How Will I Fit In as a Millennial in the Workforce?
The advancement of MILLENNIALS in the workplace has transformed how businesses think about human resources. With more than 105 million workers from the Millennial generation now in the U.S. workforce, the population of Gen-Y talent born between the years 1982 and 2000, now exceeds Baby Boomers in terms of representation. The conundrum that companies are facing in engaging, retaining and profiting from MILLENNIALs hired into their organizations is a serious consideration. Talent adrift say some human resource directors. Millennial workers are the perhaps the hardest employees to retain long-term. High level skills development in technology and a lust for innovation drive much of this problem. Add offsite co-working environments, business incubation, and abundant freelance opportunities to the mix, and companies have a steep climb in attracting and maintaining the right talent on the job.
The Cost of Retention
If companies are losing millennial talent to competitors willing to pay higher wages for technical skill, the cost of retention has many organizations rescaling their expectations, or revamping business process activities to suit flexible labor demands. The hidden side of this assumption is finance. In spite of all of the hype about the competitiveness of millennial skills, the fact is that they lack a breadth of important skills not applied at college and university, or at entry level. When an organization looks to a millennial candidate to fill a role the promise of cutting-edge insights and high energy performance at times outweigh other factors. Operational finance attributed to training new millennial employees, however, is the highest. Companies report the cost of training and professional development of those workers to be disproportionate to other workers, already introduced to industry standards and applied use of technologies in a field.
Attracting Gen-Y Candidates
Recruitment, suggest human resource managers, is the first step in ensuring the retention of a new employee. MILLENNIALS generally respond better to companies that appear to be transformational rather than traditional. When a company competes for top candidates, citing benefits is important. Equally, the vehicle of communication can be just as critical in attracting a much sought after candidate over a competitor. Value added benefits such as workplace flexibility, mentoring programs and internal hiring programs rank high on the order of priorities a millennial candidate will be looking for in an organization. How candidates connect is also essential say human resource professionals, as millennials expect to find the best companies posting jobs on social network sites. Social network recruitment on Linkedin, Facebook, Google+, and even Twitter establishes immediate rapport with candidates pursuant of information about a role and compensation.
Cultivating Retention on the Job
Once a worker is hired, the real challenge of cultivating retention begins. Companies offering good employee benefits win. Employee compensation programs like economic value added (EVA) employee benefit structures provide security in employee-ownership, improving the chances that a Gen-Y employee will stay on the job. Salary and ability to work remotely are the two most cited reasons for millennial employee retention. Healthcare benefits, however, turn up as the least important benefits for MILLENNIALS, and this can have some impact on how companies hire if existing staff is older. For more information on the topic see Dan Schwabel “Millennial Branding and Beyond.com” survey.
Check out “Integrating Millennials in the Workforce” for more information.
