Great, insightful article Julie.  It's sad how so many companies are missing the mark on retention, isn't it?  A great analogy here is front-line staff for customer retention.  While companies spend gobs of money trying to retain customers through marketing, advertising, etc., often times a positive, caring conversation with a sales associate at a store, front-desk agent at a hotel or flight attendant on an airline can make a world of difference for retention.  Companies like Ritz Carlton and Zappos get this.  Another analogy here is a product/service hard sell versus a soft sell to prospects and customers.  One can equate employee compensation and benefits to a hard sell - while you can make it compelling and some customers will bite, it's a short-sided view that won't result in long-standing engagement.  A soft sell on the other hand (like career development, competency progression, strong manager/employee relationships, etc) will further the dialogue, provide customers insights into what they're really looking for and often result in a long-term relationship.