Employees at an Australian steel company typically keep their jobs for a decade despite historically low unemployment, giving them career options elsewhere.
Resume.io Online Career Coaching Group revealed the top 20 companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange for employee retention, based on a search of LinkedIn profiles.
They have all kept staff for at least six years, with utilities, banks, insurers, a bathroom supplier and a few big retailers on the loyalty list.
With an unemployment rate at a 48-year low of 3.5 per cent, many employers are struggling to retain staff – data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that 56 per cent of workers have been in their jobs for less than five years.
But the typical BlueScope employee has been there much longer, with staff staying an average of nine years and eight months.
That puts it well ahead of flying kangaroo airline Qantas, which has an average staff retention of eight years and seven months.
Staff at Australian steel company BlueScope typically stay on for a decade despite historically low unemployment, giving them more career choices elsewhere
Qantas has an average staff retention of eight years and seven months (pictured is a crew member on a Sydney-Adelaide flight)
Bauxite miner Alumina was third with an average retention rate of eight years and six months, ahead of crate supplier Brambles in fourth place where staff stayed eight years and five months.
Amanda Augustine, career coach at Resume.io, said these companies have done a much better job of keeping staff in a time of high labor market turnover.
“It’s clear from the data that the majority of the workforce in these companies stays with their employers because they really enjoy the work they do and the culture the company has built,” she told Daily Mail Australia.
“It should also be noted that these companies have maintained a level of stability that others have not been able to maintain over the past few years.”
Ms Augustine said employers need to provide career paths and work-life balance to retain staff.
“People tend to stay in companies where their ambitions are supported and their working life needs are met,” she said.
“Those needs include fair pay, job security and a work culture that makes them feel valued.
“If companies want to retain their staff more, they have to ask themselves the question: do our employees feel that they are fairly compensated for their work? Do they feel valued?
“What benefits do we currently offer our staff? Are we meeting their needs and making them heard? »
Amanda Augustine, workplace expert at Resume.io, said these companies have done a much better job of retaining staff during an era of high labor market turnover.
Telstra was in fifth place, with staff typically staying there for seven years and 10 months.
Oil and gas producer Santos ranks sixth with an average retention of seven years and 10 months, equal to energy supplier Origin.
Two banks made the top 10 with ANZ and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, both keeping staff for seven years and four months.
Construction and commercial property group Lendlease was in 10th place, retaining staff for seven years and two months.
Queensland-based bank and insurer Suncorp finished 11th, retaining staff for seven years and a month.
Wesfarmers, the parent company of Bunnings and Officeworks, was 12th, with an average retention of six years and eight months.
Finance and pensions giant AMP was 13th, with staff typically working there for six years and seven months.
Trading and fertilizer company Orica was 14th, retaining its employees for six years and six months.
That put it ahead of bathroom supplier Reece Group, which kept staff for six years and five months, tied with furniture, electrical and bedding retailer Harvey Norman.
Woodside, Australia’s largest oil and gas company, finished 17th, retaining its staff for six years and four months, tied with insurer QBE.
Pharmaceutical company Mesoblast with the 19th retention rate for six years and two months, with financial investment company Magellan rounding out the top 20, with an average retention rate of six years and one month.
An Australian HR Institute survey of 603 business leaders found that 43% of employers struggled to fill vacancies in the September quarter, compared to 47% in the June quarter.
Wesfarmers, the parent company of Bunnings (staff pictured) and Officeworks, was 12th, with an average retention of six years and eight months
Asked to elaborate for the HR industry group, 72% cited a lack of suitable candidates, while 45% blamed high salary expectations, compared to 37% who cited competition from rival organisations.
Over the past year, average employee turnover was 14%, up from 12% in the year to June, with 23% of organizations reporting annual turnover of 20% or more.
AHRI chief executive Sarah McCann-Bartlett said Australian businesses needed to improve their productivity with the people they have as Australia lags behind other developed countries when it comes to measuring output per worker.
“It’s encouraging to see that many employers are adopting high-performance work practices, such as flexible working and performance-related pay, with positive effect,” she said.
“However, it is concerning that fewer investors are investing in line management capabilities, which is essential to fully leverage people’s skills to improve productivity.”
