Millennials – those born between the 1980s and the early 2000s – are a key generation for any employer looking for top talent today. This generation is currently flooding the market and for those businesses keen to avoid a talent drain and secure the brightest employees with the most potential, appealing to millennials is key. So, what does it take to attract millennials to work for your business?
‘Agile’ working is a buzz term for startups and innovators but the millennial generation is increasingly looking for a more flexible way of working, no matter what the business or industry. Around 90% of millennials would prefer a flexible schedule, as opposed to a regular nine to five day. Millennials value work: life balance like no other generation before them and if your company is keen to attract these individuals then flexibility to give employees more control over how they organise their lives is going to be key.
Learning and career development
It’s not just about the money for millennials. This generation is looking for development and opportunities for growth that will create a different working experience for them than just simply showing up to a desk every day. Boredom is a big problem and companies can help to avoid this with ongoing training and development, job rotation and workplace learning. Many millennial candidates will ask at interviews what the learning opportunities are and those businesses that are set up to offer greater personal growth to employees will be a much more attractive prospect.
Workplace culture
A job is part of a lifestyle for millennials – they want to feel that there are opportunities at work to make friends and discover and share new interests. A positive workplace culture will have a key role to play to ensure that employees feel stimulated, included and enthusiastic about showing up for work every day. That means ensuring that your business has strict policies and processes in place to handle potentially problematic issues such as bullying or discrimination. It also means looking at ways to enhance the working experience of your staff, to encourage them to meet and mix and to ensure that you have positive brand values that are enforced throughout the business.
Something meaningful
Many millennial employees are keen to be part of something bigger than themselves and want to feel that they are making a difference. There are multiple different ways to implement this, from making your business more socially responsible, to introducing schemes where your employees can use their skills and experience to be a bigger part of the local community and help out.
A good boss
Bosses are the number one reason that millennials tend to leave a job and so management structure and approach could be key to attracting top millennial talent. Millennials want ongoing feedback and regular performance reviews and tend to be more attracted to a collaborative as opposed to controlling or competitive working style.
We pride ourselves on understanding what candidates are looking for when joining a business – we can help you to tailor your business and opportunities to appeal to this important demographic. Get in touch with 2i Recruit today on 01483 414719 to find out more about how we can help with your recruitment.
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