Who are Millennials?
Generation Y, often called the millennials, were born between 1980 and 1996. Their youth was accompanied by rapid technological growth and rising globalisation. They know the best of both worlds – experiencing the shift from analog to digital first-hand. This resulted in the upbringing of a tech-savvy, highly adaptable, and value-driven generation.
What does this mean for the business owners who need to employ them?
Just be mindful. This is the first generation which witnessed significant economic fluctuations and employment instability. Be open, listen to them and understand their concerns. You will be amazed at the Return on Investment (ROI) you will get back.
Why Retaining Millennials is Crucial for Businesses
Millennials now represent the majority of workers worldwide, including in the UK. They are the most engaged generation, acting as a bridge, guiding and helping the Baby Boomers and Gen X go through this new digital era, while at the same time managing the Generation Z, who are set to be their role models.
Therefore, millennials’ job satisfaction is of utmost interest for the company’s success and intergenerational cooperation. As previous generations move into senior leadership roles, millennials are stepping into crucial company positions. They have roles that can create long-lasting positive impacts on the productivity and effectiveness of the whole organisation.
Moreover, millennial workers bring fresh perspectives that drive an excessive creativity. Their familiarity with the new technological hard skills and the traditional soft skills, values and merits make them a unique and versatile must-have tool for every aspiring company.
Practical Tips for Millennial Retention
Understanding millennials’ motivations is the first step towards their successful retention process. The next step is implementing practical strategies that resonate with them. Let’s list a few actionable tips your company can adopt to improve millennial retention.
Foster a Positive Work Culture
Millennial employees place significant importance on company culture.They often rank it higher than the height of their salary, because they prefer to enjoy their work, rather then enjoying the financial benefits it brings, when they simply don’t like their working atmosphere. That is why it is crucial to encourage open communication and build a safe space where employees can feel comfortable sharing ideas or concerns without fear of judgment or repercussions.
The millennial workforce loves colleague bonding time. They spend most of their time in the office, so they prefer to know their coworkers like friends and spend quality time with them. By fostering genuine connections among colleagues, you can create an inclusive atmosphere where millennials feel valued beyond their job titles.
Opportunities for Growth and Development
Millennial employees are ambitious and always prefer continuous learning and career growth opportunities. Employers could also see significant benefits when providing these preferences – this way, they work on their employer brand and company culture, essential for creating a positive company reputation among potential hires in the future.
Offer clear career progression pathways alongside regular training programmes tailored and specifically designed to develop not only hard skills but also soft skills. Millennials aim to tackle the leadership positions taken by the departing generations, so provide them with online or offline courses focused on leadership skills development and mentorship programs.
Flexibility and Work-Life Balance
Recently, we all witnessed turbulent times when we needed to work from home. COVID-19, although devastating, has left us something significant: the gift of flexible work.
Provide millennials access to a high-quality internet connection and a decent laptop, and they can manage their workload effortlessly. You don’t need to micro-manage them. You don’t need to fear that the work won’t be done. They are responsible people who know how to manage their work-life balance independently while at the same time providing the best for the company. Allowing employees autonomy over how they structure daily tasks empowers individuals and promotes a healthier work-life balance overall.
Regular Feedback and Recognition
Millennials seem to thrive in organisations where regular feedback and recognition systems exist. They find it extremely useful to know precisely where they are and where they are heading, as individuals and as a collective.
At the same time, millennials always choose companies where they feel acknowledged and valued. When this happens, feedback is always regarded as a positive, constructive one, rather than feeling it as a critique.
You should use these 3 tips for implementing regular feedback:
- Organise regular feedback sessions. One-on-one meetings are an essential tool for performance upgrades. When you tackle your goals and challenges step by step, and you are facilitated and motivated by your superior in this task regularly, success is inevitable.
- Encourage open communication channels. The open-door policy and nurturing the concept of a safe space makes employees feel comfortable to approach their managers and peers for feedback at any time.
- Use digital tools for feedback. It doesn’t need to be expensive performance management software. It’s enough to fill out and save monthly or quarterly goals, and both managers and employees could easily see and track their progress.
Leveraging Technology
Provide millennials with technological solutions, and they will give back a surprising innovation. This generation is naturally adept at using technology. They use it to streamline processes, enhance productivity, and facilitate communication.
By implementing cutting-edge tools and platforms into your workflow, you can create an environment that aligns with their tech-savvy nature. You can utilise collaboration software like Slack or Microsoft Teams for faster, seamless communication. Or manage your team projects with the help of Asana and Trello. These tools provide a more engaging and productive work environment.
Addressing Common Millennial Concerns
How can we help Millenials’ concerns about job security, work-life balance, and their impact on employees’ well-being? To address these concerns, companies can focus on providing clear career progression paths, flexible working arrangements, and a positive work environment.
By actively listening to and addressing these concerns, businesses can demonstrate their commitment to supporting the values of their millennial employees, fostering a sense of loyalty and engagement.
Understanding Millennials’ Values with Olive Recruit
Millennial employees bring a unique set of values to the workplace. A few of them are authenticity, purpose, and flexibility. We have a long-lasting match if a company genuinely aligns with their personal beliefs and offers a working environment where they can grow professionally and personally.
That is why here at Olive Recruit, we craft and implement strategies that resonate with millennials and all other generations. Our recruitment and talent management expertise allows us to bridge the gap between the company’s needs and millennials’ expectations.
Contact us today for more insights on aligning your business with millennial values and retaining millennials in the workplace.
