Celebrating Tenure – Recognizing the Long-term Employee!

He’s one of the good guys, a congenial colleague valued by both employees and management and everyone at LLoyd knows it. Frank Cardillo, LLoyd Staffing’s most senior tenured employee, has been at LLoyd for three decades. For Frank, a 61 year old Long Island native, that’s half his life.

Employee tenure is a rare commodity in today’s workforce. In 2016, a Forbes article reported that approximately 40% of America’s baby boomers stayed with their employer for more than 20 years, but also stated that this same job tenure was highly unlikely for their children and grandchildren. Today’s Millennials expect to stay in a job for 3 years or less resulting in 15 to 20 jobs over the course of their worklife.  The average length of tenure for U.S. employees at individual firms is now about 4.4 years.  Today’s workforce thrives on flexibility, portability and mobility. Some of this change is cultural, some practical in terms of benefits and some of it, is simple contentment for those who find a company that just feels right.

Frank came to LLoyd a single guy with a couple of previous jobs under his belt when he was hired in 1987. During the thirty year span of his career, he married, had two children and faced some personal challenges.  He was hired to be a Branch Manager and do business development for a LLoyd location in Hauppauge. Currently, headquartered in Melville, LLoyd has since expanded, consolidated and restructured our regional and national footprint, but we remain a long standing player in the Long Island employment scene approaching nearly fifty years of bringing employers and talent together. Frank himself has held several positions over the course of his tenure and he cites adaptability as a trait that he believes employers appreciate.

If you ask Frank, why 30 years? He smiles his answer, “You grow as the company grows … you adapt as the company changes … you learn something new every day.”

Frank is proof of this as he has had five or six title changes over the course of his employment. His degree in Communication Studies from SUNY Oswego, led to a stint in the 1990’s as LLoyd’s Advertising and Marketing Manager, and his willingness to explore and understand computers as they took over over the workplace, put him in LLoyd’s Technology and Telecommunications as we entered into Y2K.

Today, Frank’s job on LLoyd’s Tech Solutions’ team finds him doing help desk support, overseeing new telephone technology and an assortment of other duties. He’s also the guy who has to deal with everyone’s internal thermostats when the office is too cold or too hot and he’s the person who will jump your car’s battery in a pinch. Many offices have a guy like Frank and they are all too often taken for granted. In 2003, LLoyd created an award called, “The Everyday Hero Award” and Frank was our first recipient. The Award has since been nicknamed after him and is not bestowed unless truly warranted.

Have things changed much since 1987? Frank smiles and says an emphatic Yes! “I was here before voice mail, when computers were massive bulky machines and I pre-date the cell phone and all the digital technology now part of our daily lives. The recruitment and search industry has evolved enormously to accommodate change. No one looks for jobs in the newspaper classifieds anymore and that was once a huge part of my responsibilities. I keep thinking, what’s next?”  Does he hate the technology? Frank says no – “I think it has improved collaboration. You can’t allow yourslef to get stuck. Process improvements move us forward.”

At LLoyd’s recent monthly company meeting, Frank was cheered and celebrate by his coworkers.  Keith Banks, President and Jason Banks, EVP, presented Frank with a certificate to cover roundtrip airfare visits to his daughter currently pursuing an advanced degree and employment in Vancouver, Canada.  Keith told the group that tenure matters at LLoyd.

 “Tenure is not an outdated concept. Even though the workforce has changed and people’s expectations for career longevity has been redefined by each generation, there is something to be said for the knowledge and commitment of that individual who grows with you as the organization grows.  Employers now talk extensively about employee engagement – tenure is proof of concept. It’s always been a big part of our culture here at LLoyd and I hope that will continue with every new hire.”

Frank Cardillo – all of LLoyd salutes you and your contributions to our culture. You have helped define what a committed and engaged employee is all about. A sincere thank you from each and every one of us.