Attracting and engaging millennials: It’s a culture thing

Millennials, Gen Y, digital natives, generation ‘me’… call them what you want, the generation born between the early 1980s and late 1990s certainly fascinates organisations. It seems everyone wants to engage with them and understand their habits, values and aspirations. But it’s not all about creating Google like work-places with the obligatory pool table and sleep pods. The answer is a lot deeper.

A better world of work

I’m going to suggest that the secret to ‘reaching out’ to this workforce isn’t achieved through a cynical ‘project millennial’ initiative, just as sure as employee engagement never works if it feels like the latest HR campaign. The answer lies in creating a good values driven culture, a great place to work. Do that and it’ll not only attract millennials to want to work for us, but all generations.

The truth is that the often misunderstood millennial generation through their focus on passion and values, social responsibility, well-being and job mobility are just seeking a better world of work. Sure, millennials might be asking for it - but regardless, it’s actually a pretty good idea.

So what exactly are they asking for?

I’ve been around the HR block for a good few years and must have asked thousands of interview questions. My interest in writing this article stems from the kind of questions I’m increasingly getting asked myself - and I can tell you, they’ve certainly changed. I’ve noticed a shift from the monetary based “what’s in it for me?” to the responsibility based “what are you doing to give something back?” 

This is supported by the findings of a US survey carried out by Cone Communications which found that 75% of millennials would take a pay cut to work for a responsible company, compared with a 55% average across all ages; while almost two-thirds would not accept a job from a company without strong CSR practices.

There’s also a shift towards work-life balance. A study of the NextGen workforce at PwC found that many millennial employees are unconvinced that excessive work demands are worth the sacrifices to their personal life. It also found that millennials wanted more flexibility, the opportunity to shift hours or put in time at night, if necessary. But guess what? So did non-millennials, in equal numbers. 

What’s more, the Deloitte Millennial Survey 2017 found that millennials believe that flexible working arrangements support better productivity and staff engagement, while enhancing well-being, health and happiness. In other words - there’s tangible benefits for the employee and the organisation.

There’s always a downside…

I’ve emphasised many of the positive traits of millennial workers but, as with any generation, there are characteristics that don’t always endear. They’ve been labelled selfish, entitled and demanding, not to mention addicted to technology - are these really true or are they stereotypes that older generations perceive millennials to have? 

If you want to take a de-tour through some of these perceptions, you’ll enjoy this article by Jayson DeMers - a millennial himself, who addresses the bad workplace habits that millennials need to stop making. He acknowledges the differences, and suggests how millennials should compensate for them to better adjust to their jobs, and make a better impression.

The demographics speak for themselves

Millennials will soon make up 50% of the workforce and 75% by 2025, so organisations will have to take note of the aspirations of this group if they have any hope of attracting and retaining them. So, if you are in HR, resourcing or even a concerned business leader, this quote from marketing writer Danny Dover applies to you. 

“For businesses that don’t market to millennials, it might be the last mistake they make. Millennials, while certainly not perfect, are the future.” 

If you are not already thinking about the attraction and engagement of millennials, now is a good time to adjust your value proposition. But don’t think millennials are all twenty-somethings. The oldest millennial workers are now in their mid thirties. And, as we’ve seen from some of the research, things that motivate millennials are really about good organisational culture and that appeals across the generations. You don’t necessarily have to be within the millennial age range to be millennial-minded - and value the same things.

Attracting and engaging millennials - some tips for your organisation

Develop good coaches and line managers

If millennials are more self-assured and clearer about their objectives, they’ll have aspirations to match. All of which has implications for how they are managed. They’ll have a higher need for feedback and recognition as well as having a say in setting performance expectations and negotiating a fair salary for the work they do. 

Millennials respond well to good line management - and one that is as committed to enabling personal learning and development as they are. It’ll also help to develop some of the skills perhaps held back by their tech influenced lives - interpersonal skills like communication, patience, coping with pressure and being a team player. An investment in line manager training is unlikely to be wasted.

Be honest about what you can offer

This brings me back to the interview. Millennials have extremely high expectations from their role and the company they join. They’ll want to learn and develop as well as benefit from a healthy work-life balance. If your organisational culture cannot meet these demands, be honest during the interview process, rather than promise and not deliver. 

Unlike earlier generations, millennials are unlikely to grin and bare it - if you don’t meet their expectations they’ll move on.

Create flexible and friendly policies

This is an area where you can really tick some of the most important millennial boxes. Work-life balance and flexible working hours are valued more by millennials than financial reward. So, creating personal and family-friendly policies that meet the needs of the modern, millennial workforce is likely to be appreciated.

Take my own organisation Pure Planet as an example. We’ve recently taken a stand on parental leave. We’re treating men and woman equally. More precisely, we’re treating parents equally. We are the first energy supplier in Britain to have an equal parental policy regardless of gender, sexual orientation or how they became a parent. It’s been well received - an you can read a little more about it here. 

Invest in Corporate Social Responsibility

This isn’t just about attracting and engaging millennials. While the values you hold as an organisation may be a deciding factor in deciding whether to join and stay, developing a deeper sense of purpose and responsibility into the work experience will help build the organisations reputation. And, socially savvy millennials like sharing their employer’s CSR efforts which helps build the employer brand. 

So, put your CSR policy - and particularly evidence of what you have done - on your careers website. And if you don’t have one, think about what you could do. Research and my own experience shows that it’s an important issue to 'values' driven candidates. If you’d like to find out more about the benefits of a CSR policy, my recent LinkedIn post is full of tips. 

Embrace decent technology - and optimise for mobile

The millennial generation is used to technology that works. It could be said that they’ve grown up impatient, as advances in technology have facilitated instant gratification. They’ve never known any different. All of which suggests that if they are expected to work with slow tech - just because you’ve got an office full of it - they’ll not be happy bunnies.

They’ll also not be too impressed if the way you present yourself online offers a poor user experience. Of particular importance is your careers website - and indeed anything candidate facing. You have to be optimised for mobile - if not you risk creating a negative perception which is probably where your relationship with the candidate will end.

Conclusion

More accessible and listening management, a little honesty, greater flexibility to suit the way we live, giving something back, more modern workplaces and tech to go with it... It doesn’t seem too unreasonable to me - but then my work is all about creating engaged and high performing workplaces where this kind of approach matters.

A positive and culture driven world of work should be the norm - not because millennials are actually asking for it, but because it’s good for us, our employees, and therefore good for the customers and communities we serve.

Creating the right culture plays a big part in building powerful employee engagement. Get it right and it’ll not only attract millennials to want to work for us, but all generations.

Richard Roberts is an employee engagement and leadership specialist. He is the part-time People Director at Pure Planet. He also runs employee engagement consultancy en:Rich HR. He is passionate about building highly motivated and productive teams.