New generations have new demands and desires – have you discovered this with millennial’s? I am sure you have! Have you been trying to understand what it is that they are looking for, how to retain and attract them and really how to work with them?
We have been working with our clients on strategies to do just that! What are the key things that we look at? Take a look at the 5 strategies below:
- Provide feedback and do it often. Our millennial’s want to know how they are doing and where they can improve. Touch base with them often. Make a point of having a sit down meeting every month or two to discuss how they are doing, any challenges they or you have been encountering and anything you wish to see improvement on. Assist them to find the path to improvement. Think about what it is that you can help them with in order to make them most successful in their role.
- Work/Life Balance. Flexibility is important to our millennial’s. They expect to be able to have flexibility in their work and home lives and to be able to balance these two things well. To appeal to this audience, you will need to get rid of the rigid 9-5 schedule. Look to offer flexible start and end times with defined core hours. Look to allow your people to be able to book personal appointments during the day with the opportunity to make up the hours. If you feel that there is abuse of this ability or that productivity is being impacted – deal with these issues head on – you may need to claw back the flexibility for a period of time until things improve.
- Ensure your Salary Offer is Competitive. Millennial’s expect to be paid appropriately for the position that they apply for or are working in. They expect that you have done the research and are offering them something that is fair. They also expect that you will monitor this and provide increases or rewards as they are warranted.
- Opportunities to Grow. Ensure to offer growth opportunities and provide guidance and assistance for your people to be able to grow. Look at helping them develop career plans and touch base with them on these plans from time to time to see how they are doing. Keep them in mind for opportunities to work on a new project. Support and allow for growth.
- Provide a Sense of Purpose. A defined job description gives your people a clear understanding of what it is that they are to do and what is expected of them. What can you do to show them how they fit into the big picture? Explain which piece of the puzzle they are. Show them how the pieces all work together to achieve the end result. Ensure they understand what their contributions lead to. Make them feel a part of the success. When you are recruiting millennial’s, share this with them as well. Build the excitement and they will want to be a part of it!
The above 5 items are key to retaining the millennial generation – but can be used to help the other generations as well. If you actively keep these activities in mind, you will notice it will go a long way in the retention and attraction of this generation.
Do you have additional strategies that have worked well for you? Provide comments, or feel free to email us.
Need help? We offer HR Consulting, HR representation for your business and Flat Rate Recruiting!