Whether HR professionals and executives realize it or not, the workplace is changing. Baby Boomers are slowly beginning their exit from the workforce and millennials are filling the vacancies. In fact, research from the Pew Research Center indicates that millennials are now the largest age group in the U.S. labor force.
As such, HR leaders need to focus their efforts on understanding the average millennial and his or her perceptions involving the workplace.
Society Is Important
A Bersin by Deloitte survey revealed that 75 percent of millennials believe businesses are focused more on their own corporate agenda than helping improve society. While it is obvious that businesses have to make a profit, a majority of millennials believe that corporations have narrowed their outlook to focus only on revenue, not philanthropic endeavors.
Organizations wishing to adopt pro-millennial workplaces should give their employees access to opportunities where they can produce value for the company while also promoting a philanthropic culture. Whether this means volunteering time after work or giving employees options to contribute financially, companies should find ways to make sure their employees stay involved in the community.
Skills Are Undeveloped
Utilizing employees’ skills is one area companies cannot afford to miss out on; however, studies show this is exactly where companies are coming up short. A study of more than 7,800 millennials showed that only 28 percent believe their skills are being fully utilized. Organizations have to maximize their employees’ abilities if they want to succeed, and surveys are the best place to start. Surveys are a two-pronged attack that organizations can use to advance their employees and their business.
- Surveying your employees can reveal their hidden abilities and innovative ideas. Collectively, employees are an excellent extra pair of eyes and can highlight possible blind spots that management may overlook. Employers always should be looking for ideas to challenge the status quo and surveys allow employees to offer feedback to strengthen the organization.
- When companies respond to survey results, it is a message to employees that their opinions are important. Not every idea in a survey can be implemented, but organizations still can acknowledge the request and respond with several reasons why the idea couldn’t be fulfilled at that time. Responding in this manner will encourage employees to stay positive and continue offering innovative ideas.
Senior Leadership Is the Goal
No matter which generation, leadership is nearly always a top goal and millennials are no exception. According to Bersin by Deloitte, 53 percent of millennials aim to become a leader or senior executive within the organization. When more than half of millennials aspire to be in a leadership position, every executive should be seizing opportunities in which they can train employees and increase their skills.
This is where organizations need to be utilizing learning management software. Not only can this technology be used to instruct new employees through mandated procedures, but it also can issue trainings, pinpointing areas of improvement for workers. By doing this, companies can highlight a path toward leadership for employees who are aiming for a top spot.
Millennials and their perceptions are changing the workforce. Companies that wish to excel with their millennial counterparts are changing their workforces’ culture by engaging their employees through the use of technologies like surveys and learning management. Companies that recognize the needs of these changing workforce demographics are more likely to be successful at luring and retaining talent because they are providing what their employees really want.