The Key to Attracting and Engaging Millennial Talent
You should be knowing the value of having top millennial talent in your company if you are into the field of business. You either already have one in your company and see them work in ways you aren’t always sure of but at the same time bring out results in ways better than any others in the company, or you wish you had one. If you already have one in your team, you probably know what attracts and bring them in. However, if you are one of the latter, then you need to learn how, when and where you can find and bring in the best of the best to your forte.
Bringing in people from Generation X and baby boomers is not very difficult as you already know what each one of them wants, needs and looks for. However, with Generation Z, you are dealing with a set of people who were born into a lifestyle you probably are still getting accustomed to. From birth till date, they have been living in a planet surrounded by things whose purpose you are not even sure of in the first place. While you slowly discover the surge of growth in technology, the millennials are way ahead of you. They are not just used to the surge, but they are the reason for it. Hence, when trying to woo a generation you are still trying to figure out, the tactics used otherwise just won’t work. Do yourself a favor and learn how to get them to contribute in your company for the best.
Millennials are the Future of Business and Commerce
Here’s why understanding millennials and hiring them should be your priority. The current rate at which the technological advancements happen, the only and best talent who have the potential in not just understanding but actually putting those new advances to use are the millennials. Other than latest innovations, the future simply is the millennials. They are the growing workforce in leading countries and companies, this has happened for a reason.
Hiring them for your company aside, who do you think will be your client/consumer/customer now and in the near future? That’s right, it is the millennials. And who better to deliver to their needs than one of them, who is working for you.
Though this generation is often looked at negatively, it is largely because of the fact that anyone not from the generation cannot fully understand the life they were born into. Things that are still very new and advanced to the rest of you are ancient history to them. Irrespective of how they are looked at by the media and the rest of the generations, they still prove to be highly ambitious, versatile and adaptable in workplaces.
Attracting and Engaging Millennial Candidates
Gone are the days when you could literally woo anybody using just money and hope for the best output from them. Personal growth, sense of accomplishment and valuing meaningful work are things they carry higher that money. Irrespective of providing tangible and intangible incentives, it is important to realize that Generation Z is the most educated generation and hence is brimming with potential.
You can take your company to unimaginable heights through ways you barely understand if you have the right millennial beside you. You might have to compromise on your work culture and traditional routines but if the outcome is nearly as high as their potential, then none of it is a loss.
4 Tips for Attracting and Engaging Millennial Talent
1. Use Social Media Authentically
The generation that was born into the world of internet knows every bits and pieces that others usually fall prey to. From spotting fake news to finding advertorials and fake profiles, they have it in them to function best when social media is present. Hence, before working for you, they will go through your social media presence and that will be their main deciding factor.
2. Be Transparent on Career Prospects
Millennials are the generation that cares about more than just money. They look for personal growth in anything they do. Because of this, when you plan on hiring someone, make sure that you are transparent about the kind of growth they can expect in whatever position they are offered.
3. Emphasize Company Culture
Hierarchy and corporate culture is most of the time loathed by Generation Z. Healthy company culture is important to be developed in such a way that your employees feel noticed and understood and hence bring out productivity as a result of working in an environment they feel appreciated. Interaction and motivation is key.
4. Encourage Side Hustles
A trend which millennials seem to like following is not stick with just one job. They like having a change in their work environment or not have a monotonous life. Due to this, they tend to work seriously on activities they are interested in and not just as a hobby. They are always looking for ways of enhancing personal growth, but this does not mean they are deviating from your work. It does them good to move from their monotonous work and refresh their brain every now and then, which will help in producing ideal outcome in your company too.
Networking and Building Relationships are Crucial
It is one thing to create contacts and network with possible and potential talent, but it is a whole another thing to maintain that rapport. Millennials have a proven short attention span. If you want them, then you will have to take the effort of being in touch.
Even when the person you want already is a part of another company, you still keep the conversations running not just to make use of their good contacts but also to still be around if and when they decide to leave their current position.
Millennials desire social connectivity in their workplace with fellow colleagues and managers. Hence, build authentic relationships and make it a point to interact with them in a positive way and later maintain that.
Help Your Team See Their True Value
In a company, there are going to be posts ranging from the ignored to the aspired. Nobody wishes to be ignored nor be told that their work doesn’t matter. The truth of the fact is that, irrespective of the position, without the input from the lowest ranking post, the company simply won’t function. This is why it becomes very important to recognize the work of everyone and ensure them of the value it holds. This acts as motivation, the feeling that the work everyone does goes noticed and that their input is also crucial for the company’s success.
Growth Opportunities and Vision Retain Employees
There are a few things that is critical for you to realize if you want talented millennials to not just be recruited but also stay with your company.
Millennials will be quite eager to accept jobs that is thrown at them mostly because they are continuously looking into new ways of growing and expanding their horizons. Although this sounds like an advantage, this can be a terrible disadvantage if you do not do your part. What we mean is that, just recruiting them doesn’t ensure their participation or their tenure.
Along with motivation and acknowledgement of their work, they need to be constantly ensured of the personal growth they can expect from working in your company. There is nothing a young mind hates more than a stagnant, monotonous life. If you aren’t prepared to give them the exposure and growth they expect, they will make it a point to run away in no time and other companies throwing opportunities at them will ensure it.
Hence, not only is the recruitment in your hands, but so is their tenure and their productivity. Keep your communications open, motivation at bay and opportunities of growth transparent.