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The Millennial Workplace – How to Manage the Generational Shift
We’ve all heard the negative stereotypes about Millennials – they are lazy and don’t want to work hard, just to name two. With this cohort of the population making up nearly 50% of the workforce in 2020, it is more important than ever to debunk these stereotypes, and ensure that companies are effectively attracting, and retaining this talent pool to build a sustainable business for the future.
The Millennial Mindset
In a recent survey by Universum of 16,000 Millennials, they found the younger generation of the workforce is incentivised by giving back, to their community, but also to themselves, in pursuit of a better work/life balance. Millennials are not as driven by working long days and creating an ‘overworked culture’ to prove themselves as generations of employees before them have. They prefer to work smarter, not harder, and enjoy the flexibility that comes with that.
So in a candidate-tight market, how do you find the best staff for your business? With Millennials in particular, how do you keep them engaged and retained? What is your value proposition as a company? It is becoming more common that people are not interested in a job just for the money. They take much more into consideration, and want to do something that matters. Ask yourself - why would people want to work for you?
Attracting and Retaining a Multi-Generational Workforce
The shared value for employees and businesses is that those who are treated well respond in kind: happy employees, happy customers, better business results. Having a strong company culture is important to attract and retain staff, as are benefits such as competitive compensation, on-going training and development, and a focus on sustainability. It also makes your company a desirable place to work if you incorporate benefit trends such as flexible work arrangements. In the recent NZ Staff Turnover Survey, ‘family or personal’ ranks as the number one reason for turnover, showing just how important individually-focused ‘flexibility’ benefits can be. The companies willing to offer benefits that reflect the values of their workforce are the ones who can both attract staff and find human capital sustainability.
When recruiting across multi-generations, posting a job ad and waiting for applications to come in is just not enough. Businesses should proactively utilise different recruitment tools to access ‘hidden’ talent networks in order to find candidates who are the best fit for the role and the business culture. This is where recruitment companies can offer great value to any business – providing the hiring expertise, assessment tools required and the intimate understanding of the market to ensure your business finds the best talent. And what will make you the employer of choice to that talent is the value you provide to your employees.
Drake New Zealand has been providing recruitment and HR solutions to local businesses nationally since 1971. Our consultants take the time to understand your recruitment needs and deploy bespoke assessment tools for each role to assess each candidates’ capability and potential. Call us on 0800 840 940 or email [email protected] to find out more.
