5 Strategies for Hiring Millennials
Today, we need the best and the brightest. That young talent...those who question the way things are done. Those who create faster processes and are so technologically advanced it makes us question what we actually know…the Millennial.
Here are the five core strategies for hiring Millennials:
Ensure Title/Responsibility Growth is to be expected for hard work and dedication and that they will not be in the same role 1-2 years down the line. Talk about how others in the role have grown and where they are today in the company.
Company Culture is one of those things that you either have or don’t. If you don’t, work on it…right now! Everyone wants to work for the company that has crazy wall colors, employee outings, open door policy (Executives can be easily communicated with), free snacks/coffee, employee gamification and more. Millennials need to feel like they are joining a Google.
Work/Life Balance & Flexibility…don’t worry, Millennials are hard workers. Sometimes they work so hard, they really just need some flexibility to feel they still have a social life. They need to feel like they can have a normal life outside of work. Telecommuting on certain days of the week for jobs such as design, development and the like are very normal. Remember, this generation was taught to “work to live” not “live to work”.
Compensation is so important! Some companies are really trying to low ball salaries and it is getting harder and harder for them to hire the best talent. It is creating rotating door environments, especially in cold call/sales environments. If you want to give a lower salary, that is fine, just make sure the upside, bonus or commission opportunity allows for the individual to make a normal wage. Out of college $26,000 to $35,000 base salaries are normal for sales roles if the commission can allow them to double their income. Within Marketing, college grads are making $35,000 to $40,000 + bonus potential. Within Engineering, college grads are getting hired between $65,000 to $80,000. Every industry and role has their pay scale, do not fall below the norm. Given 3-5 years of experience, these individuals are making $20K-$50K per year from the starting wage. Often times Millenials will need to jump jobs in order to get the bump in salary. The goal is to keep the talent happy and on board. Typical 2%-4% yearly raises are not working to retain talent. Watch out the rising talent and compensate them, either with a commission or bonus structure. They deserve to be well compensated or else they will jump ship!
The Sell: You can have all the right things and offer amazing benefits, but if you don’t have someone really selling the opportunity to come and work for you, you wont be really getting the best talent. Those who are doing such a good job and are well taken care of, that they don’t even know about your opportunity since they are not actively on the job hunt. It is CRUCIAL to have an internal HR team dedicated to talent acquisition and well connected recruiting firm to constantly go out and find the best profiles and talent and actively pitch them on what you have to offer. How your company is presented and spoken about is very important – pay attention to your tone of voice, how excited and motivated you are to work for your company and share your opportunity in way that is intriguing. Never lie – but do not undersell and always put on you’re Sales hat, because recruiting is a sales job. If you can’t sell the opportunity of working at your company, you cannot be on the phone actively recruiting the best and brightest talent. Make sure your internal recruiter or HR Rep is the right person to be representing your company. You only get one chance to entice a potential candidate about a particular role... make that presentation count!