I told everyone on Twitter last night that I would not be blogging today, but I had a slight change of heart. I got my interview questions from Lisa Orrell back just in time to post them and have content readily available to you. Lisa is also announcing her new MySpace blog for millennials seeking career advice. Lisa is very well in-tune with the “millennial tribe” and how we are changing the workplace. She feels that it’s for the better and I can’t agree more. Her experience dealing with HR is invaluable and today she shares her knowledge with all of you.
What challenges will HR have to face now and in the years to come with recruiting and retaining members of Gen-Y?
For recruiting, any employer who is not saying/offering the following things to Millennial job candidates, is missing the boat: We offer a great mentoring program; we respect and support your desire for work-life balance; we offer a fun environment; and we have a solid program for fostering your growth and advancement.
Those are just a few but will give your readers something to think about. I offer a ton of other tips and examples in my seminars and in my book, and could go on and on about this. But I’ll end this part of my answer by saying that I have clients who have changed their company cultures pretty drastically to make these promises a “reality” and they have found it very beneficial with recruiting and retaining Millennials.
In terms of retaining Millennial talent, this really maps-back to the hot buttons for recruiting them that I just mentioned. You can promise the moon in your recruiting and interviewing process but if an employer doesn’t deliver them, Millennials will leave. And, they’ll go online and tell all their cyber-buddies that your company is not a very good place to work.
I had one client who suffered a huge decline in resumes from college grads, and it’s because a large amount of Millennials had left and talked about “why” online. They weren’t saying anything slanderous and they didn’t mention managers’ names, but they simply talked about how this company wasn’t Millennial-friendly. This client then had to do some serious “damage control” through a PR campaign to basically let the 20-somethings of the world know they had made changes and really welcomed Millennials, and “knew how to keep them happy”.
How has HR reacted to the emergence of Gen-Y and what are some case studies for company’s that are successfully capturing their attention?
I can honestly say that in every seminar I conduct I am really blown-away by how much HR teams are NOT doing to attract Millennial talent. They think that having a company website with some job postings is cutting-edge. And I am talking about companies that are big (and some well-known) and you think would know better.
Some HR/recruiting execs “know” this stuff but haven’t implemented any of it. Or, they have no idea “what to do” online. But when you have 85% of students on Facebook, get on Facebook! I also have clients who are creative with how to have a company presence on YouTube and MySpace. This is where Gen Y “hangs out”…online! If you are simply relying on your company website to “attract” them you need to get with the program.
One successful case study is how Deloitte created a company presence on YouTube. The had an internal “film festival” where employees could submit short videos about how great it is to work there or how working there has changed their lives. All entries were posted in an intranet site for employees to vote. The “winning” videos were then posted on YouTube. Brilliant idea! The employees created them so it didn’t cost Deloitte anything and they basically got testimonials from employees versus some corporate executive doing a “canned”, boring recruitment video.
A few other tactics for employers to be aware of is look into SecondLife and CareerTV.com. I have a ton more ideas and case studies but I’m not going to give them all away on your blog!
Where do you see social media playing a role in and out of the workplace for Gen-Y?
In work, it’s a must (for larger companies). I advise clients to set-up FaceBook sites for employees to communicate, and if the undertaking for a big company is too big, I tell managers to do it for their departments.
But research shows that Millennials actually prefer face-time with people in work environments so maintaining in-person meetings, and providing in-person training, is important to them. But they like to have a place where they can communicate with their co-workers online about social activities, and for advice and brainstorming on projects.
There is a very cool company called MyWorkster (.com), founded by Jeff Saliture, and they develop community sites for colleges and universities. They also have a product for the corporate world. They are very busy with new clients and it’s because companies are starting to understand they need to have a community site for employees (of all ages).
Out of the workplace, it just “is” and won’t go anywhere. I simply tell Millennials not to be stupid about what they put “out there” for the world to see. Many companies are starting to create new policies in their employee handbooks stating if they find anything “undesirable” that the employee has written or posted (photos and such), even BEFORE they were hired, it is immediate grounds for termination.
And I have to side with employers on that one. Once you accept a job, you are now a representative of that company, and if you’re doing anything on line that could embarrass your employer, it’s probably something you shouldn’t be doing. And if you have stuff online from when you were in college getting trashed at keggers (see right) and dancing naked with monkeys, it’s time to try to get that removed off the Internet.
Think about it…you’re 23 now but in 8 years from now you become a VP for a well-known company and the media finds that type of video of you. That is NOT how the company wants to make headlines in the news and you could be out-of-a-job…not to mention totally humiliated. What tends to be really funny when you’re 20 is typically really embarrassing when you’re 30.
Man, I thank God everyday that there were not camera phones when I was in high school and college. And even though I love YouTube now, I’m glad that wasn’t around when I was in school either!
What do you recommend for a Millennial starting off in the workplace or entering it?
You don’t know everything; be open to learning anything; realize older generations have been there a lot longer than you and just because they may not be into texting or know who the hottest new bands are, doesn’t mean they’re dumb; don’t burn ANY bridges because that person will show-up somewhere again later; and life is too short, so enjoy what you do.
What pisses you off about Millennials? What do they need to learn and when do they need to start paying attention?
Nothing pisses me off about Millennials. I make a living educating older generations about how excited they should be that Millennials are entering the work force. I have yet to meet a Millennial in the work world that I didn’t like. I simply understand that a person’s maturity at 22 will be different when they reach 28, so I don’t let that bother me. It bothers some older generations, but I remind them they were also 22 at one point and probably bugged the 50 year-olds they worked for, too.
Your second question is BIG. They need to start learning the minute they get a job and then you never stop learning. The minute you think you know everything, you’re screwed. I learn new stuff everyday and love it. Life would be really friggin’ boring if you stopped learning. AND I learn from people of ALL ages because I’m open to everyone’s opinions and experiences…whether you’re 2 or 100+, I’ll listen to you.
In terms of paying attention, I think Millennials already are. They are very aware of the world; more so than I was when I was in my early 20’s. Yes, they are demanding in work environments, and yes they tend to be high maintenance, but much of what they want can benefit employees of any age at work. I tell clients all the time to consider what Millennials are asking for because it could be good for making their entire multigenerational workforce happier.
The Millennials are here, and require some different things that employers haven’t dealt with before. But to pretend this isn’t happening is not going to serve any company well. This generation is shaking up the work world, and they’re not going away, so the smart companies will pay attention and consider making adjustments. The ones that don’t could suffer from low recruitment numbers and a high turnover rate of who could be their future managers and leaders.
And, as I tell my seminar audiences of Boomers and older Gen Xers:
”Millennials didn’t just hatch from pods…YOU created them! And now you have to deal with them in the work world.”
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Lisa Orrell is a leading Millennial & Generation Relations Expert, and author of the popular book, “Millennials Incorporated.” She is an in-demand speaker and consultant hired by well-known companies, such as Paul Mitchell, Cisco, Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Heald College. Recently, Lisa was a featured expert on MSNBC, and her commentary is sought by many publications such as: Human Resource Executive magazine, Recruitment & Retention magazine, and Employee Benefit News.
