Recruit and Retain Millenials in Your Workplace

Hiring millennials and finding ways to retain them are real challenges for HR professionals all over the world. Millennials tend to have different values and work styles than older employees, making them somewhat of an enigma to recruiters, compensation analysts and HR managers. Fortunately, there are ways to make your company more attractive to millennials. If you are struggling to hire and retain millennial employees, follow these tips.

If you are tasked with hiring millennials, think about offering flexible schedules to the best candidates. Millennials aren't as concerned with money as members of previous generations. Instead, they value flexibility and variety in their professional lives. If a strong candidate is on the fence about joining your company, seal the deal by offering flex time or telling the candidate that you are willing to allow telecommuting one day per week. These perks improve work-life balance, which is very important to members of Generation Y.

Once you overcome the challenge of hiring millennials, you need to retain them. One way to do so is to offer a variety of work. Millennials enjoy participating in new experiences, so they tend to get bored if they have to perform the same tasks day after day. Simply giving a millennial employee the opportunity to work on a new project or work with new team members can go a long way toward retaining that employee for several years.

Another method of retaining millennials involves regular feedback and support from managers and peers. Members of Generation Y are used to receiving feedback at regular intervals. Doing a performance review every six to 12 months is necessary to help millennial employees understand they are on the right track. If you are in charge of hiring millennials, ask managers and other employees to provide formal or informal feedback as often as possible. A manager might conduct a weekly recap meeting with the millennial employee, while a peer might provide informal feedback upon completion of a task.

Retaining millennials is much easier if you offer professional-development opportunities on a regular basis. Millennials value professional growth more than baby boomers or members of Generation X, so providing growth opportunities is a good way to engender loyalty. After hiring millennials, sit down and discuss their career paths with them. Give your employees opportunities to obtain professional certifications or degrees. If your company has a tuition-reimbursement program, make millennials aware of the program early in their tenure with your organization.

Some employers characterize millennials as job hoppers. This is true, to some extent, but millennials usually job hop because they feel their employers don't offer any opportunities for professional growth. Prevent job-hopping by offering regular training or empowering millennial employees to expand their skills.

Millennials are entering the workforce in droves, so you need to be prepared to recruit them effectively. If you are in charge of hiring millennials, you also need to be prepared to provide opportunities for professional growth and empower employees to take on new responsibilities.

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