In the article, 10 Alarming Statistics That Expose Why Millennials Leave Organizations, it's abundantly clear that organizations struggle with Millennial loyalty. In fact, 66% of Millennials expect to leave their organization by the end of 2020. Below are keys to keep Millennials from leaving your organization so that the next generation of leaders can rise.
Millennials are leaving. What’s a company to do?
Deloitte’s recent 2016 Millennial Global Survey suggests three key actions to ensure an organization can arrest this “brain drain.” An employer that can execute these actions is likely to be more successful than its rivals in securing the talents of the Millennial generation.
1) Identify, understand, and align with Millennials’ values.
- Millennials intending to stay with their organization for at least five years are far more likely than others to report a positive culture and focus on the needs of the individual.
- Millennials believe the most important values a business should follow for long-term success is put employees first and have a solid foundation of trust and integrity.
- Millennials choose employers whose values reflect their own.
- 56% of Millennials have “ruled out ever working for a particular organization because of its values or standard of conduct.”
- Millennials choose employers who demonstrate a strong sense of company purpose beyond financial success.
- 87% of Millennials believe that “the success of a business should be measured in terms of more than just its financial performance.”
- Millennials who believe business has a positive impact on wider society measure organizations against: product and service quality (63%), employee satisfaction (62%), customer satisfaction (55%), turnover (29%), reputation (27%), and longevity (24%).
2) Satisfy the demands Millennials have of employers.
- Pay and financial benefits drive Millennials’ choice of organization more than anything else.
- Millennials most important drivers of employer choice (excluding salary) are: work-life balance (16.8%), opportunities to progress/be leaders (13.4%), flexibility i.e., remote working, flexible hours (11.0%), sense of meaning from work (9.3%), and professional development training programs (8.3%).
- A greater degree of workplace flexibility would increase Millennials level of satisfaction.
- 51% of Millennials expect productivity to increase if people in their organization could work from home or places other than the main location.
- An ideal Millennial workweek would include significantly more time devoted to the discussion of new ideas and ways of working, on coaching and mentoring, and on the development of their leadership skills.
- Millennials who feel in control of their careers demonstrate more loyalty.
- Only 29% of Millennials say they have “total control” over their career paths.
- Create a creative and inclusive work culture.
- 76% of Millennials are more likely to report high levels of satisfaction where there is a creative, inclusive working culture rather than a more authoritarian, rules-based approach.
- Millennials report high levels of employee satisfaction when the following aspects exist: open and free-flowing communication, culture of mutual support and tolerance, strong sense of purpose beyond financial success, active encouragement of ideas among all employee, strong commitment to equality and inclusiveness, and support and understanding of the ambitions of younger employees.
3) Support Millennials’ ambitions and professional development.
- Creating new leaders through development opportunities builds Millennial loyalty.
- Millennials demonstrate more loyalty when they are most satisfied with their employer's development programs.
- Only 24% of Millennials are “very satisfied” with the learning opportunities and professional development programs at work.
- The most loyal Millennial employees are more likely to agree that: younger employees are actively encouraged to aim for leadership roles.
- Millennials would like to increase the time devoted to leadership skills development from 2.7 to 4.5 hours a week—an increase of two-thirds.
- Make training and development support widely available.
- 68% of Millennials likely to stay over five years with a company agree that they have support/training widely available to progress in leadership roles.
- Encouraging mentorship promotes loyalty.
- Millennials intending to stay with their organization for more than five years are twice as likely to have a mentor (68%) than not (32%).
- Over 90% of Millennials with mentors describe the quality of advice and the level of interest shown in their development as “good."
Question: What is your best strategy to retain and engage Millennials?
Consider Ryan Jenkins to be your next Millennial/Generation Y or Generation Z keynote speaker by clicking here...
