Listen up Retaining millennial employees takes good ears

Listen up Retaining millennial employees takes good earsListen up Retaining millennial employees takes good earsYouve heard it all before Millennials are different than the current workforce.No,theyre the same. Millennials are the scourge of the workforce.Theyrejust its newest members. Millennials are saving work as we know it. They are totally screwing up the way the world approaches work.Your opinion of millennials leidwithstanding, they are a rapidly growing part of our workforce and by 2020,theyll be the majority stakeholders. At my company all of my employees are millennials, so Ive had to build a strategy to retain and manage them. Ive adapted to their idiosyncrasies, their demands, their unique working styles and the changes they bring to a stagnant workforce.You can say you dont care, but the only person it hurts is you. Besides, you can increase productivity and efficiency if you simply listen to what these young people are trying to tell you.Attract and retain millennialsus ing these tipsFind Your PathMoney is nice, benefits are beneficial, but purpose is forever. If your company hasnt found its purpose and wants to hire millennials, you may as well consider them to be temps.Jobs dont have to be glamorous if they have meaning behind them. In fact, if your employment brand team, human resources practitioners or hiring managers can find a way to connect meaning to each job within your company and align it with your companys broader purpose, you win.Purpose motivates millennials even more than a fat paycheck.Show millennials purpose within a role by connecting them to a bigger picture. Show potential hires how a position contributes to the overall success and goals of the business. Take them through the duties step by step and illustrate how this particular role contributes to the next step in the process in order to reach the overarching goal.Teach Your Children WellIts scary to invest in young people without knowing if theyll stick around for the long h aul but its worth it. Sixty percent of millennialsfeel that growth and learning opportunitiesare a top priority when selecting from different companies. And if you dont train them, someone else will, and youll have invested time and energy into their career development without reaping any of the rewards. Show Gen Y where they can go in your company and give them the educational tools (which have never been cheaper by the way) to get there. Invest in employee recognition and feedback, for example. There are a multitude of employee performance software tools available, and this valuable feedback will allow you to develop your employees within your company and their position. This feedback and recognition will boost career development and lead to career opportunities employees may have never thought were possible.Keep an Eye on Your TigersMillennials not only want feedback and coaching tips - they need them. Feel like yourcurrent annual performance appraisals are a pain?Try weekly fac e-to-face or email-focused feedback. While this may initially take some time for us older managers to get used to, its crucial to millennial growth and their engagement levels.Lets be honest, there are quite a few issues in the workplace that could stand to be addressed more than just once a year. With the pace of technology and work faster than ever before, its natural that performance should keep pace. I always make sure to provide my employees with frequent, real-time feedback. Whether I stop by their desk to give some quick feedback or use our performance management tool, theyre always receiving the recognition and criticism they need.Mold the Job to the partDuring your constant feedback sessions, ask your employees what theyd rather be doing. And listen. The perfect job for them may be right there in your organization. Listen to what they have to say and start giving them opportunities that they will feel excited about.Are they looking to dabble in other departments? Start by g iving them small tasks in that department and track how well they do. You will be surprised at how well they can perform in other areas of the business.Find Out Whats Going onMillennials have blurred the line between work and life. Its not work-life balance. Its all one jumbled mess. On the plus side, you get someone who is dedicated and engaged around the clock (sort of) and you also can get to know your teammates a little better. Remember when you were young? What were your social goals, financial goals? What did you do for fun and what were your career aspirations?Now go ask your people.You can resist the millennial force as long as you like, but its not going away. The above changes wont just benefit millennials - theyre useful for all the generations in the workforce and may just make you a better manager.Maren Hogan is a seasoned marketer and community builder in the HR and Recruiting industry. She leadsRed Branch Media, an agency offering marketing strategy and content devel opment. A consistent advocate of next generation marketing techniques, Hogan has built successful online communities, deployed brand strategies in both the B2B and B2C sectors, and been a prolific contributor of thought leadership in the global recruitment and talent space.BusinessCollectivewhere this column first appeared was launched in partnership with Citi as a virtual mentorship program powered by North Americas most ambitious young thought leaders, entrepreneurs, executives and small business owners.