Small businesses have an advantage in encouraging open, regular communication with millennial generation which could extend their tenure.
It’s a classic story: a new young, energetic and ambitious employee enters the workplace with their optimistic creativity, they give it their all and thrive, but then they’re out the door on to the next adventure without explanation, leaving managers baffled.
That is why organisations are seeking new ways to engage and retain younger employees. Despite contributing profoundly to the traditional workplace with their motivation and education, millennials are statistically twice as likely to swap jobs as generation X and baby boomers, potentially creating big problems for small businesses.
The Kronos APAC report Motivating Millennials: Managing tomorrow’s workforce today revealed the true nature of millennial working habits, concluding that open, honest conversations about an employee’s intentions to leave can, in fact, benefit engagement and retention within an organisation.
“Rolling out agile working initiatives or even encouraging dress-down days adds to workplace culture.”
Harness the benefits
Millennials will make up half of Australia’s workforce by 2020, with their numbers set to reach 75% by 2025. However, as this age bracket averages just 3.4 years in a role, the
“Millennials will make up half of Australia’s workforce by 2020.”
price paid for rapid turnover can be damaging to the growth of small businesses. In order to adapt, small businesses need to embrace new working habits and harness the benefits rather than risk alienating this generational group.
More than two-thirds of millennials say they would have stayed longer in a previous role if managers had shown an interest in them. This open, regular communication between managers and employees doesn’t call for the reimagining of a business strategy, but could make a huge difference to the duration of their tenure. After all, the worst thing that can happen is an employee’s demands can’t be delivered; the best is that their demands are easy to meet. In fact, just 19% of millennials in the study confirmed nothing could have been done to stop their departure from a previous organisation, whereas training, promotion and rewards kept four-fifths motivated and engaged.
Core issues
Ultimately, the research revealed that offers of improved packages, promotion and incentives can fail to address the core issues causing millennial workers to become disengaged or demotivated. Sure, evidence suggests that being well paid keeps 84% of millennials in their jobs for longer, but this longevity comes with a shelf-life of an extra 1.5 years only.
Thinking more broadly, ask yourself:
- Do you have regular catch-ups with your younger employees?
- Is your small business equipped to handle their working behaviours and requirements? Small businesses have an advantage in that the scale of their business and workforce size can encourage greater personalisation between the organisation and its employees.
Small businesses should embrace this position when engaging millennials and foster regular check-ins with team members to discuss issues.
Natira Drayton, Director of SMB, Kronos APAC
This article first appeared in issue 13 of the Inside Small Business quarterly magazine
