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How to Attract the Rising Generation to Your Company

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You don’t have to look around long to see that the millennial generation is growing up. This generation of people—born roughly between 1980 and 2000—will be more prevalent in the workforce than any other age group, with over a quarter of the U.S. labor force being millennials by 2020 .

This doesn’t just mean there will be more millennial employees around. The generational differences in the workforce have already been felt, and they will only become more apparent as millennials continue to take on leadership roles at work .

Millennials are valuable workers.  They are some of the most highly educated workers in history, and they come to their first jobs with an entrepreneurial mindset. They want freedom, flexibility, challenge, and someone they can trust .

To attract this generation, you need to up your game. This means you need to start thinking about how millennial employees differ from previous generations . It also means you need to establish a culture that the younger generation will want to join.

Millennials Value Company Culture and Values Above All Else

What millennials want in a company is pretty simple: they just want to know what your company stands for, and how it values its employees . From their perspective, this information can be found in one place: your company’s website . If they can’t learn about your culture and values through a website, then their next stop is the reviews section of Google.

This means that your HR site is no longer just an employee manual. It has to be a representation of who you are as a company, what makes you unique, and how employees fit in .

For many companies, attracting millennials to their workplace is an essential part of recently-announced talent acquisition strategies. But with recent research showing that 57 percent of this generation believes there are no companies that stand out as great places to work, it’s clear many managers have a ways to go before they can convince the millennial workforce why their company is the perfect fit for them .

Five things your company can do to better attract millennials.

1. Get Social

In addition to general social media platforms, millennials are now gravitating towards more visual websites like Instagram and Pinterest. Social media is integral to this generation, so managers need to be just as active on these sites for recruiting purposes.

2. Embrace Technology (and Millennials)

Millennials are more comfortable operating technology than previous generations, which is one reason why they’re often quick to incorporate it into the workplace . In fact, a recent study from Ernst & Young found that millennials believe that new technologies can improve company productivity by 15 percent.

Software that allows your company to operate with more efficiency is just one way to show millennials that you’re forward-thinking. Also, being able to give them access to technology they are most comfortable with—such as smartphones and tablets—is another step in the right direction.

3. Unique Benefits

The phrase “corporate benefits package” is likely something that still makes millennials yawn in their cubicles. This generation grew up with parents offering them everything from personal shoppers to in-home chefs, so it’s hard for them to see why a company can’t do the same .

If your company doesn’t already have this type of program in place, it’s time to start thinking outside of the box. Millennials will always value work-life balance and unique benefits, so offering them a chance for their company to give back is a great recruiting tactic.

4. Work/Life Balance

Speaking of work-life balance, this is another aspect of working that millennials feel strongly about . This generation is more interested in a happy and healthy work-life balance than their own growth and advancement.

Since millennials value work-life balance, managers will need to maintain a flexible schedule when it comes to working hours . This can be done by allowing employees to choose when they come in and leave work, or even giving them the ability to work from home on certain days.

5. Workshops and Training

Millennials also want to be able to learn and develop their skill sets. With people from the millennial generation now entering the workforce, experts predict a talent gap over the next few years. This can make it difficult for millennials—who make up a large part of this impending workforce shortage—to find careers that align with their interests.

This is where training workshops and development opportunities come in. They give millennials the chance to learn about new fields they may not have considered before. Insights from Google’s Chief of Human Capital, Laszlo Bock , reveals that “training has a direct impact on employee performance.” So it makes sense why 80 percent of millennials think their company should offer it.

The workshops could range from financial wellness, to technology 101. There is an incredible range of subjects you could have your team be trained on and become experts in. The more financially secure and in control they feel at home, the less stressed they will be at work.

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