Millennials, who make up 56 million members of the workforce and were born between 1981 and 1996, have been transforming the workplace. If you want to recruit millennial workers, you have to make your small business appealing.
These individuals bring generational changes in the form of creativity, innovation, and their skills. They also get to pick and choose where they decide to work. It’s not a case of the worker selling themselves to you. A small business must sell its company, values, and mission to them.
Let’s take a look at how you can recruit millennial workers and make your business more attractive to this generation.
Offer the Right Employer Benefits
Imagine if your business offers six vacation weeks a year and a pretty hefty bonus at Christmas. While these perks might sound good to some employees, they might not be worth it for others. Employer benefits need to match up with the individual’s own needs.
Millennials in particular are more interested in college savings plans, with one in three saying they want one from their next job. Even more would like tuition reimbursement, while one-third of millennials state that paying for their child’s education is their top priority. Tailor the benefits you offer to better recruit millennial workers and meet them at their needs.
Promote A Socially Responsible Mission
Studies have shown that millennials prefer to work with organizations making a social impact. They are seeking out companies with ethical business standards that match their own.
Millennials want to work for companies who are intent on improving the world. Their spending habits are further proof of this intention. 66% of millennials will spend more on products if it comes from a sustainable brand.
There are a number of ways your company can become more socially responsible and recruit millennial workers. You can begin making tweaks to your marketing campaigns. This will help shift it away from any personal self-interest or gain. The changes will be directed towards offering proper value to your customers and the planet. Marketing, when used properly, makes an impact on people. Be careful with the manner in which you do it. Prioritize honest, transparent, and open actions and behavior.
Millennial workers also want socially responsible businesses to present an opportunity to give back. This could be in the form of volunteering in the community, charitable gift matching, or sponsoring an event. A good example is what Patagonia did during the 2016 holidays. Instead of pocketing profits made on Black Friday, the company donated 100% of their Black Friday profits to grassroots nonprofit organizations.
Embrace Technology
Millennials grew up with technology, ranging from personal computers to smartphones. Being digital natives means that millennial workers are in a position to spot exciting new trends. They may also embrace said trends early on and master how to use these tools.
As a result, it’s important that your organization recruit millennial workers that look to the future by adopting these trends. If you don’t, they might think you’re outdated. Millennials may see that your business will be overrun by rivals. They will not want to work for a company that has no future.
Trend forecasters predict that 50% of the American workforce will be freelance by 2020. Your business may recruit millennial workers by offering remote working positions. Encourage using technology like Skype and FaceTime to stay in touch. Millennials crave flexibility. If your business can’t offer it to them, someone else will.
The idea is to make your company just as appealing to a millennial worker as they are to you. By showing that your company has longevity, solid technology in place will also help workers learn and improve their skills. Collaboration tools, like Slack, show employees that your company is focused on finding ways to boost efficiency, productivity, and success.
Show Trust
You’ll find it’s hard to recruit millennial workers and retain them if you act as a micromanager. Millennials don’t want total free reign, but they want you to trust in their abilities. Communication is important, and you’ll want to measure and track your teams progress. Place your trust in their work first. It’s important to show whomever you hire that you trust in their ability to do the job.
Share Your Company’s Goals
Each team member will have their own goal to work towards. However, it’s important that you also share your company’s overriding goal(s) with each member.
According to a recent Gallup survey, millennials want to do work that fuels them. They want to share in on goals that match their sense of purpose.
Other companies are already sharing their goals with their employees. Sharing goals makes individuals feel wanted, and it helps motivate them. It also shows how their own role contributes to the overall success of your company.
Ready to Recruit Millennial Workers?
Studies have revealed that 44% of millennials, given the choice, would expect to leave their current employers in the next two years. As such, your business needs to implement the correct strategies to retain and recruit millennial workers as employees.
Leverage technology to your advantage and trust in your staff. You should be able to find that the best millennial workers will bring their A-game to your company.
Michelle Deery is the copywriter and editor for Heroic Search. Her content has been featured in Entrepreneur magazine. She specializes in writing about marketing and the content she publishes helps companies boost their profits.