Millennials, also known as Generation Y, are the demographic that was born between the years 1981 to 1996. Many of them have already entered the workforce, with a few bring up the rear by graduating university. They are marked by their coming of age within the information age, so they are comfortable with using digital technology and social media.
As the labor market continues to grow, change, and improve, many Millennials will fill your companies in the next few years. If you want to keep competitive in the industry while attracting top talent, consider these attributes and benefits that Millennials will evaluate your business on during their job search.
Opportunity for Career Development
There is this strong standing myth that millennials are lazy, but they were no more lazy than anyone was at their age. In fact, millennials are hard-working, ambitious individuals who want to see that their work is breeding results. They believe learning doesn’t start and end with their degree, and many of them are open to learning more. For example a project manager can learn a lot about their job through doing, but they may benefit from further development through online learning. Providing them with the opportunity to take project manager training courses or attend industry conferences can help them to become a better asset to your team.
Strong Relationships
Millennials want to be led by a boss they feel comfortable around – someone they can trust. Many Millennials grew up with their parents, who hated the boss they worked for because their boss micromanaged them and didn’t care about the personality behind the worker. Employee engagement needs to have a boss that genuinely cares about their workers’ well-being. You can foster this relationship by asking them about their day and actually listening to what they’re saying because their mood could affect their day.
Work Relocation
Millennials are more likely to travel for jobs because they’re less likely to have children or families at their age. Travel is also attractive to Millennials because they’re more interested in experiences than buying products. More often than not, Millennials see traveling for business as a perk and are excited to meet new people and network. One of the ways to get your employee to a new location safely is by using a relocation company. ARC relocation is one such company, trusted by HR professionals that facilitates the whole process.
Flexibility
Growing up around technology means they’re aware of how it works. Millennials are always connected to their work, listening to podcasts, or speaking to their friends and family online. Millennials work well when given concrete targets and clear instructions, and don’t need to be at work to do so. If an employee is more engaged, productive, and delivers high-quality work at a coffee shop, does it really matter that it wasn’t at the office? One of the Millennials’ many talents is their flexibility, and encouraging it will help them get more work done.
Culture
Being in a positive work environment can help create a sense of community with your workers, regardless of demographic or age. Millennials want to be involved in creating that working culture, and take pride in maintaining it long term. They don’t mind taking corporate trips, collaborating with their co-workers, and giving feedback. They are also unopposed to planning a company outing and rearranging the office space. If you show the Millennial positive feedback for helping out, whether it’s through words, a raise, or more responsibility, they’ll appreciate it.
Room to Fail
Innovation comes with failure, and failure is a natural part of life. It’s frustrating to get yelled at when something goes wrong or to lose responsibility for a minor mistake. We’re human – we make mistakes. Millennials want to work for someone who embraces new opportunities and takes leaps. You don’t have to celebrate their failure, but you should at least acknowledge that they tried. Millennials look for managers that actually encourage failure, and guide them through the process of learning from their mistakes. Coaching them through these failures will create an employee that’s excited to innovate, rather than one that’s scared to change, or worse, lies when they do something wrong.
