Member Article

Millennials: How to attract graduate talent

With a summer of interchangeable weather, disappointing football and an impressive Olympic medal haul behind them, graduating Millennials will fly the nest from a near lifetime in education, and a last grasp at free time, to pursue careers in their chosen fields. This pool of young, talented graduates is something many business owners will want to dip their toes into but attracting them, and retaining them is a tricky endeavour you’ll want to get right.

Graduates can offer your business a fresh approach and give you a balanced workforce with a variety of different skill sets. These intelligent, young workers hold specific ideals in high regard and it’s essential that employers can offer everything from perks to a fun work space to attract well-driven employees.

The first place to start is the workplace environment. This generation of graduates desire a fun work culture which will see them thrive. Results in BrightHR’s ‘It Pays to Play’ report showed that the majority of 16-24 year olds surveyed rated fun as important, reiterating that they respond positively to a fun workplace.

In the second part of their ‘It Pays to Play’ research series, in which they explore perks in the workplace, BrightHR suggest parks are important in facilitating the fun work culture Millennials are looking for..

Away from their pay packets, 80 per cent of 16-25 year olds say it’s important for a workplace to have fun perks whilst 75 per cent of younger workers believing they would work harder as a result of perks; this could be a free breakfast, games consoles, chill out zones or flexible work scheduling. In addition to attracting graduates, business owners are increasingly using workplace perks to retain employees and improve productivity.

While perks and fun in the workplace can draw potential Millennial employees to initially apply for an internship or job role with your company, it is essential that employers convey a sense of purpose. Six in 10 Millennials say this is part of the reason they chose their current employers.

Putting an emphasis on direction and purpose to candidates will attract highly motivated graduates who are a great asset to improving a workforce’s productivity. In BrightHR’s research, 89 per cent of 16-25 year olds agreed that it was important that their job encouraged development, whether this be through seminars or mentoring. A captivating leader or manager to mentor graduates can ensure they understand what’s required from them in a business environment.

Lastly, Millennials are often keen to showcase their talents and employers should give them the space to show their creativity. Offering these opportunities instills trust and confidence in them and will ultimately make them feel like a more valued member of your workforce.

So why are graduates in such demand? Millennials will make up the majority of the workforce by 2025. These highly educated, continuous learners are tech natives and achievement orientated. Their technological nous and entrepreneurial spirit make them well set up for the fast-paced online world.

This generation are also part of the ‘job-hopping’ era, changing jobs a lot more than their parents ever did. The internet has changed their relationship with work. No longer are they grateful for just having a job, they can now anonymously visit jobs boards, see how much they’re worth to other businesses, understand the packages are on offer and they’ll change jobs if they’re not satisfied in their role.

A new study by networking site LinkedIn found that young people jump jobs four times in their first decade after graduating. That’s nearly double the bouncing around the generation before them did.

Employers need to start thinking about their employees in the same way consumer brands think about their customers. When employing graduates employers needs to consider not only if they’re offering an appropriate salary but also how they can make their workplace fun so their employees love working for them. This not only helps reduce employee churn costs but research also suggest it can have a major boost on productivity.

There are huge benefits to bringing new blood into a business. Attracting and retaining Millennials to your business may be tough but it just may offer the aid to propel your business forward and gain the competitive advantage.

For more information vist www.brighthr.com

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Dalley .