As time goes on, millennials will represent the majority of the workforce. In 2018 about a third of the active workforce was made out of millennials. Other generations are reaching their peaks and are increasingly turning towards their retirement opportunities. Naturally, the millennial generations are the future of employment. College education and the constant strive for quality work are growing steadily amongst people. Companies are looking for exactly those people to fill up their ranks. Besides all the necessary benefits like health insurance, vacations and sick days, millennials are looking for something else. Companies that can fill those needs, that often might seem random, usually have a creative edge rely on. Out-of-the-box thinking when creating an entertaining and engaging environment seems to be more and more important. Millennials have a very different set of priorities when considering a job, it is not solely motivated by compensation. This goes for acquiring as well as retaining quality employees. Here are some key points to go over if we want to get the best that the Millennial generation can offer.
The basics
Compensation has always been and will always be the main negotiation factor used by both parties when attempting to fill a job position. Today’s modern, highly competitive job market is nothing like what our parents and even their parents had to deal with in their time. The biggest and the brightest, the cream of the crop has the pick of the litter when it comes to job positions. Competition is fierce, now more than ever and it is only going to get more severe. This competition exists on both sides of the supply and demand graph, for the employees but also for the companies. As potential employees are more educated than ever, talented and motivated, it is feasible for companies to offer generous compensation. Before we move on, it is worth noting that compensation is a very wide term that does not only stand for money. Benefits, social and health care, retirement plans, vacation days and much more counts as a form of indirect compensation. One of the most important forms is the company’s investment in its employees for the sole purpose of reaching their full potential. Tapping all of the employee’s talents and other comparative advantages is nowadays more important than ever. Failing to do so, or even doing it partially will result in them eventually looking for other occupations. Taking care of employees goes a long way and will ensure their commitment to their job, brand, and company as a whole.
Self-Actualization
The millennial generation is starved for engagement. It is no longer enough to mindlessly build revenue and push papers. Simply put, the purpose is more valuable than gold. Not convinced? The proof lies in non-profit organizations. These organizations always have employees that are willingly working for a small, or even sometimes no compensation at all. The reason that is, is because the purpose and the feeling that they are making a positive impact, a dent in the universe, is more valuable than compensation. So how does this relate to us? We might just need to rework our basic company principles in ways that reflect our positive influence on the world. Why does our product, brand or service bring value to people’s lives? Why are we, along with our millennial employees, making the world a better place, one step at a time? These are the questions we need to find answers for and present them to our idealist employees. For comparison, we can take a different route and make our company appear as just another paycheck for out millennial employees to pick up at the end of the month. That is not a very appealing thought for anyone. We need to make sure to share these visions with our employees, clients and a potentially wider audience. They need to be aware that their contributions are going into something truly positive.
Staying with the times
Even before the millennial generation has appeared, people have started to increasingly rely on modern solutions to solve their personal and professional hurdles. Now more than ever, we are completely reliant on technology to keep track of a lot of things. If we no longer have anywhere to put new books, we get ourselves an e-book reader to save space. For more business and professional-oriented setting, we have long ago switched from accounting on huge piles of paper to computer-based systems. It is important to keep our infrastructure up to date and show that we are keeping up with the times. Nothing kills motivation and productivity alike that outdated methods and tools. They cut in on the productive effort and leave employees unable to add that value to their actual work. Start-ups and other companies that are in their infancies may not have the resources necessary for such enterprise systems and that is understandable. Up to a point that is. For medium-sized businesses and bigger, there is no excuse to not invest in a medium business management software. Today’s volatile and fast-paced work environment is pretty much dictating the tempo and is unforgiving when it comes to errors or sub-optimal performance. Luckily for us, there are plenty of ways modern solutions can offload those burdens from our shoulders and allow us to focus on what we are meant to do.
Flexibility
Finally, work-life balance is something millennials are very aware of. For these younger employees, it is very important to have greater flexibility in their workday. Especially for non-time essential and non-customer-oriented positions, it is beneficial to have a couple of hours buffer time for starting and/or finishing hours. When it comes to vacation time, it turns out that millennials are more inclined to negotiate a lower compensation package in exchange for more vacation days. And it makes sense, they do not want to feel restricted by a position in experiencing life to the fullest.
It is a whole new world for employers to navigate through with a younger workforce. Their expectations and requirements tend to differ from the more traditional ones. If we take these factors into consideration, we can enjoy all the benefits a young and driven workforce has to offer to us and the world.
