Five Benefits to Hiring Millennials in Retail

The millennial generation is defined as those born between 1981 and 2000, and sometimes this group is called generation Y. Millennial kids came of age at or near the beginning of this millennium. They remember dial-up Internet and Y2K. Most millennials are the children of baby boomers. As millennials finish college and enter the workforce, a growing number of retail corporations are considering how their hiring practices mesh with this generation's skills, experience, and attitude. Whether you are hiring store managers, retail associates, clerks, inventory stockers, or other workers, you should be aware of the benefits that generation Y employees can offer your establishment. Five benefits of hiring millennials are:

1. They are ambitious and tend to be motivated by money. Money-motivated employees have a strong drive to perform and are easy to manage with bonuses and reward programs. Members of the millennial generation place a great deal of importance on being wealthy, according to a survey of college freshmen by UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute. If your organization likes to promote from within, your employment offer may be an attractive option for millennial workers.

2. They are early adopters of technology and value material possessions. Depending on what your retail store sells, millennials may be a smart choice when you want employees who understand and value your products, especially if you specialize in tech items.

3. Millennials understand how to use social media and technology to your company's advantage. A survey by NM Incite found that more than half of customers between eighteen and twenty-four use applications such as Facebook and Twitter to air grievances about customer service. Employing like-minded workers can help you deal with millennial customers who expect a rapid response to complaints.

4. Generation Y workers tend to value teamwork and collaboration. They grew up in a time when a lot of attention was paid to eradicating prejudice and accepting those who are different, which means they tend to work well with diverse groups. Online games that require teamwork are also popular with this demographic, further emphasizing their appreciation of collaborative problem solving.

5. Millennials value a creative approach to work tasks and are quick to challenge methodology that may be ineffective or outdated. If you can harness this quality, you can bring an element of fluidity to your organization that can make you more responsive than competitors to the changing market. Of course, you may need to evaluate your management style and hiring practices to ensure they are compatible with a workforce that may not value a strong chain of command.

Millennial employees can bring creativity, a cooperative attitude, technical acumen, and ambition to the workplace. Choosing millennials to fulfill key roles in your retail organization can give you an edge over the competition.

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