Look into the future of your company: Only six years hence, in 2022, workers ages 25 to 54 years old will make up 63.1 percent of the workforce. As the American workforce continues to age, IBWA members must expand and optimize their efforts to attract and retain younger workers. You may feel daunted by the perception that Millennials are disloyal, jumping from one employer to the next, and that they expect every workplace to be like Google, with its free food courts and flexible hours—but that’s not really the case. It’s a myth that Millennials are job hoppers. However, it is true that young people are job hoppers. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, median employment tenure was 4.6 years in 2014; in 1983, the median was 3.5 years. For workers ages 20 to 24, average tenure in 2014 was 1.3 years, compared with 1.5 in 1983. For workers ages 25 to 34, average tenure in 2014 was 3 years, the same as it was in 1983. Economics may drive more young people to your company. For Millennials, the educational journey is being disrupted as college tuition gets more expensive. “Millennials question the value of a college education,” says Jamie Notter, principal of generational workplace consulting firm WorkXO. “There are so many alternatives that a traditional four-year, on-campus college education can seem archaic.” If President Obama’s proposal to make community college free for all Americans by 2020 is successful, it’s possible that even fewer young people will follow that traditional path.
Just as we know that not every Millennial is a knowledge worker (i.e., someone who works exclusively with information), Millennials know that not every workplace is like Google—and they don’t want it to be. The truth is twofold: Millennials bring unique generational characteristics to your workplace that, when viewed as strengths rather than weaknesses, can help to improve it; and, a work culture designed to respond to Millennials’ priorities is attractive to workers of all generations. But when talking employee recruitment and retention, it’s important to keep a distinction in mind: Recruitment is about tactics; retention is about strategy and culture.
Recruitment PureFlo Water in Santee, California, has been in business since 1958. The company employs 78 people, 26 of whom are home and office delivery (HOD) route salespeople. General Manager Leslie Alstad describes a workforce that is long-tenured and largely stable, but she cites high turnover among route drivers and staying fully staffed as ongoing business challenges. (Drivers average 3 to 5 years with the company, which meets or exceeds the nationwide medians.) During the past few years, PureFlo has changed its recruiting tactics to appeal to younger workers. They have turned to online advertising, social media, and employee referrals to generate leads on potential candidates. Route salespeople at PureFlo earn base pay plus a percentage of revenue. It’s a job
It’s a myth that Millennials are job hoppers. However, it is true that young people are job hoppers.
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