Savvy business owners are well aware that their employees are the lifeblood of their organization. As an experienced entrepreneur or business owner yourself, you understandably want to recruit and retain talented, devoted individuals who are a true asset to your organization.
While you could look for candidates who already have many years of experience in their respective fields, there are legitimate benefits associated with hiring millennials who have recently graduated from college.
Millennials and Work
Millennials are among the most connected and technologically-savvy generations. Many of them are focused on working for a reputable company that they can be proud of. While you may understandably use social media and other online avenues to research potential candidates, millennials will also use these to research your company.
Unlike previous generations that may have been focused on finding huge corporations to work for, millennials are more concerned about a company’s overall message and ethical stances.
Branding your company towards their ideas can help you attract and retain millennials. You may be wondering what makes millennials truly valuable additions to your organization, so here are their most notable generational traits:
1. Comfortable with New Tech
Millennials have grown up with easy access to digital devices. Most millennials regularly use technology in most or all aspects of their daily life. Because of this, they can adapt to new processes and manage many different technological applications at the same time. In fact, many prefer automation to manual operations.
To properly brand your business to appeal to millennials in this way, start with your website. Optimize it well and make sure it’s mobile-friendly. Have active social media accounts and highlight your tech savviness. Incorporate technology into the recruiting process: create a mobile-friendly app or landing page that makes the application process quick and convenient.
2. Fast Learners
Millennials are notably fast learners in general. This means that they may thrive on learning new skills in a fast-paced environment. They easily become bored when they work in a monotonous job with no chance for improvement or growth.
When millennials are interviewing for positions with your company, they may be interested in learning about growth and training opportunities that you provide to your employees.
In addition to offering these opportunities, you may create marketing material or add blurbs on your website that talk about the steps that your company takes to embrace new technologies and to innovate in other ways.
3. Enthusiastic and Hard Workers
Some millennials have little or no previous work experience, but many have taken the initiative to gain real-life work experience while working part-time jobs or internships during education. Some have also participated in extracurricular activities to gain valuable experiences and skills.
In addition to providing them with valuable skills and experiences, these side activities help them to better manage a busy schedule and to thoughtfully schedule their days.
Millennials who have taken these extra steps to position themselves for professional success by working while in school may have solid aspirations for achieving great things in their career. They may be looking for a growth-oriented company that lets them in on the ground floor while also being upwardly-mobile.
As you brand your company to make it appealing to millennials, focus on the growth that has already taken place as well as the incredible goals that you have for your business.
4. Highly Adaptable
Millennials are young adults who have experienced a tremendous change in society over their limited number of years. Technology has constantly and rapidly evolved throughout their childhood and teen years, so they are accustomed to making regular improvements and adjustments to their lives to accommodate change.
While many generations resist change, this is not usually the case with Millennials.
Because millennials are used to change, some even wholeheartedly embrace it and thrive on it. Branding should focus on the steps that your company has taken to quickly adapt to new technology and industry changes. In fact, you may even want to position your company as being a leader in your field rather than a follower.
5. A Desire to Connect
Millennials want to be a part of something bigger, greater. They want to connect to their employer’s goals and message. Most will look for a company that is aligned with their personal ethics and goals in some way.
You cannot connect to millennials in this way if you do not have a message. Understand what your company stands for and relate this message through your branding. For example, if you are a green company, your branding should focus on this.
Helpful Tips to Improve Branding
There are several excellent tips that you can follow to improve branding in each of these various ways. These include:
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Connect on Their Level– Top millennial talent may be connected through social networks, and they may gather their news and career information from specific sources. Research the best ways to reach your top talent and ensure that you are visible on those platforms.
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Improve Your Online Application– Millennials expect employers to have an online application today. While most do, they also have a lengthy and frustratingly complicated application process, which is why many millennials will not even bother to go through with it. Your application should be intuitive, simple and easy.
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Gamify the Experience– When possible, test for skills and knowledge through online games. These may be fun and creative experiences that engage millennials and that make them interested in working for you.
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Understand Their Values– Millennials will often form a quick opinion about your company based on the limited amount of information that they can quickly find about your company. Take time to understand what is appealing to them versus what will turn them off. Ensure that your branding is positive and appealing.
Millennials understandably bring numerous benefits to the table. It makes sense that you would want to incorporate millennials into your organization.
By improving your branding in these ways, you can more strategically brand your company so that it is appealing to this generation.