Employers are always eager to retain employees. This is especially true when labour is scarce and during times of low unemployment, as we are currently experiencing in Australia. 

But employee retention strategies often sit in tension with the modern tendency for people to change jobs more frequently than was the case for baby boomers, who are now retired or retiring. This trend seems to have increased for Millennials and members of Gen Z, although the pandemic has impacted on these statistics. 

According to the latest ABS data, 55 per cent of employed people in February 2022 had been in their job for less than five years. One in five had been in their job for less than a year. 

During the preceding year, nearly one in ten employed people had changed jobs – the highest annual mobility rate since 2012. Professionals were particularly prone to changing jobs, representing nearly a quarter of those who had done so during the year leading up to February 2022. On average, Australians spend 3.3 years per job. For under 25s, that plunges to just 1 year and 8 months. 

It's perhaps not surprising that people early in their career will be more likely to job-hop as they, for example, juggle study responsibilities, travel, or make decisions about their career objectives. But the trend towards greater job mobility extends to those more advanced in their career. Fifty years ago, people over 45 would stay in a job for 10 years on average. Now it’s 6 years and 8 months. 

Why do people change jobs more often than they used to? 

There are many reasons for these trends, including the rise of the gig economy and casualised work, and a desire among employees for greater flexibility and diversity of roles. It’s become increasingly normalised for a person’s career journey to contain a wider range of roles and even occupations. 

Also significant though is a nagging suspicion that staying in one job for too long is not a good strategy for building a career. It can be perceived as a “bad look” on resumes, seen to reflect a lack of ambition, motivation, or willingness to be flexible and step outside comfort zones. There’s also a danger of stagnation, or allowing skills to grow stale. 

These are real concerns which underline the importance of regular upskilling and taking on new responsibilities even without a job change. 

But there are benefits to longevity too, for individuals, organisations and their customers. The ability to access long service leave entitlements, to build professional relationships over a long period of time, to grow skillsets within a stable and secure work setting, and to gradually advance to more senior positions, are all tangible advantages. 

Many of our Bayside Group employees have learned firsthand the benefits of longevity. We have current employees who have been with the business for more than 10, 20 and even 30 years. They have found ways to thrive and progress in their lives and careers without needing to periodically change jobs. Where others have been tempted by the siren song of moving on, they have discovered great professional and personal benefits in staying put. 

We sat down with some of our longer-term employees to talk about their experiences and what they have gained from bucking the job mobility trend. 

Voula Triantafillou – Senior Account Manager, Pharmaceutical & Government (23 years) 

I joined the company 23 years ago after being educated and working as a microbiologist for a number of years. One of those previous roles related to quality testing and had quite a big client focus, notably in the food industry. I was able to carry those networks and relationships over into my work as a recruitment consultant, especially in the area of food and beverage recruitment. 

I've then been able to continue growing and nurturing those relationships, as well as the relationships I've established with new clients over many years. I’ve watched people I've placed in a junior capacity work themselves up to being hiring managers themselves. You're part of their career journey, and by maintaining that relationship often I see the candidate then become a client. 

Both clients and candidates value trust and loyalty, and so the fact I've been here for a long time is something they appreciate and find reassuring. 

I've worked as a consultant through times of significant upheaval and unrest, from September 11 to the GFC to the Covid pandemic. That experience and longevity means you come to be seen as a trusted advisor. With things like the current labour shortage, I'm not just talking to candidates, I'm also working with clients to help them look at strategies for attracting and retaining staff. 

Siddhi Weerawardena – Payroll Manager (34 years) 

I arrived in Australia from Sri Lanka in March 1989 and commenced with Bayside Group a month later as a payroll operator. We were a two-person team back then and I didn’t have a computer – everything was written by hand and calculated manually or using a calculator. Over the next few years the company supported me as I underwent further studies, including completing my science degree and an accounting degree. I also completed a CIMA qualification and became a CPA. 

With longevity comes mutual trust and loyalty. As the payroll team grew, I worked hard and took on more of a leadership responsibility. Flexibility goes both ways and Bayside Group provided me with great support after my sons were born, in 1995 and 1998. This included allowing me to adjust my schedule to go home to feed when they were little, or to manage school pickups as they grew up. 

I completed a Certified Payroll Management course and started heading the company’s on-hired payroll department. Having my own kids, I wanted to give people with no experience an opportunity. I’d hire graduates or school leavers and train them in payroll. Australia has the world’s most complicated payroll legislation and processes, yet no university course focused on payroll.  

It has been really rewarding to draw on my experience and knowledge, firstly to answer the complex questions faced regularly in delivering payroll services and ensuring employment compliance to a broad range of clients, and secondly to train a generation of payroll experts. This payroll community is what I am perhaps most proud of – last year we gathered for a lunch at Bayside Group’s head office, and it was amazing to see where they had gone in their careers. 

Wayne Eaton – National Manager, Engineering (6 years + 18 years) 

I initially joined Bayside in 1995, as my first venture into the recruitment industry after completing studies in Architectural Drafting and Building Construction. 



During my early years with Bayside I was given the opportunity to work across several specialist industry sectors within the business and was fortunate to work for different managers and mentors at the time, with each having their own style and approach, which I believe has supported me to be the manager I am today. 

With ongoing training and professional development, I became a Team Leader and started growing my own team within the Technical Engineering & Construction sectors. 

I then made the decision to accept an opportunity to work for a global engineering company as an internal Senior Recruiter to work alongside technical professionals that I was recruiting. This experience allowed me to see things from a client’s perspective while building my network within the marketplace. 

Upon my return to Bayside in 2004 as a Senior Consultant and with the support of the board and senior leadership group, I’ve been very fortunate to progress my career over the past 18 years to my current role as National Manager, responsible for multiple recruitment teams and portfolios within the education, corporate services, IT, engineering and technical sectors. 

The longevity I have had with one employer, that supports and nurtures its staff’s development while providing the flexibility to follow your passion, has resulted in some great experiences for me. I’ve built multi-million-dollar recruitment accounts, undertaken secondment arrangements on client premises and have been involved in acquisitions of recruitment businesses.  

I have also been there to support many of my own staff grow and succeed into senior roles, as well as help countless candidates as they progress through varying stages of their careers. This stability and consistency of employment has shown that I’ve seen things through for my clients and candidates, which is especially helpful when it comes to making senior appointments. The relationships and networks I have built over my 28-year career allows me to be a valued adviser and trusted workplace relations and recruitment partner to my customers. 

Melanie Wilson – Director/Manager, Corporate Strategy & Marketing (20 years) 

When I joined Bayside Group, I initially expected to stay for up to five years. However, at five years I was seconded to Sydney for 12 months, which helped me gain further insight into the business and realise the advantages of staying. 

Long service leave, for example, has allowed me to travel extensively, and I’ve been able to undertake two master’s degrees. Knowing the company so well enhances efficiencies and provides the freedom and security to take on external challenges. 

It also facilitates a greater understanding of market trends. I’ve worked in the recruitment industry during the two biggest skill shortages in Australia since the post-war years (pre-GFC and post-Covid). This experience enables you to pivot faster and develop a range of strategic solutions to help source talent for employers. 

Ten years ago, Bayside Group invited me to join the Board and complete the AICD company director’s course, mentoring me along the way. This also led to a volunteer directorship on the Board of Ethiopiaid Australia, whose team Bayside Group houses in our offices as part of an ESG program. 

Learning and development occurs in many different ways. For me, the combination of working with our clients, building strong relationships with colleagues, studying, travelling and volunteering has resulted in incredible learning opportunities and life experiences. I’m not sure I would have pursued some of these paths had I changed organisations more regularly. 

Aaron Williams – Senior Consultant, Transport and Defence (7 years) 

Before I came to Bayside Group I was working in recruitment in Brisbane and had worked within other customer focused fields. What attracted me to Bayside Group was the tenure people had. A lot of people had been here for five to 15 years and even longer. To see a company whose employees enjoyed that kind of longevity spoke volumes to satisfaction within the workplace. 

I’ve always had a strong interest in the automotive industry. When I moved down from Brisbane I was excited of the prospect of combining that passion with my experience within recruitment. Bayside Group has not traditionally just hired salespeople, we’ve hired people from industry specific backgrounds as well. This has a benefit in that people understand the industry better. 

Unlike a lot of recruitment companies, Bayside Group’s remuneration structure isn’t focused on sales. There is a culture of putting the customer first, and there isn’t the same pressure to start making money from day one. Consultants are given time to grow and understand the service and clients better. That’s great for building relationships. I’ve now got people coming to me from referrals from candidates I placed many years ago. Cultivating those relationships pays dividends from a business perspective – but it takes time. 

This longevity also helps build strong teams. We work holistically and collaboratively towards a higher goal within our division, sharing CVs etc. This is better for the company, for job seekers and for the client.