Employers today must face the fact that the majority of new recruits to their workforce are the so called ‘millennials’. Loosely speaking millennials are young people who are reaching or have reached adulthood in the early decades of the 21st century. They have grown up in a technological culture that could scarcely have been imagined by earlier generations. Instant access to information, instant communication and instant connectivity has resulted in a new generation that is NOT afraid to speak up and share their opinion.
So don’t be surprised when a millennial that you have recently hired speaks up about the conditions in the workplace or offers suggestions about their job that are far outside your comfort zone. Don’t fall into the trap of blaming all your workforce problems or new ideas causing resistance to change to change on millennials.
The millennial trait of speaking up and fighting for one’s beliefs is spreading throughout our culture and that is a good thing. Speaking up is the key to solving abuse and discrimination of all types. Be aware that this is the new workplace culture. Don’t fight it; be aware that this new workplace culture can work to your advantage. If you get your new millennial employees engaged in your company’s goals, then they will fight just as hard for your company’s success.
I recently went to the RecruitCon2017 conference where Andrea and I heard many great tricks and tactics and new exciting ways to recruit but I personally found the last talk of the conference the best one to date. Not only was the speaker passionate, but she was also realistic and touched on actual struggles every employer faces with the new workforce.
In this world of instant social media and platforms telling you how to act and what to expect out of life, how do you keep people engaged? The simple talk was all about keeping employees engaged in achieving your company’s success.
So here are some tips to keep employees engaged to help your company succeed:
Make sure you have the right employee to start with. Figure out WHY you need to hire someone and why his or her role is important. Many companies believe they need to hire someone but don’t really understand the purpose or the benefits of the new employee’s role. Write down your understanding of their workplace role and what you expect and it will help you recruit the right person.
The next step is to make sure the company’s goals and the goals of the new hire are aligned. Make the employee excited to work in your company – and, understand that common goal setting is the key to motivation. It might seem tedious to sit down with an employee and set goals, but in the long run it will help him or her stay engaged and feel valued.
Say thank you. Even an email after the first week saying “Thank you for joining our company; how your week was?” will be appreciated. Showing appreciation to an individual is important and the employee will understand that his or her work is appreciated and noticed. Company bosses belonging to previous generations might never have experienced “warm and fuzzy” interactions with their own bosses and may find it difficult to empathize with expectations for the personal touch that millennials expect. But it is worth the effort to personalize your relationship with new employees if you want to retain them in your company.
Open up two way communication right away. As soon as they get the job – assign them a buddy. This will ensure a communication channel is always open; the employee will know you are listening and feel engaged.
These are just a couple ideas to help companies stay connected to their millennial staff and help understand the importance of communication and openness. Stay authentic and don’t try to be like older established companies. Take the time to be the company that people want to work for!
Any questions or comments? Love to hear from you!
