Young professionals are often recent graduates (or still students) and excited about landing their first internship or entry-level job. As an employer, you want these young pros have the ability to grow at your organization. Maybe some of them will stay and climb up the ladder. How can you retain them? And — more importantly — how can you help them succeed?
- Create a mentorship program. With many Millennials growing up with “helicopter parents,” (parents who pay extreme attention to their child’s needs, experiences and problems), they are used to receiving guidance and feedback quickly and frequently. If you are unable to provide this much feedback, a great solution is to set up your young professionals with a mentor (higher-level employee to help guide them). Their mentor can field questions and concerns they may have, and also help the young pro navigate their way in the working world.
- Ask for input and ideas. Are you asking your Gen Y employees how to better your organization? Many Millennials can provide fresh ideas when it comes to technology, work processes or tasks. Come up with a procedure for fielding these ideas — such as compiling them in a wiki or internal social network — and respond accordingly when there is one you could implement.
- Provide challenges. Millennials grew up with the latest technology, and many of them didn’t have parents who understood how to use it. So, they figured it out themselves. Gen Y enjoys being challenged and, although they realize not all tasks will be enjoyable, need a challenge or become easily bored in the position.
- Be flexible. Older generations may feel like Gen Y doesn’t have a good work ethic, but the reality is that many members of this generation take much pride in their work — they just do it differently. For example, maybe your Millennial employee works better at 8 p.m. than 8 a.m. If you can find ways to provide flexibility, such as telecommuting or flexible work hours, consider implementing them into your workplace.
- Create a fun, employee-centered workplace. Young professionals want to enjoy their work and their workplace. This is why so many large organizations (think: Google) are starting to provide a more fun atmosphere for their employees.
With so many Millennials entering the workforce, it’s important to take a hard look at your organization and evaluate how you can help young professionals succeed. Do you really know what motivates this generation? For more information on Generation Y in the workplace, download our infographic loaded with statistics here.
What are some other ways to help young professionals succeed?
