Article: How to make the workplace more enticing for millennials

Life @ Work

How to make the workplace more enticing for millennials

Have a look at some of the enticing ways of making your workplace more attractive for millennials.
How to make the workplace more enticing for millennials

With the industrial landscape becoming competitive more than ever, the aspect which has taken up a more pivotal role is the trade of talent or the way it is famously called – War for Talent. Another truth which is staring the organizations in their face is that the traditional and steady generation of workforce is going to retire soon to make way for the fresh and dynamic generation of millennials, who are their natural replacement. In such times, with the ‘talent pool’ becoming more of a ‘challenge pool’ for almost all organizations across sectors, the fight for attracting and retaining the right talent has become fierce amongst companies. It all boils down to how the workplaces/ organizations make themselves an attractive proposition for this next generation of workforce, i.e. millennials, with the idea of not only getting them onboard but also making them stick around. 

There have been several studies aimed at getting insights on the minds of this new generation of fresh talent which is entering the work zone lately. The crux of all those researches have been that company’s work culture can truly be the driving engine to attract the next generation of bright workers. Creating a flexible corporate workplace, concerted ecosystem while managing a responsive business setting are important components for drawing and retaining the millennial workforce. This is the young growth-oriented workforce, who looks not just for theperformance platform but also opportunities and challenges to enhance their capabilities. A positive workplace, then, which maximizes their psychological capital and shows them the success prospects, is an ideal proposition for them.Hence, for organizations to make efforts in the direction of making the workplace more millennial-friendly, makes complete sense, after all, these millennials are the sales leaders of tomorrow, who if given the right platform and a congenial environment at work, can bring in fortunes for the company. 

Flexibility

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy -- when this proverb first made its appearance in James Howell’s work in 1659, it couldn’t have been comprehended that how well will it fit into defining today’s millennials. After completing their work, millennials want the freedom to explore their creative pursuits or interests. Organizations which have easy policies around adjusting to this flexible approach, are the kind of workplaces, millennials are happy to be associated with. Interesting employee engagement activities which aims at deferring the monotony before it sets in the schedule along with the provision of work-from-home when it’s feasible, are couple of factors which holds importance for this generation.

Free access to information avenues

By making employees just sit on their work desk all day long, an organization cannot boast of having the most productive workforce. In times like these where social media as well as other online information platforms form an integral part of any millennial’s life, restricting them access to the same may prove detrimental to their productivity. Millennials have been routinely using the social media since its inception. Connectivity without any demography bound, the ease of being present anywhere-anytime etc., are couple of things which makes social media inseparable from their lives. There have been various studies around millennials choosing to NOT work with a company which bars social media. In today’s time, apart from networking and community building, social media is also a platform for businesses to generate new leads. Therefore, the intelligent move is to leverage the millennials’ skills of using the platform-apt lexicon instead of prohibiting the use of social media tools in entirety. It is understandable that the usage timeline or conditions will be different for different types of profiles and assignment nature.

Technology – A must have for a progressive workplace tag

The rate at which technology obsoletes its previous version these days is hard to assess. However, the ‘latest’ is what attracts the attention of any, especially the Gen Y. For this generation to have access to tools and gadgets which allow them to analyze statistics, trends, processes or take experts’ advice online etc. is crucial.  Focused and continued investment towards technological processes such as cloud enablement, virtual workstations etc., at workplace will give out the message that organization is progressive and is sensitive about millennials’ desires.Therefore, leveraging technological platforms to lure the millennials is something which the organizations cannot ignore for long.

Progressive and Promising Culture

A workplace wherein innovation is more of an organizational culture and not just the KRA of the higher management or business development team, is what allures this young talent brigade. A kind of work place which oozes progression, forward thinking, futuristic visions – be it in the domain of technology, people management, art and culture or any other field. Such a visionary and ambitious culture instead of a stagnated one is what gives them a purpose to excel themselves and entices them to become a part of a success story.

Timely Recognition and Rewards

Inclusiveness is the key here. Millennials are growth oriented generation who aspire to learn and grow in their career simultaneously. Making mistakes is then a part and parcel of the trajectory for them while challenges are what keeps their engines on. They desire adequate involvement of the employer in terms of mentorship and constructive criticism. A good way is by recognizing their work regularly and being respectful towards them in terms of opportunity provisions etc. 

Lifestyle Perks

Incentives such as flexible working hours or a good compensation package which promotes work-life balance are soughtafter by the millennial generation. Be it the beginning of their careers, quality of life, at work and post-work, are both important to them. Therefore, they are motivated by competitive packages which bring together several perks such as salary, professional development, time-off, investments etc. If the perks are balanced in proportion to the work, then the other-wise job-hopping millennials will happily embrace the firm’s missions and goals.

Listen to their ideas

There has been an increase in the transparency and openness over the decades with the technology explosion. A rigid hierarchy then can be detrimental to such open and transparent culture that the millennials are used to and it also often blocks innovation instead of encouraging it. Therefore, flattening the organizational structure should be considered thoroughly to retain the bright interactive young workforce. Even long-term organizational vision should be regularly shared and discussed with them to ensure that they feel like an integral part of the company instead of being a mere ’worker’. For example, discussing the sales target of your sales workforce boosts their morale by giving them a better understanding of their overall career. 

Micro-Management- A big NO

Millennials have grown up in a such a way that they cannot stand micro-management, be it even at the cost of making certain that the job is done correctly. For them, it is fine to try and fail instead of never exploring or venturing a way-out for any challenge all by themselves. This doesn’t mean that they require no guidance, however, constant hand-holding is what they understand as detrimental to their career in the longer run.

Finally, 

These are the times when innovation is the key driver for organizational growth as well as sustenance, and for this very purpose, there is extensive focus on acquiring fresh and intelligent talent, who are bubbling with fresh ideas and a zeal for making it big. Discovering a talented millennial and then retaining him or her is an excruciating exercise for organizations in this tug-of-war of talent acquisition as well as retention situation. However, it pays large profitable dividends for the company in the long run. Millennials have the capacity to bring about organizational upheavals for the betterment of the brand. Be it to accrue more ROIs or increase the sales footprint of the company- they indeed have the guts and the flair to carry the organization on their shoulders with aplomb. They are definitely the future sales leaders who need to be groomed, but in a progressive work environment. It will thus, not be wrong to say that this next league of leaders and their loyalty is hinged upon organizations providing them the amenities and becoming a workplace which entices these millennials. 

 

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Topics: Life @ Work, Culture

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