HR organizations worldwide are faced with navigating a mixed, multi-generational workplace.
Today people are living and working longer than ever before and for the first time ever we now have 5 generations of people working alongside each other at the same time. In order by age we have:
- Traditionalists (since 1930)
- Baby Boomers (since 1943)
- Gen X (since 1965)
- Millennial (since 1977)
- Gen Y (since 1981)
The largest group are the Millennials who, in four years from now, will represent over 50% or half of the employees in the world. They stand out as a key demographic target for HR because of their size, suggesting that now is the best time for HR to understand their characteristics, motivations and desires to be able to recruit them and also retain them.
7 Tips to Better Recruit and Engage Millennials include:
1. Offer competitive compensation
As college tuition continues to skyrocket, many millennials are starting their careers with some hefty debt. A recent Futurestep study showed 18% of millennials are likely to select one job over another because of title and pay. Colonial Life recommends researching the job market value of certain positions to ensure salaries are competitive.
2. Mention work-life balance
With millennials often making up two-income households, Colonial Life notes, many crave a steady work-life balance to make time for their families. Flexible working arrangements, such as work-from-home policies, can not only help improve employees' work-life balance and increase productivity, but also reduce employee turnover.
3. Highlight advancement opportunities
The younger generations are ambitious, and will want to know up front what their next move will be. According to Futurestep, 20% of millennials indicated a clear path for advancement mattered most to the
m. When onboarding, employers should open discussions on development opportunities, suggests Trish Healy, vice president of recruitment process outsourcing operations in North America at Futurestep.
4. Have a meaningful mission statement
When posting job advertisements, clearly state the company’s mission statement in the job listing. As Deloitte points out, millennials are also likely to choose employers based on their personal beliefs and the companies’ values.
5. Advertise openings on social media
The Jobvite Job Seeker Nation Study for 2014 found 21 percent of job seekers discovered their favorite or best job through their online social networks. In addition to posting job opportunities on social media, employers should keep up a strong presence on these platforms, as millennials frequent social media at a high rate.
6. Encourage innovation
Millennials are a generation well familiar with cell phones, high-speed internet and ever-changing technologies. A PwC survey showed 59% of millennials believe having the latest technology at a job is critical when looking for an employer.
7. Position inspirational leaders at the forefront
Millennials are looking for employers that have strong leadership on top. According to a recent Deloitte study, more millennials were likely to characterize “true leaders” as those with strategic thinking and people with the ability to inspire others. Be sure to keep those at the forefront.
Onboarding is a key component in this hiring process. What happens in those first few months will prove to your new hire that you are the company they were excited to join so be sure to deliver on those promises, as Millennials are not known for being patient and could easily move somewhere else. If you want to be positive you are doing it right, ask your new hires in an Onboarding survey what they think of you, so you aren’t disappointed or surprised when they leave.
We have helped many companies implement our Onboarding survey program to get timely feedback from new hires at different times in their first year. You can use the insights found in our InsightONBOARD survey results to see how your new employees are faring within your workplace and then make changes to improve employee engagement and retention. Let us know if we can help you at info@insightlink.com or call 866-802-8095 ext.705 or request an online quote first and we can take it from there at insightlink.com.
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