There is a lot of discussion about how to retain Millennial employees, as they are ‘apparently’ known for only having ‘one foot in the game’.
According to a recent survey by Job Bite, they found that 33% of new hires leave their new job within the first 90 days! 43 percent cite the reason being that the day-to-day role wasn’t what they expected. 34 percent had an unpleasant incident or experience at work. And 32% said they did not like the corporate culture.
How to Retain Millennial Employees
What does this high turnover rate mean during the first 90 days? And how does that apply to Millennials? The question really is – how to retain Millennial employees?
Millennials are people born after 1980 and they are the largest generation in the workforce. Millennials want to feel connected at work. There’s a myth about Millennials that they always have one foot out the door and ready to leave at the drop of a hat.
It’s really far from the truth!
Millennials want to be connected to the workplace. They want to be part of a change.
What can you do?
Millennial Employee Retention Strategies
Number 1:
First thing is – it starts before those first 90 days!
Once the millennial has accepted the job, send them a welcome letter. I have had a client who creates a video welcoming the new employee. Send out an announcement to the rest of the organization, announcing the new hire and then send that new employee a goodie bag. Anything with company swag, logos, anything that the employee can start to get excited about their new job.
The day before their first day, the manager should give them a call. Just to remind them where to park, who to ask for, and if there’s anything necessary they need to bring, such as ID or maybe a certain uniform.
According to CNBC, the number one indicator that Millennials feel that they’ve made the right job choice is are they are adequately trained. I have another client told me that their training used to be 4 full days long. It was just too much, so they cut it down to 8 half days.
If you use technology in your training, remember that technology should look and feel like the technology they use at home.
Retaining Millennials in the Workplace
Number 2:
What opportunities are there for the Millennial to grow and develop? This is an important question to answer as it has a lot to do with how to retain Millennial employees.
According to Ink Magazine, 71 percent of Millennials leave a company after two years, when they feel like their leadership skills are not being developed.
I recently interviewed a millennial attorney. He just changed firms and he said the number one reason he really made the change was that he eventually wanted to make partner. He felt that there was nobody there helping him create a path to the partnership. It was very clear to him that they didn’t expect to make him a partner for no reason, but he wanted somebody there to at least show him the path and the steps that he could take to become a partner.
Millennial Employee Retention
Number 3:
And finally a buddy or a peer. Somebody that they can go to with questions during the first 90 days. I know a lot of managers and supervisors that say: “They can ask me any questions!“. Some people feel a little bit awkward asking their managers questions, especially during that first 90 days. Especially when some of us feel a little “not so bright” in our job, so make sure to assign somebody that they could go to.
After that 90 days is over, or even during those 90 days, a good question you can ask the millennial employee is: “What has been a surprise for you since you took the job?”
Sometimes you might discover things that you never thought of, or sometimes that millennial employee might bring up something that could later down the road become an issue. For example: “I thought I would only be traveling 20% of the time, but I’m actually traveling 80%!”
Ask questions, listen to their answers and communicate closely with your Millennial employees in the first 90 days and you will less likely hear the concerns why they would consider leaving!