Seven ways to retain Millennials

By Jillian Phipps

Millennials are taking the workplace by storm. Is your organization ready to take them on?

During a recent hiring campaign, you enthusiastically welcomed several millennials into the company. Impressed with their resumes and interview performances, you’re excited for the future. However, in the back of your mind, you’re more than slightly worried about retaining these younger employees. If you can relate to this scenario, your concerns are justifiable. According to Gallup, 60 percent of millennial employees would consider accepting a new job opportunity. To retain the bright, young talent at your company, consider adhering to the following tips.

Dump the Traditional Hierarchy

Does your company have a traditional organizational structure? Look for ways to flatten it. Certainly, you don’t need to remove bosses and supervisors altogether. However, you should develop strategies that allow millennial workers to have a voice in company issues. If younger employees feel their opinions matter, they’ll likely be happier and want to work harder for you.  

Enhance Digital Presence

Enhancing your digital presence might help you engage and retain both your consumers and millennial employees. Millennial employees are often more tech savvy than their Baby Boomer coworkers. If they aren’t impressed with your organization’s digital presence, millennials might doubt your company is built for the future.

Embrace Flex Scheduling

Advances in technology have made it possible for employees at many organizations to work from anywhere they choose at any time of the day or night. They can complete tasks while sitting on their couches at home or relaxing in lounge chairs at the beach. Offering flex scheduling is a great way to appeal to millennials. When given the opportunity to work when and where they want to, your millennial employees’ productivity and creativity might soar.  

Provide Unique Experiences

If you want to retain your millennial workforce, provide them with unique experiences they won’t receive anywhere else. For instance, you might wish to:

• Invite a motivational speaker to inspire employees once every month.
• Cater a healthy lunch for workers once each week.
• Fill the refrigerator in the break-room with healthy snacks such as fruits, vegetables, and yogurt.
• Sing karaoke music in the office on Friday afternoons.
• Offer employees a specified amount of time off work every month to volunteer at a worthy organization.
• Plan regular social activities such as bowling, softball games, or movie nights.

Foster Inclusiveness

Due to their fondness for social media, many millennials want to feel connected to both their coworkers and the company they work for. Develop ways to foster inclusiveness. For example, you may wish to ditch cubicles in favor of a more open office environment.   

Practice Reverse Mentoring

Reverse mentoring is a great way for millennials to find a sense of purpose. Certainly, millennials can learn valuable insights from senior employees at your organization. However, more established workers can also often learn productivity enhancing information from millennials. For instance, you might want to pair tech savvy millennials with senior employees who struggle navigating your organization’s website and social media platforms.

Provide Opportunities for Career Advancement

To maintain your millennial employees, providing them with opportunities for career advancement is crucial. When hiring younger workers, carefully explain all of the monetary incentives and benefits the company offers. Give millennials regular feedback concerning job performance. Praise them for accomplishments while providing guidance regarding areas where improvements are warranted.

Retaining bright millennial workers is important for both the present and future stability of an organization. To encourage your talented, millennial workforce to stick around for more than a few months or years, consider implementing the aforementioned tips.