Date: 23-Jul-2020
Millennials now represent the largest segment of the workforce, and they have the potential to cause significant disruption in the next few years: According to the Deloitte Millennial Survey 2016, two-thirds of millennials said they want to leave their current employer by 2020.
Want to know how to keep them around? These three perks are among those that impress millennials the most.
Whether it’s in their schedule, the work they do, benefits packages or how they engage with work when they’re ostensibly “off,” flexibility matters to millennials. “Millennials have never been tethered by wires, creating an expectation of freedom-enabling technology that eliminates the traditional in-office 9-to-5,” says Amber Hyatt, director of product marketing for talent-management solutions provider SilkRoad. “They’re more concerned with the work they produce versus where they produce it, and organizations must embrace that view.”
Employers can take advantage of this by looking for ways to offer flexibility in the way people work: Where and when they work, and how they get their work done. Train managers to focus more on results and outcomes rather than micromanaging process steps, and streamline time-off policies to encourage everyone to take time to recharge.
Mentoring, training and personal development are essential for keeping millennials interested and engaged. “Offer robust benefits related to career goals,” Hyatt says. “A workplace culture that enables mentoring, on-the-job learning and personal development is essential.”
That interest in personal development starts early: According to Looksharp’s latest report on the State of Millennial Hiring, three-fourths of senior-year college students have internship experience. Respondents described “dream internships” as those that offer mentorships and are relevant to their major. As they progress in their careers, millennials are then interested in learning more about the steps they need to take to reach personal goals; clearly defined career paths with detailed requirements for learning and development can help them feel more loyal to an organization.
The oldest millennials are at the stage in life when they are settling down and starting families, notes Kevin Haney, founder of A.S.K. Benefit Solutions. Short-term disability, hospital indemnity and universal life insurance are the kinds of coverage that appeal to people at this stage, he says.
Because most employers don’t provide paid maternity leave, short-term disability can come in handy to replace some of the mother’s income during her leave. Hospital indemnity insurance provides a cash benefit directly to the employee for labor and delivery, and some policies pay additional benefits in the event of a preterm birth, Haney says.
Finally, universal life insurance can help new parents save for their children’s college expenses, Haney says. “The tax-deferred cash-value accumulation is not counted as an asset on the [federal student-aid] form. Families can save a large sum for the children’s college education without adversely affecting access to needs-based financial assistance.”
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