needs to be prepared to change.

For some staff, MFS is clearly an excellent and balanced place to work, but for others this isn’t enough. It may be that people need more pay and career advancement in order to stay, but it is best not to assume that without digging deeper.