Skip to main content

HOW MILLENNIALS ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT TO BUSINESS COMPETITIVENESS

Who Are Millennials, And WHAT DO THEY WANT? | Travel.Earth 

Today’s businesses thrive on talented individuals at all levels of the workforce. As a result, the attraction and retention of employees with the right skills, experience and aptitudes has become one of the main competitive tools for firms across the globe.

In particular, there is increasing evidence of a growing demand for millennials, namely those individuals born between 1980 and 1995 who have grown up with digital technology during the last two decades. There are currently around 14 million millennials in the UK yet many employers still have little understanding of this group despite the fact that they will be the future leaders in many organisations.

This lack of knowledge has been examined by a report from the accountants KPMG. “Meet the Millennials” explores the characteristics of those who grew up during a period of rapid change and, more importantly, how companies can attract and retain them.

According to the study, millennials are quite different to previous generations and identifying their qualities and attributes is important for potential employers. 

For example, before undertaking any task, they need to know its value and how its fits into the bigger picture and are less afraid of challenging the system. They are also hungry for new challenges and, as a result, rarely stay in a job for more than three years. 

Many are also familiar and comfortable with using all types of technology, having grown up during the digital revolution and, as the world has opened up, are not only tolerant of different cultures but will actively seek diversity in the workplace. Most important of all though is their desire for balance, especially between their personal and working lives.

So what are the key factors that ensures employers can attract this important part of the future talent pool into their organisations? 

The first is organisational culture and millennials will, when looking for a new position, prioritise those companies that can demonstrate that they foster creativity and morale amongst their workforce. 

They also want to enjoy their working experience and will not tolerate being stuck in a ‘boring’ job where they can take pleasure form what they do on a daily basis. Part of that is related to flexibility within the job, with many millennials wanting to have the option to control not only when they work but where they work, with work-life balance rated as one of the top factors when looking for a job. Given this, opportunities such as being able to work from home one day a week or being able to take time out to deal with personal commitments is a significant part of the organisational culture they seek.

Open and honest communications with their employers is important especially in terms of having their opinion matter within the organisation and that they are contributing to the overall strategic direction of the business. In addition, they want to feel appreciated by their employer and want to feel as though their day-to-day efforts are being noticed and one important way of doing this is by providing mentoring from day one. 

However, the KPMG study suggests that the vast majority of millennials do not get the necessary support for developing their careers. Therefore, the introduction of mentoring programmes for millennials who have just started in their job will signal that their bosses see their development as a priority.

They also crave knowledge and employers need to ensure that there is a culture of continuous professional development that ensures these individuals are given the relevant opportunities for learning that will not only benefit them but also the business that employs them.

Millennials are known for having a stronger social conscience than previous generations and as a result, the social impact of the business they work for is increasingly important with two thirds expecting their employers to contribute to a social cause. This not only engages this important group of employees within the business but ensures that wider corporate social responsibility goals can be met. 

They are also increasingly social and want to be able to connect with their co-workers both inside and outside of the office. In particular, they enjoy being part of a “work family” with the ability to network and stay connected. 

Therefore, with millennials estimated to make up half of the World’s workforce by the end of this decade, understanding the needs of this group of workers will be key to the future of many businesses. Certainly, they are different to the baby boomers and Generation X that held their jobs before them and given this, organisations need to change their way of working if they are to successfully attract and retain these individuals for the success of the organisation going forward. 





Popular posts from this blog

THE IMPORTANCE OF FRANCHISING

When we talk about start-ups and entrepreneurship, rarely do we discuss the potential of franchising not only as a way of establishing new ventures in the economy but also as a method of growing existing businesses. According to the British Franchising Association, franchising is the granting of a licence by one person (the franchisor) to another (the franchisee), which entitles the franchisee to own and operate their own business under the brand, systems and proven business model of the franchisor. The franchisee also receives initial training and ongoing support, comprising all the elements necessary to establish a previously untrained person in the business. This enables individuals to start their own businesses without having to develop their own ideas and utilising an existing brand and established market. Of course, whilst each franchise business is owned and operated by the franchisee, the franchisor controls the quality and standards of the way in which the business is

THE MANUFACTURING STRATEGY FOR WALES

Last night, I received the following comment on the previous post relating to a piece I had written back in early 2007 about the state of the manufacturing sector in Wales. "Dylan, you seem to be ignoring the fact that manufacturers in Wales have written the manufacturing strategy. Small and large manufacturers, all represented at the Manufacturing forum, have co-written this strategy. WAG has recently supported this strategy and have funded a co-ordinator with resources. Manufactures are happy with this progress as they are following the strategy they wanted. I know that the Conservatives have attacked the strategy as they seem to think that WAG wrote the strategy. They couldn't be more wrong. The Manufacturing Strategy was written by manufacturers, for manufacturers and is supported by WAG. If you don't agree with this, then I can invite you to the next Manufacturing Forum and you can explain to the manufacturers how their strategy is wrong....I appreciate that there is

THE PERFECT STORM FACING THE UK ECONOMY

In his sublime 1997 book on the fate of the fishing boat Andrea Gale, the author Sebastian Junger defined a “perfect storm” as a rare combination of events or circumstances that results in an unusually bad situation.  This term would not be out of place in describing what is currently happening to the UK economy which is being battered on so many fronts with little respite in sight. For example, the war in Ukraine has had an unexpected impact on energy bills in Europe due to the curtailing of exports from Russia which, last year, was responsible for supplying 40% of all natural gas to the European Union. Whilst the UK is not dependent on Russia for its energy needs, the scramble by other countries to find alternative sources has resulted in higher prices globally which has impacted on the fuel imported by the UK with normal suppliers struggling to meet demand. There have also been considerable supply constraints globally which have been driven by manufacturers struggling to get their g