Which Companies "Win" On Employee Loyalty Against Competitors?
Good employees are a valuable commodity for any business. Hiring, training and cultivating a top-notch worker is an investment of time and money, so a loyal workforce is a big plus for employers. How do companies in similar lines of business compare when it comes to typical employee tenure? Why do employees stick around at certain companies and jump ship in a split second elsewhere? PayScale ran data from companies on the Fortune 500 list to see how similar companies compare in terms of their employees’ company loyalty.
Finance
Median Employee Tenure: 5.0 years
Median Employee Age: 36
Median Employee Salary: $68,300
% Low Stress: 33%
% Satisfied: 61%
Median Employee Tenure: 1.8 years
Median Employee Age: 36
Median Employee Salary: $106,000
% Low Stress: 24%
% Satisfied: 83%
We've all seen the movie Wall Street - finance is a cut-throat, fast-paced industry to work in. But even though they've had their share of bad press over the years, AIG boasts median employee tenure almost three times as long as Visa, even though Visa employees report higher satisfaction rates and earn significantly more than their peers at AIG.
HealthCare
Median Employee Tenure: 1.8 years
Median Employee Age: 36
Median Employee Salary: $68,300
% Low Stress: 21%
% Satisfied: 62%
Median Employee Tenure: 4.6 years
Median Employee Age: 42
Median Employee Salary: $60,800
% Low Stress: 20%
% Satisfied: 77%
Tenet Healthcare Corporation and Universal Health Services, Inc. are two of the biggest healthcare companies in the US. Each employs around 60,000 employees, but people who work at Tenet generally spend 4.6 years with the company, while the typical UHS employee only clocks in at 1.8 years. Stress levels at each company appear similar, but Tenet employees earn more and report higher job satisfaction than those at UHS.
Technology
Median Employee Tenure: 4 years
Median Employee Age: 33
Median Employee Salary: $109,300
% Low Stress: 39%
% Satisfied: 69%
Median Employee Tenure: 1.1 years
Median Employee Age: 29
Median Employee Salary: $107,000
% Low Stress: 48%
% Satisfied: 84%
The software developers and engineers that tech companies rely on are in demand and well compensated for their skills. The industry skews young and grows quickly – many of the tech jobs today have only existed for a handful of years, so it’s no surprise that techies report short tenures. The average Microsoftie sticks around for four years, a lifetime when you compare that to arch-rival Google, where the typical employee stays with the company for just 1.1 years. Of course, Microsoft has been around since 1975, more than twice as long as Google, so they’ve had time to develop more long-term employees and attract a slightly older workforce.
Manufacturing
Median Employee Tenure: 20 years
Median Employee Age: 33
Median Employee Salary: $62,200
% Low Stress: 52%
% Satisfied: 67%
Median Employee Tenure: 1 year
Median Employee Age: 50
Median Employee Salary: $77,400
% Low Stress: 33%
% Satisfied: 45%
Eastman Kodak boasts the most loyal employees on our list, with the typical worker spending 20 years on the job. Compare that to the folks building trucks at Paccar Corp., where the median employee tenure is only one year, even though employees seem to report higher job satisfaction and lower stress levels. The richer paychecks and significantly older workforce at Kodak probably explains the vast difference in employee loyalty.
Mining, Quarrying, Oil & Gas
Median Employee Tenure: 4.8 years
Median Employee Age: 39
Median Employee Salary: $74,400
% Low Stress: 47%
% Satisfied: 84%
Median Employee Tenure: 1.2 years
Median Employee Age: 31
Median Employee Salary: $60,500
% Low Stress: 54%
% Satisfied: 78%
Chesapeake Energy Corporation and Williams Companies Inc. are both in the natural gas business, but Williams' employees report typical tenures of five years compared to the one-year stints typical at Chesapeake. Why the big difference in terms of employee tenure at such similar companies? Williams has been around for more than 100 years, while Chesapeake was founded in 1989. Chesapeake also has much younger workers, whereas Williams had the second-oldest typical worker age of any company on our list in the Mining, Quarrying and Oil and Gas Industry.
Retail Trade
Median Employee Tenure: 3.5 years
Median Employee Age: 29
Median Employee Salary: $49,800
% Low Stress: 31%
% Satisfied: 69%
Median Employee Tenure: 1 year
Median Employee Age: 32
Median Employee Salary: $93,200
% Low Stress: 33%
% Satisfied: 71%
Here’s an interesting comparison between two generations of retail giants. Amazon.com has changed the way the world thinks of retail, but the company itself has only existed for less than 20 years. Their typical employee only stays at the company for one year. Compare that to The Limited Brands, which owns traditional retail stores like Victoria’s Secret, Bath and Body Works, Henri Bendel and more, in malls across the country and has been around since 1963. Their employees report a median tenure of 3.5 years, in spite of much lower incomes and a younger workforce overall. It’s probably because Amazon relies on a workforce of engineers and software developers, two of the most in-demand jobs around. But maybe it’s because Limited employees really love the cinnamon rolls in the mall food courts.
Transportation
Median Employee Tenure: 12.6 years
Median Employee Age: 44
Median Employee Salary: $59,000
% Low Stress: 35%
% Satisfied: 70%
Median Employee Tenure: 3.1 years
Median Employee Age: 38
Median Employee Salary: $50,800
% Low Stress: 48%
% Satisfied: 72%
United Continental Holdings, which owns United Airlines and its subsidiaries, soars above its competitor, US Airways, when it comes to employee loyalty. A typical US Airways employee only spends three years with the company, compared to 13 years at United Continental. United Continental employees have higher typical salaries, but job satisfaction rates are similar and fewer US Airways employees report being highly stressed out by their jobs.
Utilities
Median Employee Tenure: 6.1 years
Median Employee Age: 36
Median Employee Salary: $82,300
% Low Stress: 27%
% Satisfied: 70%
Median Employee Tenure: 3.5 years
Median Employee Age: 41
Median Employee Salary: $65,600
% Low Stress: 43%
% Satisfied: 59%
The employees of Entergy Corp and Wesco International help to provide power to millions of people across the US. But employees at Wesco report far shorter tenures than those at Entergy Corp. Two possible clues to explain the stark difference in employee loyalty: employees at Wesco are younger and are paid significantly less than those at Entergy. Those are two good reasons for anybody to switch companies when a better opportunity comes along.
Wholesale Trade
Median Employee Tenure: 6.1 years
Median Employee Age: 36
Median Employee Salary: $82,300
% Low Stress: 33%
% Satisfied: 69%
Median Employee Tenure: 2.3 years
Median Employee Age: 32
Median Employee Salary: $29,000
% Low Stress: 35%
% Satisfied: 58%
It’s no secret that salary has a lot to do with whether or not an employee stays with their current employer, so it shouldn’t surprise anybody that employees at Arrow Electronics, who report typical salaries of $65,600, have almost twice the median tenure of those at AutoZone, where typical salaries are less than $30,000. The data indicates that AutoZone employs a younger, less-skilled workforce, so it makes sense that these employees have had less time to establish tenure and would be more open to new, higher-paying opportunities.
