A lot has been said about Millennials. Born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s, Millennials are now beginning to take over the workforce. According to Pew Research Center, 2016 marked the year that millennials became the largest generation within the U.S. labor force.
To attract and retain Millennials in the workplace, organizations need to adapt to accommodate Millennials’ unique work styles, attitudes, and priorities.
Here are 4 great ways to attract and retain Millennials in the workplace for longer than the average two year tenure:
#1 – Flexible Work Location
When compared to other generations, Millennials are the biggest advocates of remote work and work/life balance. According to a reports by ManpowerGroup Global®, Gartner, and Deloitte:
- When asked how they would prefer to schedule their work time, Millennials said they would spend the least amount of time in the office (<53%) when compared to Gen X (56%), and Baby Boomers (63%).
- 79% of Millennials consider flexible working a top priority.
- 38% of Millennials surveyed say that they have the “latest and greatest” personal devices compared to 25% of Baby Boomers.
- 77% of Millenials wish to have greater mobile connectivity, via tablets, smartphones, etc.
Millennials are much more likely to choose a workplace that offers work location flexibility. To attract and retain Millennials, you need to offer them remote work options as part of your job offerings. Faced with rising numbers of remote workers, questions regarding how a company can maintain a significant connection with remote employees come into existence. Considering a tech savvy Millennial generation, the answer is simple: make mobile technology an integral part of your organization.
Millennials use their mobile phones to get things done both personally and professionally. From transportation, communication and task management to social engagement, anything is done on mobile phones. With this, employers can introduce an Employee Engagement App in order to nurture the desired company culture.
Mobile engagement apps provide functions that deliver enhanced employee communication, corporate news and events, and team collaboration. These functions work to keep remote employees engaged and connected. These apps enable flexibility, empowerment, and remote work capabilities that attract younger workers.
#2 – Let Employees Work Where they are Most Efficient
Surveys report that 88% of Millennials would prefer to choose when and where they work rather than to be defined within a nine-to-five structure. This means that Millennials spend more time telecommuting, and have frequent meetings with colleagues and clients in meeting rooms and meeting areas. As a result, personal desks are rendered less necessary for the modern work environment.
Decreasing personal workspaces and designating more meeting areas drives engagement and social interaction in the office, and helps attract millennials to your company.
#3 – More Meeting Rooms and Huddling Spaces
Millennials are more collaborative when compared to previous generations. Their prevalent use of mobile technology enables many of them to work anytime, and anywhere. Whether through social media, WhatsApp groups, Slack, etc., Millennials work collectively. In Deloitte’s findings, 47% of Millennials that work for companies with high levels of employee satisfaction, report open and free-flowing communication. On the flip side there is only 26% of Millennials employee satisfaction where companies report less open and free-flowing communication methods. Free-flowing communication is strongly correlated to employee satisfaction.
In order to encourage a greater sense of communication, workplaces should feature meeting rooms, huddle spaces, and hoteling. Furniture can be either casual lounge seating with an integrated work surface, or a table with two chairs. In the past, employees had permanently assigned workstations. The successful modern work environment on the other hand, features flexible assignments of workstations that cultivate a friendly and welcoming workspace.
#4 – Establish a Robust Employee Engagement Application
Through the use mobile technology, Millennials have grown into a wired, connected generation. The results are that 70% of millennials report that they access relevant applications from mobile devices, and 77% of Millennials wish to have even greater mobile connectivity.
In this reality, employers can and should empower their employees to be more efficient at work through mobile applications. Employee engagement apps are a great way to keep Millennial employees engaged while helping them feel connected to the company. These apps can keep them updated with important company updates and policies, create company transparency, enhance internal communications strategy, and provide transportation updates and information about local amenities.
In the modern work environment, permanent workstations are increasingly being replaced by hoteling (dynamic scheduling of workstations and workspaces). However, without an application that can book a workstation, time spent looking for available workstations is time wasted. Integrating a system with booking capabilities into an employee engagement app eliminates time spent looking for a workstation. An employee engagement app that includes booking capabilities will also increase employee satisfaction. This functionality can also help you collect significant data and gain important employee insights and feedback through the app. The data can then be used for occupancy and utilization analytics to improve space utilization.
The Millennials have become the generation with the highest number of participants within the labor force. If you want to position your company to attract and retain modern talent, make sure to establish a modern work environment.