How to Attract and Retain Millennial Employees
The age group we refer to as “Millennials” were born in the 80s or 90s, so they are currently in their late 20s to early 40s. This particular cohort of workers has a very different outlook on work from “Generation X” that immediately preceded them.
The Millennial age group are still young and dynamic. However, they also now have significant experience in the workplace behind them and have grown and matured into their job roles, becoming highly valued employees as well as the new generation of thought leaders and management tier.
Millennials now make up the largest of the “generations” in the workforce, and it is therefore crucial to the future of your organisation that you find a way to accommodate their needs and wishes that works well for all involved.
They have their own expectations of what a workplace should entail and how they should be treated by the management layer of the organisation. We will examine what they want to see and how their ambitions can be parsed, accommodated and encouraged without detriment to the broader company structure.
What Millennials Want in the Workplace
To understand how best to engage with millennials in the workplace, it is vital to have a good handle on what they expect from their employers and what their red-line issues are likely to be.
Flexible Working
The Covid-19 pandemic and the need to stay at home brought about a much greater quantity of flexible working more quickly than many people could have ever anticipated. This is one of the things that the Millennial generation had wanted to see introduced for a long time. Now that the possibility of working remotely is here, they don’t see the point of working on location any more.
Many Millennials now see the possibility of working remotely as something that should be offered as standard to those employees who want it. This is a deal breaker for many, who are prepared to walk if a job doesn’t offer them the chance to work remotely or, at the very least, hybrid.
It makes sense that this attitude is prevalent as working from home has been proven to increase productivity over a wide variety of studies over the past few years. The difference can be pretty stark, and it can feel like it doesn’t make sense to be corralled back into an office environment when what they have taken the time to adapt to works well and helps with their work-life balance.
This is a crucial point, as working from home has allowed many to improve their work-life balance by eliminating commutes and allowing them to undertake small household chores during the working day, such as receiving parcels and deliveries, which wouldn’t have been possible before.
Some have even made radical moves abroad to be able to make the most of the strength of their currency vs the local one where they are to achieve a much higher standard of living. This is known as “geographic arbitrage” or “salary arbitrage”.
Communicate Well Within the Company
Millennials like to be engaged and strive to be understood in the workplace as much as in their home lives, so it makes sense that a lot of effort should go into methods of communication.
In their younger days in the workforce, it is thought that many Millennials had a tough time in their earlier employment experiences. This is something that they are keen to rectify now that they are a little bit older and more experienced. There are certain types of behaviour now that millennials won't tolerate in the workplace, including a lack of appreciation from management, not being paid as well as colleagues and bullying in any of its forms.
Be sure to offer praise where it is due, as this is something that Millennials place particular value on and be sure to include them in any decisions regarding their future within the company. Developing positive interpersonal relationships matters and can definitely help with the retention of this age group.
Ensuring good communication within the company can also help keep them interested and invested in the company’s future. Keeping their interest can be challenging, so it is essential that they feel like they are working toward something with their colleagues. They tend to be excellent at word of mouth and are amazing advocates for brands with a soft spot in their hearts, including you as their employer if you have done everything right.
Offer Competitive Salaries and Development / Career Progression
Millennials as a generation have often been on the end of being low-balled when it comes to salaries, and this is something that they are becoming less tolerant of as they get older and are more aware of their own skills and value. If you want to attract or keep them, this is something that can make a real difference and offering them what they are worth is an excellent foundation for an ongoing work relationship built on respect.
Show that you understand their value in salary negotiations and offer career progression when they are ready for it, and you will have some loyal employees. If they ask about career progression and you don’t feel they are ready for it yet, be honest with them but offer them the chance to develop the skills that you feel they are currently lacking.
More than anything, the Millennial generation wants to feel valued in the workplace, and this is how you can show them that they have a place in the succession planning of your company. Give an honest appraisal of where they are currently and provide them with a roadmap of where they can get to, provided that they can acquire the necessary skills in the intervening period of time. They will appreciate this directness, whether or not they agree with your assessment of their current skills. They will also appreciate the chance to develop the necessary skills to take the next step on the career progression ladder.
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