When you’re running a business, you have a wide variety of tasks and areas to focus on each week, from sales and marketing, product or service development and finance, through to accounting, customer service and human resources. To build your business as much as you’d like, and ensure it’s around for the long term, you must ensure you fit in enough time each year to look after your employees. You need to find ways to keep your workers engaged, committed, productive, loyal and motivated, so they achieve more and are less likely to go elsewhere.
It’s particularly important to think about ways to improve the retention rates of your millennial employees. If you’re like many entrepreneurs you might feel a bit daunted about how to handle this sector of your workforce and worry they will continually be looking to move onto “greener pastures.” However, there are many steps you can take to ensure these staff members feel appreciated, engaged, acknowledged and interested in staying put. Read on for some ways to boost the retention rate of millennial workers in your business in 2019.
Provide Opportunities for Growth
For starters, keep in mind that younger employees aren’t just focused on the salary they earn. They are also keen to keep growing and learning over the years and typically hate the thought of being stagnant. You can cater to this desire for development by providing millennials with opportunities to enhance their knowledge and skill set.
For instance, set up mentoring programs where millennials are trained and guided by more senior staff members within the company or within other organizations, externally. Other options include setting up employee exchange programs, bringing in qualified speakers to discuss relevant business topics or organizing training either in-house or through a third-party.
Many millennials are also interested in completing a university degree in an area relevant to their career path. You can assist them with this by investing financially (fully or partially) in educational programs and/or through giving them time off to attend classes and study. For good general business knowledge consider something like this William and Mary MBA degree, or look into more specific choices relevant to your business and industry.
Read Also: Best Tips to Boost Your Workplace
Enable Millennials to Be Mobile
Another good way to boost retention rates of millennials is to enable these workers to be mobile within your business. Since employees from this generation want to keep growing and have the chance to challenge themselves, they’re not afraid to make lateral career moves, particularly if they think this will make them more satisfied and engaged on the job.
As such, allow millennial staff members to change positions within your organization, so they can keep trying new things. By allowing them the support them need to go after new opportunities, rather than keeping them stuck in the same role year after year, you will be much more likely to retain them.
Remember that this strategy can also have helpful benefits for your firm. Since mobile millennial workers will spend time in numerous job types and departments (and even different company locations), this will give them a good overall understanding of the business and how it works. They will see what potential opportunities and risks there are and end up getting a good foundation to become future leaders for your company.
Ask Young Workers About the Types of Perks They’d Like
A simple yet effective way to retain millennials in your organization is to ask them about the types of rewards they prefer. For example, they might be interested in more flexible working arrangements, so they can achieve better work/life balance, or they could be keen to receive free or discounted healthcare benefits and onsite facilities, trips away to attend key industry events, vouchers for dinners and movies or other options.
Those from younger generations aren’t afraid to speak up about their needs and desires as they grew up in a period where customized product choices, experiences and feedback is the norm. They enjoy being treated as individuals rather than just a number, so being asked for their likes and dislikes is a positive situation for them to be in.
Openly asking your millennial team members about what means the most to them will not only make them more engaged and likely to commit to your business, but it will also optimize your resources, too. That is, by spending time and money on the things people really want, and not on those that don’t have much impact, your resources will be much better spent and results will increase.
