Andrew Lamb on KTRH: Culture Keeps People, Benefits Just Hold Them
Andrew Lamb, Managing Partner and CEO of Buy and Build Advisors, appeared on NewsRadio 740 KTRH in Houston on July 27, 2026 in a segment on new research from West Health and Gallup. The study found that 24 percent of Americans, roughly 23 million adults feel trapped in their current jobs by concerns over health coverage.
Lamb told KTRH that the strongest retention has never come from the benefits package. “We look at great companies,” he said. “Their employees stay through culture and purpose and leadership, not just benefits.”
He described engagement as ordinary managerial work rather than a program. “We’ve got to understand people first,” Lamb said. “We’ve got to understand what motivates and drives them. We’ve got to understand how to communicate with them.”
The distinction matters well beyond HR. In lower middle-market M&A, a team that stays only because of insurance is a risk a buyer will find in diligence and price into the offer. Owner dependency and key-employee flight risk are two of the quietest reasons a business sells for less than the owner expected.
