Find them? No, I want to keep them! | nextforce

Keeping Gen Y in your workplace

Most companies are so concerned with attracting young talent that they fail to retain this young talent after a couple years. According to Young Money, the average time for a recent college graduate in their first job is only 1.6 years. So the question begs, how can your company avoid the pitfall of losing their young talent?

1). Identify your key personnel early on. With large companies who hire over 50 new college grads each year, it is important to identify which young professionals have a future in management. Rather than lumping all new hires in the same bucket, it is imperative to retain the best and the brightest. Treat all employees with respect and care, but keep dibs on the interests and pursuits of your top talent. Worker bee employees are much easier to replace than future management.

2). Don’t let money be the deal breaker. Organizations spend thousands of dollars annually in hopes to attract new. Some of your new recruits may be tempted to leave for a modest raise. Just like in new customers, it is much harder to attract new employees than retaining your own. Don’t be stubborn – if the difference is a few thousand dollars to keep a good employee, show the good faith move and simply cut your recruiting budget the next year. If the same employees keep knocking each year for a raise, than try a work-around such as a performance bonus, since this employee is clearly motivated by money.

3). Money doesn’t equal happiness. Although most young employees would love to be making big bucks right out of school, most know it isn’t realistic. However you can entice your young employees through different programs. Offer a flexible work schedule if you can accommodate. Increase vacation time for excellent performance. Take your employees out for a day at the golf course. Pay for a lunch meeting with no hidden agenda. Young people will take notice if they are taken care of.

4). Engage them in the big picture. Young professionals are usually relegated to entry-level positions when fresh out of school. After learning about how corporate America works, they enter a workforce crunching numbers. They may not have the capacity to help steer the organization, but young professionals still like to know where the company is headed. Set up meetings to show how their work is fueling the organization. A vision for a company should be apparent to all employees, not just management.

5). Bridge the gap. In most workplaces, there will be a generational divide between the tenured employees to the new graduates. Rather than simply have the senior employees train the new members, switch it up a bit. Give the new grads the responsibility for training new software or new initiatives. This gives the new grads a sense of entitlement, and helps to foster relationships when tenured employees need help.