Hello Rowanstudent1989:
What is your standard compound? What is your stationary phase?
You must read this concept:
Relative Retention (r)
The ratio of the adjusted or net retention volume (time) or retention factor of a component relative to that of a standard, obtained under identical conditions:
r = VRi'/VR(st)' = VNi /VN(st) = tRi'/tR(st)' = ki /kst
Depending on the relative position of the peak corresponding to the standard compound in the chromatogram, the value of r may be smaller, larger or identical to unity.
Also you can search on internet the following term: Relative Retention Indices
Best regards,
Chiralic