Attracting a Younger Workforce: What Really Matters

Attracting a Younger Workforce: What Really Matters

It takes employees of all generations to make a business succeed, but younger employees often bring a sense of passion, purpose and motivation that can serve your business for years. However, the incoming generation of employees presents a paradox for human resource departments. Upwork reports that millennials will make up the largest slice of the American workforce this year, yet 53 percent of hiring managers express difficulty in finding and retaining millennials as employees. With that in mind, here are some ways to attract young, talented workers to your company and keep them.

Ditch Ping Pong

If you look at pictures of young startups from a decade ago, it seems every office had ping pong tables and scooters. As a result of this image, many HR departments believe that motivated and enthusiastic young people require toys and games to be drawn to a company.

The reality is simple: Younger employees want to be a part of something with purpose. In fact, Forbes reports that 60 percent of millennial employees say that a sense of purpose was part of the reason that they chose to work for their current employer. It isn’t only about the product and profits to the incoming generation; they value how an organization contributes to society and helps its employees to grow in their careers.

Change Your Outlook

Attracting millennials often requires that you change the way you look at your organization and its interaction with the world around it. First, identify how the world is improved by your company’s existence. Then incorporate that into your brand’s identity both externally and internally. If you cannot come up with one way your company contributes to society other than supplying consumer demands, you may be in trouble in the coming decade and need to begin to focus on outreach.

O-ring manufacturer Apple Rubber reports that a culture of philanthropy is a critical component of any organization that can create change while building brand awareness and stronger teams. Make sure you do something that matters; in doing so, you will attract more motivated and enthusiastic young people to your organization.

Second, talk about your employees as partners instead of replaceable cogs, and young people will be drawn to you. Many of them want to be viewed as critical parts of a greater whole than simply plug-and-play workers. Offering lifestyle perks such as a flexible schedule, telecommuting options, vacation flexibility and infant-at-work policies show potential employees that you recognize their needs and are willing to work with them to achieve great things together.

Intellectual Achievement

Finally, offering potential and current employees a chance to continue their education while working in an organization is becoming almost a standard benefit in successful corporations. Career development is about more than training employees and sending them on their way, and the costs to assist employees in pursuing further education are minimal to your company.

For example, FinAid points out that every year employers can contribute $5,250 in education assistance tax-free to an employee for undergraduate or graduate programs. Offering assistance to employees seeking to improve their education and reach new career heights gives you an opportunity to hire young people who are motivated to grow and learn. In the end, you both win.