There’s no doubt about it: in today’s world, the workplace does not function the way it once used to. While hard work is still required and important, workplace trends continue to evolve, and many aspects of the professional word have changed.

From agriculture to education, rapid digitization has changed the way most industries function on a daily basis. As technology is steadily ushered in, the concepts of “an office” and the employees that work within it are in a constant state of flux. With millennials dominating the workforce, traditional workplace structures are no longer adequate to satiate the young employee’s ambitions. HR departments and managers need to change the nature of the workplace to keep up with current trends, so as to hire and retain millennial workers. Here are some ways to attract and retain younger employees.

Flexibility

Forget the nine to five schedule. Research suggests that millennials value a work-life balance that is made possible through workplace flexibility. In fact, experts believe that telecommuting will approach or even reach 50 percent by 2020. This allows for more free time that could be dedicated to pursuing a new hobby, exploring a new place, spending time with family, getting into a regular gym routine, or just getting to know oneself better as a person.

Younger employees prefer this alternative career lifestyle that allows them to work from virtually anywhere with a very healthy balance between work and other aspects of life, like sleep. When humans can sleep and wake during their natural times, they perform better at all tasks. Sleep scientists have identified four chronotypes that describe people’s bio-rhythms. Employees who know their chronotype and have the flexibility to live and work around it will likely be more productive than employees who don’t.

HR teams and managers need to work together to suit these needs of younger employees, thus making workplaces more attractive for younger applicants. Pricewaterhouse Coopers is a great example of this strategy in motion. Here, employees are encouraged to individualize their schedules, work from home if they don’t have client meetings, or slip out for an hour of Zumba during the workday.

Workplace culture

A great workplace culture and a wealth of perks is very appealing to millennial applicants. Contrary to previous generations where compensation was a top priority, younger employees seek benefits such as free food, nap rooms, pet friendly policies and amenities that cater to a more holistic sense of well being within the workplace. This “culture of care” and the emphasis on “how it feels “ play a big role in younger employee recruitment. A general culture of care appeals to millennials.

Consider Salesforce, where a people-driven culture has been cultivated over the recent years. Global Head of Recruiting Ana Recio defines Salesforce’s  culture as “ohana, the Hawaiian word for family, and it is the idea that families—blood-related, adopted, or intentional—are bound together and responsible for one another.” Recio points to this culture as influencing more than 80 percent of interns to come on as full-time employees. 

Learning opportunities

Ongoing learning is a valuable asset for young employees. They want to become as marketable as possible, and a career that allows them to continuously develop skills is more attractive than one when learning stagnates. They like to be constantly challenged and intellectually stimulated, both in direct relation to work-associated tasks as well as tangential tasks.

A lot of employers fear giving employees excessive opportunities to hone their leadership skills and other marketable assets through various courses, workshops etc., thinking that employees will use these free opportunities to hone skills and then leave the company. Ironically though, the more opportunities employees have to become marketable the more likely they are to stay. In fact, according to the Gallup School of Management, 80 percent of employees say that job training is key to keeping them as employees.

Opportunities for growth

In keeping with the point above, millennials appreciate working for companies that award them the opportunity to rise based on merit. Younger employees are eager to take on more responsibility, and grow within an organization. According to TLNT, one of the biggest complaints from millennials is that there aren’t enough opportunities to move up in an organization. They further state that part of why this happens is because companies insist on hiring more externally than from within.

Financially, it costs about 1.7 times as much to hire externally — by hiring internally companies can not only save money, but can also give younger employees a chance to develop talent and rise up. Setting up career paths for new young employees, assigning mentors, and offering lateral placements and interdepartmental rotations based on career goals are appealing to the new generation of workforce.  

 

A sense of purpose

A survey by Deloitte found that “a sense of purpose” was part of the reason 6 in 10 millennials accepted their jobs, and almost half have declined to perform assignments at work that contradict their values. The new generation of employees excel in work environments where their actions benefit both the organization and external community as a whole. In fact, the federal government has successfully recruited many young workers through this philosophy, resulting in 86 percent of millennial employees feeling as though the work they do within the federal government is important and contributing towards their agencies’ goals.

 

Companies without an inherently inspiring mission can give millennials a community-based purpose through organizing work-sponsored service events, charity campaigns, and being environmentally and socially responsible. Internally, an organization should be as transparent as is realistically possible, so that employees have a sense of control and can directly witness the fruits of their efforts.

Hiring younger applicants is integral to keeping the workplace dynamic and current. Millennial employees bring creative thinking skills, new ways of strategizing, and a different company culture to the table — all important aspects of expanding a business. Although the nature in which they work might differ from traditional workplace norms, hiring and retaining younger employees who come with the diverse knowledge and awareness of the latest trends is key to succeeding in any industry.