As organizations evolve into a multigenerational workforce, the largest employee demographic will soon be millennials. Research indicates that by 2025, millennials will constitute 75 percent of the global workforce.
Unlike the generations before, they are tech savvy digital natives, often socially conscious, and view themselves as global citizens.
According to the Udemy 2018 Millennials at Work report, millennials want employers to invest in them, keep their skills current and provide flexibility. So, here are five ways organizations can successfully attract, engage and retain this unique generation to drive business growth.
- Coaching and mentoring: Millennials have access to expertise at their technology enabled fingertips. To get a job done, they look to their supervisors for constant encouragement, experience sharing and positive reinforcement for decisions made. Supervisors need to move past the traditional role of being content matter experts. They need to essay the role of internal coaches who coach for success, provide engagement and build long-lasting relationships.
- Employee development: Talent development teams must identify and advertise the host of learning opportunities, in different learning formats. Trainings on intergenerational workplace dynamics, latest technologies and leadership development will foster better collaboration and help millennials keep their skills relevant.
- Innovation and entrepreneurship: Seventy percent of millennials claim they want to work independently. Organizations that create a workplace environment that encourages risk taking, recognizes innovation and eliminates bureaucracy will succeed in millennial attraction, development and retention.
- Authentic transparency: Organizations must create an open environment that fosters trust and community among the millennial workforce. They particularly need performance management systems that provide clear measures on how they’re being judged and assessed for their performance.
- Strong professional and personal balance: Flexibility in work schedules, office locations or working hours is sacred for millennials as it promotes and encourages personal enrichment, development and fulfilment. Human resource professionals must leverage technology to institute work policies that support a flexible work culture.
By introducing business practices and HR policies that align with the millennial generation’s work and life expectations, organizations can successfully engage millennials, change the way how business is done and drive business growth.
The millennial quest for recognition and success can be positively used to drive business growth – if organizations manage millennials the right way.