Thesis (MBA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / Metropolitan, like all companies in the insurance sector, would like to limit attrition to ensure that the institutional knowledge is retained. At the time when the employee has already tendered a resignation letter, most companies conduct an exit interview. The researcher feels that at this stage, it is rather late. It is important therefore to understand in advance, the reasons why employees would consider leaving the organisation and put corrective measures in place to prevent that. Retention of key employees is a highly topical subject and an important dilemma that many companies have to deal with. It requires leadership attention and scientific understanding of the causes of attrition. In South Africa, the concept of retention of specifically Black employees has a broader significance in that it contributes to higher BEE scores and opportunities to do business with government for those companies that have such interests. The purpose of this study is to firstly understand the phenomenon of retention as it applies to the Black employees of Metropolitan. Black employees with skills and experience are arguably the most attractive group on the labour market due to the lack of such skills. Because of this, companies are struggling to retain their Black employees. This study explores what Metropolitan should take into account when designing retention measures for Black employees. It asks the Black employees themselves, what they consider as important that would help in retaining them. Furthermore, it will help the company to investigate which characteristics or variables to consider when formulating its retention strategies. The questions that the study endeavours to explore are: What mechanisms should Metropolitan use to retain especially Black employees? If current employees are considering leaving the company, what are the main reasons for wanting to leave or looking for a job elsewhere? What are the characteristics that employees consider most important that would make them want to stay at Metropolitan. The subject matter investigation involved a survey which was sent to Black employees in the company and the results which were analysed. The results shed some understanding on the reasons why employees would consider applying for a job outside of Metropolitan. It gives the company an understanding of how many of its current Black employees are looking for jobs elsewhere. Because of this prior knowledge, the company can intervene and put measures in place to retain those who were already looking to leave the company. The study also details characteristics that Black employees at Metropolitan consider to be important by certain biographical categories like job grade, age, education, gender and experience. The results further build on the existing literature of retention, especially in the South African environment in the era of transformation laws.