With millennials making up a significant chunk of the workforce today, it’s important that employers take into consideration what attracts them to a company, what motivates them and what encourages them to stay in a job. Though they want a lot of the same things from a job as previous generations, they tend to look for a lot more innovation and flexibility in a job, as well as looking to climb the career ladder at a faster pace.
If the company culture does not suit the needs of millennial employees, it is likely that they will seek out new opportunities that are a better fit and a high turnover rate can be incredibly costly for a business, as well as disruptive.
In order to retain their staff, employers must adapt their culture to meet needs and preferences of their millennial staff, so how can they go about this? Here are Rakuna‘s top 4 tips for creating a culture for millennials.
1) Open communication
Encouraging open communication in the workplace is a great way to make employees feel engaged and loyal to the company. By allowing all employees to share their thoughts and ideas, they will feel more valued and like they are making a proper contribution to the business. 9 out of 10 employees are more motivated when they know where their work is going and want their superiors to listen to their ideas.
2) Remove hierarchy
Millennials don’t have the same regard for authority in the workplace, as their older counterparts and prefer for everyone to be at the same level in terms of treatment and interactions. 79% of millennial employees would like their boss to behave as a mentor to them and if the table was turned 76% think their boss could learn a lot from them.
3) Flexibility
Millennials have more of a “work to live” than “live to work” attitude, so they look for a job that allows them to have a good work-life balance. Employers can take this into account by offering flexible work hours, or the option to work remotely. 89% of millennials would prefer to choose when and where they work, than a 9-5 office based job and 77% say flexible work hours would make them more productive. 93% also say that they want a job where they can be themselves and dressing comfortably plays a part in that.
4) Encourage friendships at work
Build a sense of community and encourage friendship among colleagues by holding social events, such as work parties, drinks after work, team bonding activities, etc. These will help to break down barriers and allow employees to get to know each other on a more personal level, which will build a stronger team. 90% of millennials want a workplace to be sociable and fun.
