According to careful estimation, Millennials, today, account for the highest percentage of total population in the U.S. as well as across the world as also shown in the figure provided below.
The Millennial Generation in Numbers
Figure 1. Goldman Sachs (2016). Millenials Coming of Age. Retrieved from http://www.goldmansachs.com/our-thinking/pages/millennials/
Youth participation in total population has always been critically important and center of attention for authors, thinkers, and scholars around the globe as they endeavored to investigate the role of the young generation in different dimensions such as social, economic, environmental, religious ones. (PWC, 2016). What is applicable to organizational dynamics? Due to their growing influence, it is interesting to assess and discuss the impact of retaining millennials on the organizational health.
Millennials have a dominating share of the workforce in most of the modern organizations, and their participation is rising (PWC, 2016). This demographic shift is following a series of social, economic, and technological changes coupled with globalization. Consequently, what should the further studies focus on is “behavioral patterns of this group of individuals and its outcomes in terms of benefits on an organizational level” (PWC, 2016). These facts provide a base for considering the study of the relationship between retention of youth at the workplace and their contribution to the overall performance of the organization. Another factor stimulating the researcher to conduct a study on the underlying case is the gap in the literature in the coverage from every critical angle. Even though there are a multitude of studies dealing with certain characteristics of millennials from the perspective of the organization, there is hardly any comprehensive research made on what factors can make the millennials remain in the organizations. The following review of the literature aims to identify these factors in the previous studies that can help in retaining millennials.
Research Variables
With reference to the case of the study that is focused on the importance of retaining millennials at the workforce, there is one dependent variable. This dependent variable is retention of Millennials. However, there will be many independent variables that will be considered to impact on the dependent variables. These independent variables may include those factors that can impact the millennial employees in the context of their retention such as pay, training, management communication and support. Different theories and studies will be analyzed to extract the factors that both positively and negatively affect the retention rate of millennials in organizations.
Historical Background
Previously, Millennials were retained in organizations using incentive motivation with both financial and nonfinancial rewards (Statistics and Trends, 2016). Women entered the world of business and employment in the 1960s (McGraw & Burr, 2011). Millennials are the generation that was born during 1979 to 1994. This generation was required in the organization earlier because they were considered as more confident and tolerant. They are less reactive to racism, cultures, languages, and groups.
Historically, the organizations and Human resource management used some distinctive strategies to retain Millennials in the firm according to the demands of Millennials. Some of the major demands at that time include a good fit in the job; relationships with coworkers, flexible hours and high pay (Taylor, 2013). One of the most important perspectives about Millennials was that they do not live to work, but they need a job to live; this means the pay must be enough to meet their demands.
Theoretical Background
Mannheim’s Theory of Generations
Dr. Karl Mannheim presents a theory of generations, mainly to explain the Millennial Generation completely. According to the theory, the millennial generation is different from past generations as they have more access to technology, and they can see what past generations were not able to see with a wider range of videos and photographs. The Millennial generation is considered to be more interesting as it is full of inventions and innovations. Therefore, it can be said that the creativity and innovation of Millennial generation is high, compared to the past generations. However, the theory is criticized based on some basic assumptions. Such as, it has far been considered that millennial generation is available with technology because their parents want them to have something like this such as personal computers. In addition to this, the generation has reached to the excellent use of Internet. In general, the theory that Millennial make up a completely different generation as compared to past generations. They can have different impacts and advantages to the firms and businesses as compared to what the past generations have done (DeChane, 2014). Other theory and models are relevant to this study and make room to discuss the generation in detail, in the future research.
Impact of Millennials’ Retention on Organizational Performance
As discussed earlier, scholars and researcher fail to cover the case of the study from the specific perspective of the impact of retaining Millennials on the performance of an organization. However, literature is brimming with studies dealing with issues relating to that in different areas. This section is specified to have an overview of some of the most significant contributions in this regard.
According to a detailed research study conducted by PWC (2016), Millennials are keen towards innovation. They are always in quest of the workplace that can provide them an atmosphere that encourages to innovative ideas. Their approach to innovation mainly revolves around the utilization of technology. Furthermore, it is derived from the response of the majority of respondents that Millennials like to optimize the process of carrying out different tasks by using technology either provided by their employers or arranged by them.
Lewis (2015) is also in strong agreement with the viewpoint discussed above and opines that the young generation is always drawn to innovative ideas. They are instinctively reluctant to follow the set patterns and like to come up with their own ideas. To emphasize, he uses the term “unleash innovation” to shed light on the unavoidable association between innovation and risk. In other words, the writer is of the view that Millennials are habitual to take their chances accepting the amount of threats such as chances of failure due to the untested status of their ideas (Lewis, 2015). Myers & Sadaghiani (2010) have also treated the role of Millennials in the workplace comprehensively. According to the key findings of the authors coupled with theoretical ideas referred by them, it is established that it is important to have youth at the workplace. It is beneficial for organizations to retain them in different areas where innovation holds key importance. According to the authors, today’s business climate is much more competitive than ever before. Competitive strength or differentiation of various organizations is largely based on innovation, and youth are the best source of generating creative novel ideas. Therefore, if a business aims to add value to the organization, it is essential for management to have the active participation of Millennials within its workforce (Myers & Sadaghiani, 2010).
Factors Affecting Millennials’ Retention
It is important to explore those factors that impact Millennials in terms of their performance in the organization. One of the most important factors is the relationship of Millennials with coworkers and supervisors. The research in the HR and business field have analyzed that HR is needed to implement the strategies and actions that must be effective to change the past generation into Millennials in the workplace (McGraw & Burr, 2011). It helps in motivating them to contribute to the organization to achieve success. The ability of Millennials is improved when they get feedback from their supervisors and managers (Myer & Sadaghiani, 2010). Some of the considerable factors that affect Millennials include communication, teamwork, coordination, support, and knowledge sharing and workplace environment. However, another study has identified some other causes that motivate and impact on the retention of Millennials. Career growth, training, incentives, benefits and equal opportunities can be some factors that can impact Millennials to retain them.
Opportunities for career progression
Millennials are more focused on career flexibility as they want to live their lives The study has argued that career is not a basic factor to motivate Millennials as compared to past generations, and they prioritized the relationships at workplace over their career (Myers & Sadaghiani, 2010). However, the study also argued that young generation is more aware of their career choices, and they are choosier in terms of job and career for their long term achievements. As Kowske stated, nowadays the organizations need to consider special and different career options for Millennials (Kowske, Rasch & Wiley, 2010). They prefer flexibility in their work which is the most desirable option in their career progress (PWC, 2016). It has also argued that the companies must provide growth opportunities to the young generation to motivate them to stay in the organization to get more experiences and creativity. Millennials are more likely to develop their creativity and innovation skills as the theory of generation also claims that Millennials are more innovative and technological as compared to the past generations.
Competitive Salaries. As this generation seeks higher pay within organizations, Millennials switch jobs more quickly compared to past generations. According to the recent statistical report, only 36% Millennials are getting average pays in the United States. The study argues, in order to retain Millennials, it is the time to pay them for their roles and responsibilities. Either pay them more or pay them a bonus and other rewards for their work (Stahl, 2015).
Training and Development. According to the PWC report (2016), training and learning are one of the important factors to retain Millennials. The generation gives more attention to its learning in the organization and prefers more experience through training. The organizations can lose the future talent in the workplace if it is not effective in engaging Millennials in training and development. This leads to the fact that in order to secure its employees, the company should provide trainings which are more aligned with employees' goals for growth within the company.
Communication with Management. The major need of Millennials is to be heard in the organization. The young generation believes in open culture and truth from the management as, according to Booher (2016), communication is the major concern for the young generation, not only as an employee, but also as an individual. He suggested that management must organize some meetings and get-togethers. It helps the Millennial employees to feel the family environment and free to communicate and build a relationship with managers and supervisors. Another study has highlighted that not only is relationship building prioritized in the context of communication but getting feedback is also important for Millennials employees (Adkins & Rigoni, 2016). According to them, feedback is important for every generation, but Millennials want more from their management as compared to others.
Support from Management . According to the report of Statistics and Trends (2016), Millennial are the generation that require more support from the management than any other past generation. The expectations of Millennials are very high towards the management team. The young generation is found to be interested in learning; therefore, they want more time and support from the managers to learn new practices and skills. According to Adkins & Rigoni (2016), the engagement of millennial employees is linked to the support and conversation with the managers.
In order to form a better perception of the true profile of an average millennial and his/her needs as the employee, it would be appropriate to understand a general environment they feel themselves comfortable in. As some key elements which generally evoke and accompany millennials' satisfaction at the job will be defined, it would be a good idea to analyze what kind of companies could fit their criteria. The level of company's appropriateness could be thus analyzed basing on several main conditions, such as salary, a job profile itself, corporate culture and the values of the company, the level of its flexibility in working routine, etc. All those elements, as they built up in one integrated picture, could show what is the most important for millennials. Consequently, from this starting point it would be much easier to identify the actual factors which could make millennials remain on the positions in the companies for a long time and thus significantly contribute to them. Another idea could be to collect some data from the interviews of both employers and employees, trying to connect the needs of the company, and the needs of individuals. What would be also important is to comprehend the connection of all the factors influencing the millenials' decisions on their work choice. While some articles and case studies provide certain data like interviews and comments of employees or employers discussing their perception of these factors, such information is, however, not classified or systematized yet. There is a handful of resources to be found on the given issue which do not give united and wholesome picture of the current factors and realities. Therefore a literature gap can be quite noticeable here. Finding it as an opportunity to contribute to the development of these studies, my literature review was focused on the topic which could enable to narrow the gap – the factors which are the most valuable for millennials while working in the company, and their connection to the company itself.
Conclusion
While Millennials bring confidence, creativity, and problem-solving approaches in the workplace, their frequent job-hopping often perplexes employers. The high turnover among this generation cost companies billion dollars annually.. This generation is, in general, used to instant communication, courtesy to the impact of the technological revolution on them. Hart (2006) has aptly pinpointed that while traditional methods of annual appraisals might discourage them, employers might look for instance and real-time feedback system to enhance their work interest. Besides these general expectations, marking this generation, scholars have concluded that requirements may vary depending on the personal characteristics of employees. For instance, while women prefer intrinsic rewards, males emphasize on extrinsic awards. Taking stock of these variations can assist employers in making effective retention policies.
References
Adkins, A. & Rigoni, J. B. (2016). Managers: Millennials Want Feedback, but Won't Ask for It. Retrieved August 10, 2016, from http://www.gallup.com/businessjournal/192038/managers-millennials-feedback-won-ask.aspx
Booher, D. (2016). What Matters Most In Managing Millennials? Communication. Retrieved August 10, 2016, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/womensmedia/2016/01/14/what-matters-most-in-managing-millennials-communication/#55f0e94a7bca
DeChane, D. J. (2014). How to Explain the Millennial Generation? Understand the Context. Student Pulse, 6(03).
Goldmansachs. (2016). Millennials: Coming of Age. Retrieved August 10, 2016, from http://www.goldmansachs.com/our-thinking/pages/millennials/
Kowske, B. J., Rasch, R., & Wiley, J. (2010). Millennials’(lack of) attitude problem: An empirical examination of generational effects on work attitudes. Journal of Business and Psychology, 25(2), 265-279.
Lewis, K. R. (2015). Everything you need to know about your Millennial co-workers. Retrieved August 10, 2016, from http://fortune.com/2015/06/23/know-your-millennial-co-workers/
McGraw, A., & Burr, M. (2011). Changing Demands: The Workforce of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow. Cornell HR Review. Retrieved August 10, 2016, from http://www.cornellhrreview.org/changing-demands-the-workforce-of-yesterday-today-and-tomorrow/
Myers, K. K., & Sadaghiani, K. (2010). Millennials in the workplace: A communication perspective on Millennials’ organizational relationships and performance. Journal of Business and Psychology, 25(2), 225-238.
PWC. (2016). Millennials at work Reshaping the workplace. Retrieved August 10, 2016, from https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/managing-tomorrows-people/future-of-work/assets/reshaping-the-workplace.pdf
Stahl, A. (2015). Four Ways To Satisfy (And Retain) Millennial Employees. Retrieved August 10, 2016, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/ashleystahl/2015/10/08/four-ways-to-satisfy-and-retain-millennial-employees/#6124b43f7285
Statistics and Trends. (2016). Millennials are the most demanding workforce, according to UK bosses.The Online Recruitment Resource. Retrieved August 10, 2016, from http://www.onrec.com/news/statistics-and-trends/millennials-are-the-most-demanding-workforce-according-to-uk-bosses
http://www.goldmansachs.com/our-thinking/pages/millennials/
