Millennials are the most studied generation in our nation’s history. Despite this, many companies still struggle with how to connect with their younger employees, often leading to high turnover rates. Putting an end to this and keeping millennial employees loyal doesn’t have to be a guessing game. Check out these tips to start changing your company’s culture and keep all of your employees happy, regardless of their age.
1. The Right Perks
Each generation of employees values different perks and benefits. Baby Boomers were all about their salary level, reliable health insurance and a steady retirement plan. Generation X also valued salary level, but demanded job security, opportunities for advancement and a 401K with matching benefits.
Millennials are no exception. They desire certain perks, most of which involve wellness and work-life balance over salary or retirement. To keep your millennial employees happy in their positions, you’ll need to provide enough paid time off and flexible or semi-flexible schedules. If your industry allows it, the opportunity to work remotely, at least part of the time, is also a big perk.
Small businesses may not be able to swing as much paid time off or the remote work option; other perks that millennials will appreciate in place of those are wellness programs, like healthy snacks in the break room, office yoga or a stipend for a gym membership.
2. Tech to Make the Job Easier, Not Harder
The employees you’ve had for years might be used to struggling with your unreliable office phones or waiting for your Wi-Fi to reset a few times a day, but millennial employees aren’t likely to be so forgiving.
Having grown up around tech, they’ve come to not only rely on technology in the workplace, but also expect it to make their jobs easier, not harder. Look for ways to streamline operations with automated systems and technology. You don’t necessarily need the latest tech, but it should be up to date and operational so that it doesn’t cause any delays in your office workflow.
The latest tech, like cloud-based OfficePhone, allows for simple team collaboration from anywhere, and on any device. Your employees can access records, check voicemails and more, even when they’re not in the office for the day.
3. Access to Learning Opportunities
This perk is a win-win, as it benefits both employers and employees. Providing your employees with opportunities to learn new skills or improve their current ones helps millennials fulfill their desire for growth.
There are a number of ways to give your employees access to learning opportunities, including:
- Provide subscriptions to online course catalogs
- Offer a stipend for college courses or certificate training
- Send employees to conferences
In exchange for your investment, you’ll get employees with a more diverse skillset.
4. Mind Your Office Culture
Perhaps the most difficult thing to change in your office space is its culture. But if you want to keep not just millennial employees, but any employees with a forward-thinking attitude happy and feeling appreciated, this is a must.
A welcoming company culture, where employees are free to voice concerns and opinions, and collaboration is encouraged is good for more than just your office performance; studies have shown that it can also help boost customer satisfaction.
Keeping Every Employee Happy
Each business is unique, as is each employee. Even these tips aren’t one-size-fits-all, but they are a good starting point for reshaping your company’s approach to employee retention to reflect the wants and needs of today’s workforce.