Why Millennials Don't Stay at your Company

Attracting and keeping top millennial talent is a burning issue for leaders. Millennials are 35% of the workforce. By 2020 they’ll be 46% of the working population.

Millennials value authenticity and self-growth over more traditional values, as such, it's not a surprise many organizations are unable to keep talented Millennials at their companies. 

Companies sometimes don't realize what to Millennials is obvious, and it's one simple truth of tech companies, innovation starts with a progressive company culture. You can't have boomers doing things the old way, expecting Millennial to "fit-in", you have to transform, innovate and maintain a culture that keeps up with them! 

As Millennials drive social media and the mobile revolution, among a host of related things like ecommerce & such, they also look for companies that demonstrate a passion for what they do and don't have an attitude of mediocrity. This of course, beings with leadership and the emotional intelligence or an organization. 

Yet many organizations struggle to attract, and retain, top millennial talent.

If you notice this trend at your work home, it's likely your company has not been progressive and adaptable with the times. If you cannot attract & keep millennial talent, it's very unlikely that a millennial audience will be able to identify with your brand or be very engaged with what you do and offer as customers. 

Millennials as we know have different fundamental values, often choosing life quality and making lifestyle choices over security and salary. This is a bit ironic since it's us who have the high student debts, who maybe had to live longer with our parents and who have to compete against the highest youth unemployment rates in decades.

Quite fundamentally, we are also the most educated generation in history and aren't fools. We won't stay at a company that doesn't invest in our learning, growth and doesn't have a culture that is progressive. This is quite basic for a millennial, while a boomer may have some difficulty understanding this. And I apologize to all the Dads out there who don't get it, but it's time in 2015, to truly realize what this means: 

Ninety-one percent of Millennials (born between 1977-1997) expect to stay in a job for less than three years

 Millennials require environments that: 

• Are entrepreneurial and expect them to be on "fire for their jobs" with room to grow and boost a company's innovation IQ. 
• This generation is reputed to be team-oriented, as such having them work alone or isolated from the a team. 
• Have a company culture that has brainstorming sessions, where they do not just feel like a number, but like a person that can contribute to a variety of tasks, group projects & decisions. 

 

Economic instability has erased, especially for younger workers, the stigma that has accompanied leaving a job early. That’s because strategic hopping been all but necessary for as long as they can remember.

•  Invest in their education, pair them up with a mentor and have regular performance meetings with them to make sure they feel listened to. 
• Have a company culture that recognized and pioneers digital branding, for Millennials social media can be a larger part of their lives growing up and may value digital IQ more than previous generations. 
• Focus on how your company can aid their personal development: in terms of giving them the opportunity to acquire new skills, to socialize in a professional setting and to develop leadership qualities. Demonstrate that you care about their growth for the right reasons. 

I would like to conclude with something I am sure you already know, for cash-strapped Millennials it's all about the little perks that show your company cares about it's employees: 

The Perks

Consider the following ideas, which as a Millennial I might actually care about and be impressed by: 

• Free breakfast every day
• Napping, meditation/yoga rooms
• Free snack cupboards
• Free Gym membership (show that you care about their physical health)
• Continuing education or training stipend 
• Give time in the week for your employees to do a MOOC, e.g. Coursera.
• Philanthropic giving programs, including employer contribution match
• Organized volunteer efforts for the whole office
• Organized charity event participation (e.g. Walk for Breast Cancer)
• Department retreats, sans work (bowling, brewery tours, etc.)
• Flexible scheduling (e.g. a certain number of hours a week where they can work "remote")
• Casual dress code
• Wellness program rewards (i.e. $500 a year for maintaining healthy lifestyle)
• Reduced hours in the summer (e.g. off at Noon on Friday)
• Paid day off on your birthday
• Employee feedback surveys (that actually implement suggestions)
• Mentorship to grow and improve with a “never stop learning” mentality

I think we all see the value in these programs and such considerations. Sit down with your Millennials and brainstorm what they would value in your company. If you don't adjust your corporate culture to suit Millennials, it's true, you probably won't be able to keep them from hopping. And NO, it's that that they are just spoilt brats, it's that your company does not make the effort. 

A lot of companies will go under for the simple inability of their HR managers & CEOs to see the value in adopting Millennial loyalty programs  & company strategies for their young employees. It just amounts to a gamification strategy that matches the audience and while the cheap companies won't see the ROI in it, the smart ones will and that will be the difference.

 Signed, 

A Millennial