LIKE HONEY TO A BEE – WHY DO MILLENNIALS LIKE PURPOSE DRIVEN COMPANIES

By 2025, millennials are expected to make 75% of the global workforce. With this in mind, attracting and keeping your millennial workforce should take utmost priority for your company’s long-term health. And the sooner you understand how a millennial’s mind works, the better your chances of copping the cream of the crop.

A recent study conducted by CONE shows that “Three-Quarters of Millennials would take a pay cut to work for a socially responsible company.” And these individuals are willing to make concessions only to achieve their own definition of success.

This can be the result of several factors, millennials being highly-idealistic, or generally because of a strong economy which gives people flexibility in terms of selecting job opportunities.

To better understand millennials and give businesses a better understanding of how a millennial’s mind ticks, we have come up with a list of why millennials like purpose-driven companies. This can help you develop strategies to attract the best minds in the fastest growing workforce and drive them to your company.

MILLENNIALS ARE MORE CONCERNED WITH THE “WHYS” THAN THE “HOW MUCH”

More and more, people are putting their wallets where their hearts are. And leading this charge are millennials, whether through their grocery carts or the companies they choose to work with.

Younger adults are willing to work for lower wages if these means contributing to a higher social cause. Call it youth, call it rebellion, even you have been guilty of this during your younger years.

Millennials who have a better appreciation of the people who they work for are more likely to show loyalty and perform better at work. With this in mind, companies who focus on the why’s of its business rather than its profit margins are more likely to keep their millennial employees who make 35% of the U.S. labor force.

In a 2016 Cone Communications Millennial Employee Engagement study showed:

•         Three-quarters of millennials would take a pay cut to work for a socially responsible company
•         83% would be more loyal to a company that helps them contribute to social and environmental issues (vs. 70% U.S. average)
•         76% of millennials consider a company’s social and environmental commitments when deciding where to work (vs. 58% U.S. average)

?MILLENNIALS WANT TO BE CONTRIBUTORS, NOT JUST EMPLOYEES

You see it everywhere, young, purpose-driven companies outperforming their well-established profit-oriented counterparts. Millennials tend to be highly motivated individuals that genuinely want to make a positive change to the world. Working in an innovative company gives them the opportunity to be contributors to this change.

MILLENNIALS LOOK FOR PERSONAL SATISFACTION, NOT TASK ACCOMPLISHMENT

Millennials, in general, have a genuine distaste for bureaucracies and traditional corporations. This is because traditional working environments measure performance by the amount of work an employee can accomplish. The corporations bottom line focusing on profit, with little or no regard of the impact of their actions.

To get millennials on board, they must have a sincere appreciation of what they are doing. A purpose-driven company helps to satisfy this need by giving them a sense of personal satisfaction.

MILLENNIALS LOVE COMPANIES WHO ARE SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE

78 percent of millennials believe that companies should have a responsibility of helping build a better world. Millennials are all about being a part of an advocacy and contributing to society.

Working for a purpose-driven company helps fill their need to be productive members of society.

84% of millennials say that making a difference takes precedence over professional recognition. A company who communicates a clear sense of purpose makes it easier for its employees to understand how their work contributes to this mission.

FINDING PURPOSE AT WORK – MILLENNIALS AND PURPOSE-DRIVEN COMPANIES

Lack of passion can be attributed to a company’s failure to create a situation where its employees can find meaning in their work. Purpose-driven companies provide a clear direction and the fuel to inspire their employees producing honey that attracts the bee.