Did you know that Millennials will make up nearly 75% of the workforce by 2025? In just five short years, the generation that roughly ranges from ages 24-39 will be the largest group in the workforce. In other words, your team must change the way they attract and retain talent to ensure they aren’t pushing away the largest workforce population. Here are three ways your team can attract Millennials in 2020.
Try to better understand Millennials
Millennials are often misunderstood. There is a lot of controversy and confusion when discussing where this generation begins and where it ends. According to Pew Research, Millennials are the generation born between 1981 and 1996. And there are a lot of misconceptions and stereotypes plaguing this generation. At the top of the list are generalizations such as they’re narcissistic, lazy, and technology addicted. But these are just stereotypes. You can say all these things about anyone in any generation. So instead of just falling victim to all of these fallacies, employers need to take time to understand the soon-to-be largest workforce in the world.
Positive employee experience
Once you develop a better understanding of who Millennials are, we can examine what they want in an employer. We’ve all seen movies and memes that exaggerate Millennials in the workplace with foosball tables, unlimited snacks, and dogs in the office. Sure, those things are all nice, but that’s not what Millennials genuinely desire in a prospective employer.
According to a recent survey, these are the top six things Millennials want in the workplace:
- To be understood by their employer
- The opportunity to learn and grow
- They want to be highly engaged
- They want to make a difference
- The authenticity of your company
- Flexibility
In other words, Millennials just want to be respected, feel like they belong, and flexibility within their job. One of the key features employers can offer to their employees to attract this generation is a healthy work-life balance. Millennials care deeply about their lives outside of work. They want to be able to spend time with their families, work from home on occasion, and take time off to “unplug” from their job.
A recent study also illustrates that Millennials are willing to take a pay cut for a better work-life balance, and 58% of them rank work-life balance as being more important than financial benefits. Therefore, you may not be able to entice Millennial candidates with just financial benefits alone.
Stick to your company values (and mean them!)
This generation is passionate about their beliefs, and they want their employers to value them as well. Millennials are the most environmentally conscious generation in today’s workforce. They want a company that cares about sustainability just as much as they do. According to another survey, 75% of Millennial workers are willing to accept a smaller salary to work for a company that values sustainability.
Additionally, another study illustrates that Millennials won’t accept a job offer if the company isn’t socially responsible. Therefore, if you want to hire Millenials in 2020, your mission statement and core values have to be more than just text on your website. To attract this generation, you must stand behind your company values.
Be conscious of your Millennial hiring strategy
Millennials are taking over the workforce, and it’s essential to have a better understanding of them. Keep these three things in mind when developing your hiring strategy to help you attract Millennials in 2020.
