Your most tenured employees are vital to the success of your organization.  They usually know the most about your products, services, and customers.  They are holders of the intellectual property of your company.  Although your customers buy products and services from your company, they form relationships with your people.

According to my company’s last national benchmark study, employee engagement increases as the tenure of the employee increases:

• 6-9 year employees:        35% Fully Engaged, 28% Reluctant, 38% Unengaged
• 10-19 year employees:    43% Fully Engaged, 17% Reluctant, 39% Unengaged
• 20+ year employees:      47% Fully Engaged, 23% Reluctant, 30% Unengaged

Daily Satisfaction is the number one driver of engagement for each of these tenured groups.  Ethics, Diversity, & Safety and Reputation Management round out the top three. 

However there are some cases where additional tenure in an organization actually weakens the perceptions of employees.  When comparing employees with more than six years of experience vs. less than six years of experience you see the following:

• People are treated  with respect and appreciation (44% more tenured employees agree vs. 55% of less tenured employees)
• Differences among individuals are both respected and valued at this organization (49% vs. 61%)
• Company policies are carried out in a fair and just manner (49% vs. 57%)
• I feel safe from intimidation and harassment in this organization (67% vs. 71%).

The more experience the employee has with their supervisor or manager, the more time they have to see if their boss “walks the talk:, the more negative their perceptions of fairness, and the weaker their impression of their boss.

Wanna keep your most tenured employees?  Make sure there is still a good fit between their skills/interests and their job.  And most importantly, provide them a culture of ethics.  Otherwise the people you count on most will find another group of friends and family to play with.