Are You Ready For The New Workforce?

I’m often asked “what keeps you up at night?” One of the areas I’m most focused on is attracting, retaining and inspiring the new generation of employees so that we’re tapping the incredibly innovative minds of today while positioning our business for an even brighter tomorrow.

We know more than one-in-three American workers are millennials, surpassing Gen Xers as the largest generation in the U.S. workforce.* That’s good news in many ways because millennials have proven to be a highly-skilled and talented group that embraces collaboration, innovation and risk taking. They also bring an unprecedented innate understanding of technology, in many cases entering the workforce with a better grasp of technology and digital platforms than their more experienced colleagues (myself included).

In many ways the future of business lies in empowering millennial talent. With markets changing at a rapid pace and new digitally-born companies popping up almost daily, employers have a clear choice – embrace the strengths of the new workforce and create a culture that allows for growth, change and adaptability – or face extinction.

Personally I find it a fun and rewarding challenge to see the world through millennials’ eyes and to use their powerful energy to enhance our culture. We’re always looking at ways to welcome the new workforce, while creating an environment where all generations are valued. Here’s a sampling of approaches we’ve taken:

• Embrace Constant Innovation – Research shows that many millennials are attracted to companies that value a culture of innovation, and they desire to play a direct role in shaping products and offerings that reach customers. We’ve embraced the innovations that are revolutionizing the way businesses serve customers, from big data and personalization, to digitization, to smart automation and the use of mobile and social. We were one of the first financial services firms with apps for Apple Watch? and Apple TV?. We’ve also created a dedicated business unit that’s passionate about serving the needs of young investors, and we’ve established advisory groups of millennial employees to co-create and help build great experiences that resonate.

• Operate More Like a Start-Up – Collaborative, creative, open-minded, idea-driven and customer-focused. These terms are not reserved for small start-ups anymore, and employees of all generations are finding these values a welcome change. From agile methodologies to design thinking, we’re putting these capabilities to use across our business every day. The more we adopt a lean, start-up mentality, the more we can leverage the strengths of millennial talent and deliver greater value to our customers faster.

• Cultivate a Purpose-Driven Culture – Studies show that fulfilling a higher-purpose can go a long way in driving employee loyalty and satisfaction across all generations. Our employees gain tremendous value in knowing that their work has a positive impact on the world. We’re proud of our common purpose and our employees embrace the fact that we don’t just manage investments but rather work extremely hard to inspire a better future for the millions of customers we serve. We live that shared purpose every day and together we’ve created a culture where customer outcomes are infused into everything we do.

• Optimize Employee Benefits – Employee benefits are a big factor in determining where people choose to work and younger employees are looking at this more closely than previous generations because of higher costs of living, large student loans to pay, and other concerns. They seek out benefits programs that meet their priorities while offering choice and flexibility. New policies such as student loan assistance, extended parental leave, and greater flexibility in when and how to use paid time off are just a few of the enhancements we’ve made to our own benefits program.

• Re-imagine Physical Space – The physical environment can play a huge role in employee engagement and the traditional office environment is being completely reinvented. In many of our Fidelity offices and regional centers we’re adopting more open and collaborative workspace concepts, including shared “unassigned” workspaces and technology to facilitate greater mobility and flexibility.

The future is now. There’s no question that millennials are a powerful force – influencing HR policies and business practices everywhere. If companies want to stay ahead, they need to be open to making changes in how they operate, communicate and innovate. What are you doing on your team to embrace the perspectives and strengths of the new workforce?

* Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data, 2015

Apple, Apple Watch and Apple TV are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.

Views expressed are as of February 1, 2016. Unless otherwise noted, the opinions provided are those of the author and not necessarily those of Fidelity Investments.

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