Employment generation and employee retention issues had always been a prime concern for employers in the changing millennial job market. From colossal enterprises to small business ventures, every business unit strives hard to retain and uplift their workforce. However, the situation is trivial! Most of these organizations don’t have a specific plan and targeted policies for their employees. Their engagement policies can only address universal issues and some of the standard problems.
Do you think that’s enough? Going by the diverse and distinctive work culture in today’s professional landscape, a standard and one-size-fits-all approach won’t be appropriate. The rapid influx and inclusion of Gen Y have led to a massive change in the millennial job market.
Known as Millennials, these new generations of the workforce also known as the millennial workforce has the potential to create exceptional market opportunities and is changing the millennial job market future. Organizations across the globe are warming up to these new batches of employees, thus embracing positive changes. On that note, it’s time we delve deep into the nuances of this ‘millennial revolution.’
Who’s a Millennial, and Why are they Important?
Most of the organizations and entrepreneurs don’t know the true meaning of the term. You might be having a batch of new workers, but unaware of how to treat them. Gen Y, GenNext, Millennials, Baby-on-board, Facebookers, Echo Boomers, Screenagers, no matter what you call them, determine the future of the millennial job market to a great extent. If we take a quick look at the US labour statistics reports, we will find that Millennials have recorded a total population of 80 million from 1981 to 2001.
Millennial Job Market – A Quick look at Stats
Millennials are a class apart when it comes to triggering revolutions in the job sector. If we turn to stats again, we will find that these Echo Boomers will be one-half of a company’s workforce and that too within a short span of 5 years. By the next decade, Millennials will already be ruling the job scene with a total share of 75% in the millennial job market!
These stats present a crystal clear picture of the current market trends. Although it’s too early to say goodbye to baby boomers, it’s high time entrepreneurs and managers warm up to the millennial generation.
Key findings of Gen Y
While baby boomers have their roots in corporate hierarchies, Gen Y or millennials originate from team-based work culture. These new sets of employees differ a lot from their predecessors when it comes to job demands and employment experience. The changing job market demands businesses to keep pace with the changes. Here’s a short account of what millennials want in a workplace:
1. Team-Based Approaches- As highly-skilled, well-educated, and confident professionals, Gen Y has the potential to drive maximum growth in an organization. However, individualistic trends and approaches are completely absent in this new set of the millennial workforce. Echo Boomers love to work in teams, share their success, and even the failures. They have brought a fresh wave of team spirit to their workplaces.
2. Seek Challenges- Regular 9-to-5 gigs aren’t for the millennial population. They don’t mind working hours for a project they like and discard something they don’t. Millennials bring a lot of positive energy to the workplace and develop emotional attachments with it. They are ready to take up productive challenges, even if it keeps them up at night.
3. High Targets and Expectations- Millennials are go-getters. They work fast and wish to have speedy results. Organizations have to keep up with this lightning pace, as that’s the key to attracting this new generation of employees.
4. Tech-savvy- Millennials have clearly made the most out of technology. That’s quite normal since they have seen broadband, Wi-Fi connections, social media, and Smartphones throughout their growing years.
5. Result-Oriented Work- Traditional work approaches don’t attract Millennials. They want to have appropriate and perfect appreciations for the work they do, leaving no stone unturned to achieve that.
6. Incentives and Rewards- Unlike the Baby Boomers, Millennials are fond of work incentives and special rewards. However, they don’t value monetary gains as much as they value an exciting vacation, Starbucks discounts, or team-building initiatives as incentives.
7. Learning Experience- Flexibility and the enthusiasm to learn are some of the most crucial qualities possessed by Gen Y. They are not stubborn and always ready to embrace any positive change that comes their way!
Echo Boomers or Facebookers, whatever you choose to name them, are undoubtedly the future of the job sector. By the end of 2020, millennials will make up a whopping 50% of the world’s workforce. That explains their significance and importance in the global work sector.
A whopping 72% of this millennial population wants to be their own supervisor and boss. Even if they have to work for a boss, they would want him to be more of an associate, a guide, mentor, or coach and less of a nosy supervisor. Simply put, Millennials hate to follow and promote the corporate hierarchy.
Quite naturally, organizations across the globe are pulling up their socks and getting ready to embrace this new change. Tech giants like Apple and Google are already undergoing a metamorphosis, thus attracting a huge number of Gen Y employees.
Assessing the Present Scenario in the Millennial Job Market
Economic downturns across the globe are playing a key role in transforming the job sector. Work culture, approaches, and policies have changed for the better, and a majority of organizations are ready to welcome this change. However, there have been a lot of behavioral changes in the millennial workforce too:
1. Loyalty- It’s not that Millennials don’t click with a single employer, but they simply don’t want to get stagnated. According to current reports from this quarter, nearly 75% of millennials wish to have 6 employers in their work life, which was just 10% back in 2008. Stagnancy at work, lack of exciting opportunities, and absence of challenging situations are some of the prime reasons for such behaviours.
2. Work-Life Balance- Another interesting aspect of their behaviour is their desire to strike a perfect balance between work and personal life. Millennials do value professional achievements, but not at the cost of their personal lives and relationships. A drastic change from what Gen X thinks and believes!
3. Brand Loyalty- While choosing professional opportunities, Millennials believe in the propositions of a consumer. Most of these Gen Y employees want to work with brands they love, like, and admire as customers. Behavioural reports in 2008 suggest that 86% of Gen Y workers chose to leave an organization that failed to live up to their expectations.
4. Ascending the Success Ladder: Professional success and achievements are top priorities for these millennials. They want to touch the peak of success and take the organization along with them on this journey.
With these key findings of the current scenario, you will surely know what the millennial workforce wants to do and have in his professional journey. If you wish to keep them engaged and retain them in your organization, you will have to make necessary changes in your work approaches and policies. Here’s a handy guide for the next generation entrepreneurs.
How to Retain the Millennial Workforce?
Before devising policies, laying out company rules, or putting out job offers, make sure you understand the thought process of Millennials. Inject purpose, goals, and meaning into their work, and you don’t need to be a phenomenon like Google, Apple, or Microsoft to do that.
Financial benefits are also quite important for this particular group, as most of them have to repay their education loan debts. If you are planning to make your organization millennial-ready, these tips might just be the right resources.
- Offer meaningful work opportunities
- Provide them with competitive salary packages including retirement and savings benefits
- Provide engaging training
- Ensure work flexibility (promote remote operations and Work-From-Home verticals)
- Help them nurture and showcase their talents
- Offer opportunities to present creative expressions
- Following and implementing these tips will help you attract the Gen Y workforce. Entrepreneurs can also leverage the power of Big Data, thus engaging in better recruitment processes.
The Power of Data
Without the right data and analytics, a recruiter’s life is downright frustrating. Recruiters have an inclination towards overselling their job positions. That creates a lot of problems in the recruitment process, thus making it complicated. With the right data analytics, recruiters will develop clear ideas and realistic expectations. They will know about the values, skills, and behaviours in an applicant which can lead them to be highly successful employees.
Most importantly, big data helps you understand your employees. You can differentiate between productive and unproductive workforce, thus taking your venture forward. Lack of effective data and crucial insights can lead to poor recruitment choices. That’s the reason recruiters across the world are planning to leverage the power of Big Data.
What’s Next in the Millennial Job Market?
Employers have to understand that their capacity to retain, attract, and captivate the attention of Gen Y will be their key to success. You have to take your organization to the next level if you really wish to survive in the competitive business arena. The millennial workforce will be the best support system in your journey towards excellence!
