Responding to the millennial challenge

IN THE world of business and employment, it’s no secret anymore that millennials in the workplace are the demographic to watch out for.

In less than a decade, millennials are seen to make up half of the global workforce.

In the Philippines, they are estimated to already make up 33 percent of the population and 75 percent of the workforce.

But if you’re reading this article, then chances are you’re having trouble hiring them and making them stay long enough to have a  positive impact on your company.

You’re not alone.

Recruiting and retaining  millennials remains a problem for organizations all over the world.

US-based business consultancy firm Gallup conducted a study on millennial employment, and found that millennials are less averse to constant change in jobs.

Instead of looking to be hired in a company that will keep them for 50, 10, or even just 5 years, millennials are ready to switch jobs at least four times within a decade, according to CNN.

US-centric the data may be, but it’s not too far from the truth in the Philippines.

It’s not uncommon to see resumes peppered with two-year stints (or less) in one company and another. It’s also not uncommon to see younger employees leaving their jobs within a year.

Making the change for the millennial shift in the workplace isn’t easy.

But the good news: it’s part of a strategic move towards the overall growth of your company.

Provide meaningful work

This statement might sound like it’s fit only for social enterprises or the corporate social responsibility arm of a conglomerate—and perhaps that’s the reason why social entrepreneurship is becoming popular for millennials—but by now, it should be applicable to even the most corporate of organizations.

“Meaningful work” in this case is about the perceived and actual relevance of any job and its corresponding or subsequent impact. Perceived because the value of meaningful work must be acknowledged, not simply implied; actual because it’s not worth doing at all if it’s just theatrics.

Millennials need to feel and actually see that what they are doing is contributing to the overall betterment of the organization.

Startups, for example, tend to operate with a very small group of people, so that each member of the team feels the full weight of every task accomplished.

The lean team also allows for more opportunity for mentorship from experts or founders and space for growth, which also adds to the meaningfulness of the work being done.

Millennial employees willingly endure the high-stress environment of startups because it provides for a high-impact and potentially high-rewards end game.

For larger organizations, the effect can be replicated by creating smaller, autonomous teams in the company and within departments.

This may not be an easy shift for many companies, but this shift will contribute to your company’s growth and efficiency in the long run.

Having larger teams decreases the feeling of accountability for each team member, and will encourage social loafing. This is known as the Ringelmann effect.

Allow for flexibility

Flexibility at work isn’t about work-life balance anymore. It’s about work-life integration, especially for millennials.

Today, the question isn’t about “How do I make time for life around work (and vice-versa)?” It’s about “How can I blend life and work together when I’m connected to both 24/7?”

The solution isn’t doling out work-from-home days, more vacation leaves, or less work hours (although that’s a very viable and progressive option if you can make it work). It starts with management practice: give millennials a directive and a goal, and let them accomplish their task in their own way.

Whether it’s using new technology or needing some time outside the office to do it, provide them the flexibility to be able to express productivity in their own way.

The more immediate action you can take to allow this: experiment with flexible work hours with your employees. This goes hand-in-hand with the idea of meaningful work.

To millennials, the notion of work-life integration literally means work is part of life and life is part of work.

Millennials signed up for the job because they believe their values and their direction align with the company’s.

And that means they’re ready to be flexible for the job when there is a need for it. All they’re asking for is the same treatment from management.

Boost employer branding

All this leads up to the idea of employer branding. The idea of a brand has surpassed the usual notion of ads or press releases.

Today, brand means the entire image of the company—from the product packaging to the TVC to the way you hire employees and how you make them work within your offices.

Brand has also come to mean culture. How your company culture is perceived is just as important as the brand of your products.

But what does branding have to do with hiring millennials? Before millennials are convinced that you’ll be giving them meaningful work, they’ll have to be convinced that your company is good enough to work for in the first place.

If you don’t take control of how you’re being perceived on the outside, you’re hurting your chances of getting the best millennial talent out there and encouraging them to stay once hired.

Maintaining that distinct company culture will be a key player in making sure millennial employee turnover will be kept to an acceptable low.

Think about this: P&G and Unilever are two of the most sought-after companies by many business graduates, because of their reputation for a) rigorous selection process; b) the challenging training they offer; and c) the weight of the names themselves on the resume. Consider the fact as well that in the Kalibrr job board, the top search terms are always names of companies.

And the best part about this is the good news I mentioned earlier: in building a workplace fit for millennials, you are simultaneously building an attractive and powerful brand for your company. Not only are you catching up with the times, you are also creating greater value for your company—for both your employees and your customers. It’s a win-win situation, but the change has to happen, and it has to happen now. (The author is Content Marketing Manager of Kalibrr.)