How to Keep a Millennial

You have hired the perfect millennial… now what?

In the past 2 blog posts, I have talked about the characteristics of millennials, the know-hows in hiring a millennial, and the don’ts when it comes to hiring someone from my generation. So now that you have taken the advice I have given, and you have hired the millennial, now what?

Companies with great recruiting practices often find it very easy to hire millennials. These companies will appeal to the millennial mindset and attract the best candidates. But many struggle when it comes to keeping a millennial. In a recent study completed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a 20-34 year old will stay with their current employer for about 2.05 years. With these kinds of numbers, this gives those employers a higher turnover rate and also labels that worker as an unsteady employee or job-hopper.

So, what can be done to fix this ever-growing problem?

A few tips on keeping a millennial include:

• Let them know what is expected: When hiring a millennial, make sure that they know what is expected of them. Yes, they will ask a lot of questions but that is only because they want to get the job right the first time! The need for reassurance and clarity is real, y’all, and I have personally experienced it first-hand. By giving them clear expectations, the millennial will know from the beginning if the job works for their situation or not. Would you rather spend a little extra time right the perfect employee (maybe through using our partner, JazzHR) or would you rather hire the first applicant and take the risk of them not meeting expectations?
• Engage the millennial in many activities at work: Millennials are known for being great multi-taskers. But if a Gen-Y person is not given many things to work on, they, in turn, will become bored with the mundane work. By engaging the millennial in many work projects, the young person becomes more involved in the workplace and gives them an opportunity to connect with co-workers. A happy millennial is a happy workplace!

• Show them that your company cares: While a connection is very important, by far, the most important tip I could give you is to appreciate all of your employees, especially your millennials! One example of a way to show you appreciate the work done is by giving out “awards” given out at the end of each quarter. These rewards do not need to include much, an award sheet and gift card will suffice. Simply showing your employees that you care will boost morale and keep them around longer!

In many cases, hiring a millennial is the easy part, keeping them is where companies struggle. Keeping a millennial is not a hard task to do, if you know the correct way of appealing to them. Let’s produce an environment where employees love their job so much, they will never want to job-hop to anywhere else.