As we mentioned in a previous post, millennials are the largest generation of employees who are making an impact on the workforce today. Most recent figures put them at 53.5 million strong, and they have even outpaced the baby boomers (Pew Research, 2016). Therefore, any employer that wants to attract the best talent in the coming years needs to find ways to appeal to millennials.
At the same time, we are in a talent crisis as baby boomers are leaving in droves for retirement, at the rate of 10,000 per day, and the unemployment rate is also down – meaning less available talent looking for work.
How can a company create a better workforce for top millennials to keep them on board, get them trained well, and away from the competition?
Provide rewarding work experiences.
Millennials need instant gratification. They are used to this because of the environment in which they grew up. Everything is within reach of a mobile device these days, so if they are not feeling excited about the work they do, they are probably searching for something else.
Instill the value of loyalty.
Make the idea of loyalty a part of your core corporate culture. How? Provide a unique environment with plenty of millennial-friendly perks that they cannot get elsewhere. Use strong branding and messaging to create cheerleader employees. This is effective at attracting new candidates too. When they see how happy your employees are, they want in.
Give them a chance to learn.
Millennial talent places a high value on learning through nontraditional means. This is because they are smarter about college loan debt and don’t want to get stuck paying for this like their parents did. Bring learning and development opportunities to your employees, to both encourage participation and skill building. This enables your organization to create a structured advancement plan that’s linked to learning.
Set up a mentorship program.
Younger employees generally enjoy learning from more seasoned ones, mostly because they want to have these higher-level jobs sooner. Match your leaders and mentors with millennials and watch them blossom. If you hire temp-to-perm employees, give them a chance to work under the guidance of a team lead for a time until they prove their worth.
These ideas are just the start! Partner with a staffing agency like Advance Staffing Solutions to support long-term millennial talent placement and that company goals are met as the youngest generation revolutionizes the world of work.
