Here are two facts you need to know about millennials:
1: They make up the largest share of the workforce. Over 1 in 3 people employed are millennials.
2: Millennials are ambitious job hoppers. On average, the majority change positions every 2-3 years, and often to take what they see as a better or higher position.
As a business leader, this is a reality you have to learn to work with—and that reality gives you two options: do nothing and embrace the high costs of turnover, or adapt and create a culture that gives your workforce the incentive to stick around for the long haul.
Hopefully you opt for the latter, and here are three ways you can achieve it.
Invest More Time Into Getting to Know Your Employees
It all starts with communication. As stated above, most millennials leave a job to take, what they see, as a step up for their career. And this is because despite oft repeated stereotypes, millennials are highly ambitious. They have goals and visions for the direction they want to take in life, and they’re more likely to take risks to achieve those goals rather than opt for stability.
As an employer, understanding what’s driving a millennial worker in the first place will help you in retaining those employees before they make that move. This is why regular one-on-one meetings are more important than ever.
Provide a Path for Advancement
Following right behind the last point, once you know what’s driving the worker and what their goals are, show them how they can move up in your company and advance their career without leaving. Provide them with milestones and goals to achieve. Give them something to work towards.
When they’re more focused on achieving something in your company, they’ll be less focused on moving to another job.
Embrace the Millennial Mindset
Millennial work habits differ from those of past generations. The biggest difference being that they focus more on actual work completed than time clocked, and would prefer to spend their time working on something of quality than just busy work to fill up an 8 hour day.
Consider providing your employees with more flexibility in how, where, and when they work—but hold them accountable for their performance.
