Millennials also known as Generation Y, have now become the largest group of professionals in the US workforce, accounting for 1/3 of employees. ¹ These are people who were born between the years 1981 and 1996. While I was surprised to hear that millennials now have the largest population in the workforce, it makes sense. Gen X and Baby Boomers are retiring and millennials are starting to take over.
However, many employers may not be thinking about how this affects hiring and retention strategies. The traditional tactics that would appeal to Gen X and Baby Boomers no longer work for this new generation. This means a exchange it is necessary. Companies need to recruit, attract and retain candidates in a completely different way than what has been done in the past. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the millennials’ values in an employer and how to keep them engaged during the hiring process.
Attract millennials and know what they want
To attract millennials to a company, you need to know what they want and what they value in an employer. What millennials want is completely different from previous generations. Salary and health care benefits are important, but many other factors now come into play, such as paid time off, job flexibility, working from home, company culture, growth opportunities, and so on. While these conditions are important to attract talent, they are also important to retain it. Millennials are known to change jobs. They stay with a company for a couple of years for experience and then yearn for an exciting new opportunity. A Gallup study revealed that 21% of millennials report having changed jobs in the past year, which is more than three times the number of non-millennials. When you hire a candidate, you expect them to work for a long period of time. That is why knowing your wants and needs is extremely important.
Work flexibility and work from home
As hard as it is to believe, many millennials don’t believe in a standard 9 to 5 job. They think they are more productive working outside of regular work hours and mixing breaks along the way. If they do the work and meet the deadlines, why do they have to work between 9 and 5? Millennials want flexible hours and a work-life balance. According to a Gallup study, flexibility is one of the highest-ranking benefits, ranked higher than student loans or tuition reimbursement. A Gallup study also found that 50% of millennials reported that they would change jobs if they could work remotely sometimes.
Job flexibility and work-from-home opportunities may not be standard in many companies, but statistics suggest these are perks the new workforce is looking for. In order to attract great millennial talent, all employers should consider offering some of these benefits.
Business culture and professional growth
Company culture is important to millennials, too. They want to work in a culture they can trust. In fact, millennials are 22 times more likely to work at a company for a long time if they trust the culture, according to research by Great Place to Work. They also want to commit to the company. A Gallup study showed that millennials are more engaged with the employer when managers hold regular meetings and provide feedback. Feedback lets millennials know what they need to improve and what they can do to grow professionally within their company. Millennials are motivated and want to advance quickly in their career. In addition, millennials value training and education. Offering them classes, workshops, seminars, and certifications will help attract and retain them longer.
In general, when it comes to culture, it will be important for employers to highlight a culture that millennials seek, this includes non-work related benefits. Do you celebrate birthdays? Do you have summer outings? Do you offer free snacks and drinks to your employees in the office? All of these are aspects that define the culture of a company and can help differentiate an employer. By focusing on the benefits that millennials value, employers will be able to attract and retain more millennial candidates.
Educate customers
Finally, what is also important to note in this section is the importance of educating your customers. As recruiters, you have behind-the-scenes access to what millennials are looking for in an employer. However, the companies you recruit for may not know what millennials want. They may have outdated practices that they didn’t even know were outdated. They might even get frustrated if they are trying to recruit younger talent and no one wants to work for them. Educating your clients will help them understand that they need to change some of their practices. Your inquiry will be appreciated if it means attracting better talent to your company. It will also help you as a recruiter to bring you better talent. It is a victory, a victory for both of us.
Keeping millennial candidates engaged in the selection process
So far, we’ve dived into understanding what millennials are looking for and educating their customers about their needs and wants. The next challenge is keeping your candidates engaged during the hiring process. There are several different ways to do this.
Make the application process simple and mobile friendly
Millennials value technology and are the most tech-savvy generation, so ease of use when completing an application online is critical. It will put them off if the app is cumbersome and not easy to use. You also want to make sure your application is mobile friendly. 85% of millennials access the Internet from their phones, according to a Gallup poll. Millennials are always on their phones and always multitasking. It’s critical that your job application be mobile-friendly so candidates can complete it no matter where they are or what device they’re using.
Ease of communication
Ease of communication is also key to keeping millennials engaged. If your recruiting and recruiting company has not yet text messages candidates, then it is imperative to start. Millennial candidates want to be able to easily communicate with you, and texting is the preferred form of communication. There are also many benefits from a recruiter’s point of view for texting candidates. One of them is a faster response time. When candidates see a text message, they are more likely to respond immediately than if they received an email with the same information. Average response time for an email is 90 minutes, but only 90 seconds for a text message. ² This allows you to get answers more quickly and move on to other tasks. Also, texting is a good way to communicate with candidates who work in an office. Candidates cannot easily accept phone calls during business hours, especially for a job opportunity. However, it is much easier to reply to a text.
Besides sending text messages, cat boxes on websites are popular with millennials. Many prefer to chat with a robot or person on their website and then call the office. This is a good way to attract new candidates you are not working with yet. If they visit your recruiting and recruiting company’s website and have a question, they can easily ask it via chat. There are many cheap chat box providers that can easily install the chat widget on your website.
When it comes to communication, you also want be responsive and give regular updates. If they text or email you, try to reply within the same day so your question is not pending. They will lose interest if they don’t hear from you. Also, provide updates continuously. Even if a candidate did not get a job or the next interview, you should notify them and not leave them with doubts. This will help your reputation as a recruiter and strengthen your relationship with the candidate so that you can continue to work together.
Stay active on social media
93% of American millennials say they use social media to connect with friends and family. ³ This means that you want to be in the social space. This is where millennials spend much of their time both day and night. As they scroll through their newsfeed, you want to be there and grab their attention. To do this, you must first make sure that you are encouraging candidates to follow your company on social media. Second, you want to post relevant and interesting information. It’s great to post about job opportunities that might pique their interest as they scroll down your feed, but it’s also important to post resources for them. Posting a job after posting a job can become stale and eventually everyone can get mixed up and your followers lose interest in your content. Post a healthy mix of blog articles, tips, videos, etc. that candidates would find useful. Anything related to interviewing, job hunting, finding the right job, and more would grab your attention. The more they see and interact with you on social media, the more they will be engaged with your company and will seek your services.
Personalize your experience
Everyone feels good when talking about them and is personalized based on their experiences. Sometimes if you communicate with a candidate on social media or in an email, they can easily tell that it is a message that you are sending to many people. Try to find ways to tailor your message to each candidate, especially when you first approach them. Connect your experiences to the job opportunity in your message. Make the message more about them and how you could help connect them to the next opportunity they are looking for. Talk about the job opportunity in your post, but also ask them what they might be looking for. If this is your first time communicating, you don’t really know what they are looking for. A job may seem right for them based on their experiences, but they may be looking to go in a different direction. The more personal, sincere, and conversational you make the message, the more likely they are to respond.
In addition, sending video emails is also popular. This is a new and unique way to connect with candidates when you are contacting them for the first time or telling them about a job opportunity they may be suitable for. In the video message, be sure to say their name and adapt it to them. It’s a great way to stand out and show that you care by making a video just for them.
The new age is here
If companies are already doing a lot of these things or if changes are needed, what we know is that millennials are going nowhere and will continue to make up the largest population of the workforce for the foreseeable future. Efficiency, hard work and reliability are characteristics that companies want their employees to have to produce results and grow as a business. However, to have good talent, we must adapt to the new squad. The new era is here!
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Daily trade news
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CTIA study
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Gallup Study: How Millennials Want to Live and Work