Which businesses are the best (and worst) at keeping their people happy? Online CV builder Resume.io decided to find out. Using data on median tenure lengths from LinkedIn, its researchers created several charts and tables ranking major companies by their average staff retention rates.
Companies with the best employee retention rates
Two companies tied for the top spot: banking giant HSBC and global skincare firm Neutrogena. Both firms have an impressive employee retention rate of 10.2 years.
HSBC is renowned for its generous remuneration and benefits package. The bank recently awarded its first-year analysts a $15,000 salary bump. The prospect of regular (and significant) pay rises is one reason why the bank’s staff are reluctant to hand in their notice.
Neutrogena doesn’t have the capital to pay as well as a major bank. Instead, Neutrogena keeps its best people by focusing on a positive work culture and high levels of employer welfare.
“Neutrogena is a fun and exciting place”, wrote one current employee in a Glassdoor review. “It’s the best company I’ve ever worked for. The work/life balance is ideal, and there are many chances to learn and grow.”
Companies with the worst employee retention rates
There’s a three-way tie when it comes to the company with the worst employee retention rate.
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, Avelo Airlines, and fast food outlet Popeye share the bottom spot. On average, staff stay at these companies for just 0.8 years.
Popeyes’ inclusion shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Fast food outlets have a high staff turnover. Many fast-food workers are students picking up extra cash during the summer vacation. Others use jobs in fast food restaurants as a stopgap while searching for roles with higher earning potential and longer-term career opportunities.
Coinbase pays well and is a leading name in one of today’s most exciting and forward-thinking industries. On paper, it sounds like the kind of company that coders and engineers would never want to leave.
But like many tech firms, its staff constantly receive offers from recruiters looking to hire skilled tech professionals.
“If you’re a good coder living in or near Silicon Valley, you’re never short of job opportunities. You get offers every week and sometimes every day. Some of them are just too good to refuse,” says one former Coinbase software engineer.
Industry staff retention rates
The airline industry knows how to take care of its staff. More than half (11) of the top 20 companies with the highest retention rates are airlines; that’s more than any other industry in the study.
Sky-high training costs and a shortage of experienced commercial pilots mean airlines are incentivized to keep workers happy.
Coinbase isn’t the only tech firm with poor staff retention rates. Meta (formerly Facebook), Reddit, Zoom, Twitter, and even Google rarely hold onto their staff for more than a few years.
Check out a full breakdown of all the results in the tables below.
