“The youth of today love luxury. They have bad manners, they disrespect their elders and they prefer chatter in place of exercise.” Who do you think said this?
Would you be surprised if it was Socrates in approximately 432 BC? Yes, we have been complaining about the younger generations almost since the beginning of time. However, it’s different today. So unless you are ready to adapt your business strategies to the younger generations who are in the workplace and soon to be entering the workplace, your company could be in big trouble.
Here are five strategies to help you attract and retain both Millennial and Gen Z workers:
- Develop a career plan. For the first ten years of their career, Millennials, on average, will switch jobs four times. They will either switch to different positions within your company, or they’ll take their skills elsewhere. By creating a personalized career development plan for all new employees, you can give your people opportunities to experience different jobs within the company to see the best fit for their skills. Listen to what employees want in their career and help them achieve their goals.
- Start early. Because Gen Z is not seeing the value in higher education, they may go straight into the workforce. Tapping into this pool of candidates as early as possible may give your organization an advantage over those companies that wait for potential hires to graduate high school or college. Promoting your business through “Manufacturing Day” (first Friday in October) activities is a good way to connect with elementary and middle school children and their parents.
- Be Flexible. Offering flexible schedules, opportunities for cross-training, and time off to work on charitable projects are benefits that resonate with both groups. Younger generations thrive on life-long learning, career growth, and having a mission, instead of just a job.
- Respond quickly. Multitasking is a way of life for these generations. They are used to watching videos, hanging out with friends and texting at the same time. Because of this constant connection, they also expect to be able to immediately communicate with their boss and they expect a quick response.
- Offer mentoring. Set up mentoring, not reporting, relationships between your employees and their managers or other tenured employees who can show them the ropes. Set expectations so both mentor and mentee know what is expected of them. Schedule frequent check-ins to see how the relationship is working and have a defined period with the option to continue if needed and wanted.
When it comes down to it, Millennials and Gen Z workers desire the same standards that all of your employees want – to be treated with respect, acknowledged for their efforts and to feel valued by the organization. However, the rapidly changing workplace means that leadership teams must look at every aspect of their business and make the changes necessary to keep up with the technically savvy, ever multitasking, and time-valuing workforce that is their future.
