The Ultimate Guide to Recruiting and Retaining Millennials

 

There are currently 80 million Millennials in the United States, and soon they will make up the majority of the employee population. Why? For one, Baby Boomers, which make up 40 percent of today’s U.S. workforce, will be leaving the workforce in the next decade. Secondly, this year the Millennial generation (born between 1981-2001) is projected to surpass the Baby Boomer generation as the nation’s largest living generation. That said, it’s crucial for your organization to know how to recruit and retain Millennials.

TINYpulse has put together a fantastic guidebook on this very topic called, The Ultimate Guide to Recruiting and Retaining Millennials. Not only is it chock-full of helpful insights and information, it’s also engaging and well written. I am proud to say that I am quoted in the guide.

The Ultimate Guide to Recruiting and Retaining Millennials* covers topics such as creating a transparent culture, embracing social responsibility, living your company values, supporting career development, creating an effective onboarding plan, and more. I am quoted in chapter 15, which talks about opening a virtual suggestion box.

Opening Up a Virtual Suggestion Box

The good news is, our days of traditional (awkward) suggestion boxes have come to an end. Technology has come to the rescue with simple online surveys and web platforms that offer more anonymity to employees who would like to share their ideas and solutions. That is what a virtual suggestion box is.

This is a great idea for the Millennial generation, also known as Generation Y. Why? Because it is very important to them to have a voice in their community, and community is a core element in the lives of this generation.

Also, Gen Y was born with a mouse in its hand. Consequently, they are tech-savvy and expect information to be “downloaded” immediately, including their ideas and suggestions.

They were the first generation to have family meetings and safety laws enforced with bike helmets, car seats, and seat belt laws. The message from this was “You are special. We value you.” Consequently, this generation values connections and wants to be part of a community at home, work, and play. They will work with their friends at the same company if they feel it’ll allow them more time with their community. Having a voice in their community is important to Gen Y. They have the confidence to articulate their vision and the tech skills to create their vision. Now they need you to support them in listening to their vision.

If only we could jump 50 years ahead– just for a day– to see how this generation will have transformed the workplace. Preparing your organization to successfully recruit and retain the Millennial generation is not only imperative, it’s exciting.

Let’s have a little fun. Pretend you have a virtual suggestion box where you can leave an idea or suggestion for every organization in the country. What is one idea and/or suggestion that all U.S. organizations need to hear? I can’t wait to read.

Let’s share experiences. Leave a comment below, send me an email, or find me on Twitter.

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Workforce Trends: The Importance of Diversity–The Old Minority Will Become the New Majority

 

There are several major demographic trends in today’s workplace, such as Baby Boomer retirement, companies losing female talent and the increasing need for workplace flexibility.

Perhaps the most profound trend, however, is the fact that the United States is transitioning from a nation whose majority population is white to a nation in which the majority of the population will soon be people of color.

 

So-called minorities accounted for 92 percent of the nation’s population growth in the last decade. They are now the majority of residents in four states, 348 counties, the District of Columbia, and a growing number of major metropolitan areas like New York, Las Vegas, and Memphis.

 

And, in case you think this is just a blip on the screen, you should know that, as of July 2011, the majority of new babies born in this country are now children of color.

 

That is only going to increase, because Latinos, on average, are in their prime childbearing years, while the average white woman, at 42, is probably done having children.

In fact, because the majority of older people are white, and the majority of younger people are not, we’re looking at a very new kind of divide that’s both racial and generational.

 

And here’s another issue: Right now, Hispanic and black youth are graduating from college at far lower rates than their white peers: 13% and 18%, versus 31% for whites.

That’s why I said that this is the most profound of the three demographic trends. Because if the majority of young Americans are not educated and prepared to take their place in the workforce of tomorrow, that will be a true disaster for your organizations and our economy.

 

Solution

You hear so much about how manufacturing has left the U.S.  But what you don’t hear is that the manufacturing jobs we still have can be hard to fill, because young workers aren’t really interested.

 

And it’s not just that Gen Y doesn’t want to work an assembly line.  They also don’t want to be manufacturing executives.  They’d rather work for a tech start-up. So what do you do if you’re a manufacturing company that has to replace its retiring workers with a diverse workforce?

 

I’m helping this client create a Strategic Workforce Planning Tool that will help my client track birth and education rates, education rates, and other key data on a country-by-county basis, so that they’ll know where to expand, consolidate, or even close a plant.

 

Ideally, you want to be proactive, and educate new workers.  But the first step in that process is knowing where you’re most at risk, and that’s what my client is focused on right now, in order to increase diversity.

Note: Many of the statistics presented in this blog series have been pulled from Deloitte’s Human Capital consulting resources and The Gender Dividend report. 

Let’s share experiences. Leave a comment below, send me an email, or find me on Twitter.

 

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Human Capital Trends: Diversity Takes the Spotlight

69% of executives rate diversity and inclusion as an important issue (up from 59% in 2014).

In 2017, the proportion of executives who consider inclusion as a top priority has risen 32% from 2014.

These statistics are just a few from Deloitte’s global research, which included 10,400 business and HR leaders across 140 countries. The global surveys were split between large companies (more than 10,000 employees), medium-sized companies (1,000-10,000) and smaller companies (less than 1,000 employees). The resulting 2017 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends report provides an informed view into the future of work—and what some consider to be the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

One of the nine trends identified is the reality gap between diversity and inclusion (D&I) efforts and results. Today we’ll take a look at that trend, discuss why things need to change and why diversity and inclusion are taking center stage, review the old ways versus the new ways of approaching diversity and inclusion, and lay out steps you can take to shorten the gap.

Snapshot: Diversity and Inclusion Today

Research shows that diverse teams are more innovative, engaged and profitable. But today’s diversity and inclusion needs are more than just profits and productivity. In today’s world, D&I impacts brand, corporate purpose, and performance.

We’ve seen scrutiny of lack of diversity on the news, and now that scrutiny is coming from within the companies themselves. More people are champions of diversity and inclusion, and the Millennials see it as an essential part of corporate culture. This moves beyond building diverse teams, to insuring that everyone has a voice and is heard. The next generation, Gen Z, will be the most diverse to date, and companies will need to make way.

Despite the increased scrutiny, and increased awareness of unconscious and explicit bias, results are appearing too slow. The most popular way to address these issues is training, and while helpful, it appears that making people aware of diversity and inclusion issues is not enough. Organizations must take a larger stroke, by implementing data-driven solutions and increasing transparency. They also need to immerse executives in the world of discrimination and bias so that they can truly understand how they affect decision-making, talent decisions, and business outcomes. As Deloitte says, “A set of ‘new rules’ is being written that will demand a new focus on experiential learning, process change, data-driven tools, transparency, and accountability.”

The era of HR filling a quota to meet diversity goals is over. Ownership of diversity and inclusion efforts now fall into the laps of leadership, with senior leaders holding leaders at all levels accountable to make concrete, measurable progress with diversity and inclusion efforts. Why the shift?

Five Reasons Diversity and Inclusion Are Taking Center Stage

1. The Global Political Environment

Employee sensitivity is up due to immigration challenges, nationalism, and fear of terrorism appearing frequently in the press. Employees are personally concerned with these issues and want their employers to offer perspective. In this way, D&I now touches issues of employee engagement, human rights and social justice.

2. Organizations are Becoming Global Entities

As large organizations increasingly define themselves as global entities, religious, gender, generational and other types diversity issues become a greater reality.

3. Diverse and Inclusive Teams Outperform Their Peers

There are many studies showing the benefits of diverse teams and inclusive cultures. Deloitte reports, “Companies with inclusive talent practices in hiring, promotion, development, leadership, and team management generate up to 30% higher revenue per employee and greater profitability than their competitors.”

4. Gender Pay Equity in the Spotlight

Gender pay disparity is increasingly in the public eye. Companies and even government administrations are taking the necessary steps to make improvements. For example, Salesforce analyzed 17,000 employee salaries and identified a gender pay gap; they then spent roughly $3 million to even it out. On a governmental level, Canada’s Justin Trudeau appointed a gender equal-pay cabinet in 2015.

5. Baby Boomers Staying in the Workforce Longer

Career trajectories have changed due to Baby Boomers remaining in the workforce longer. That delay in retirement means a workforce with generational diversity like we’ve never seen before.

As you can see, the shift in how diversity and inclusion is approached needs to expand. It’s helpful to look at Deloitte’s following table which how D&I was approached in the past, versus how it needs to be approached now.

Four Ways to Start Amping Up Your Diversity and Inclusion Efforts

So if you’re an organization who is just getting ramped up for diversity and inclusion efforts that extend beyond training, where do you begin? Do you toss your training programs and start fresh? Here are the first four steps to take.

1. Share Research With Leadership

Providing data on the value of diversity and inclusion can get top leadership on board. But being on board is just the first step. Then they need to be held accountable through metrics and reports on diversity in promotion, hiring and compensation.

2. Use Analytics

Human Capital Analytics can identify patterns of racial bias, inequity in compensation, and bias in hiring and promotion much easier (and significantly faster) than any HR department can. After these patterns are identified, a more targeted plan can be implemented.

3. Extend Efforts Beyond HR

Diversity and inclusion should be on par with compliance, IT and security, practiced by everyone and owned by leadership. It is not just an HR responsibility—it’s a business responsibility.

4. Pay Attention to Global Differences

Remember that as organizations become more global, the diversity and inclusion needs will vary by region. The problematic areas you address and plans you put in place for the U.S. won’t necessarily be the same as the problems and plans in the Middle East. Listen to your employees’ interests and concerns, then decide what needs to be measured from there.

Expansion and Agility

As global networks expand and technology transforms the workplace, D&I models will continue to evolve. There isn’t a strategy organizations can develop today that will still apply in a decade. However, when diversity and inclusion is considered part of the corporate infrastructure, leaders can take the same agile approach to closing the gap that they take to surviving a world in constant flux.

Have you noticed an increase of buzz around diversity and inclusion in your workplace? We’d love to hear about any initiatives you’ve experienced.

Let’s share experiences. Leave a comment below, send us an email, or find us on Twitter.

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How to Onboard Employees Virtually During a Quarantine

The COVID-19 quarantine changed how we do business. Onboarding a new employee is just one example; since we can no longer welcome a new employee in person at the office, we must rethink how to create the new employee experience virtually. Our company had the opportunity to virtually onboard employees multiple times in the past few weeks, using a 3-step process.

Step 1: Pre-Onboard

It’s best to plan ahead for logistics and communications when virtually onboarding. If your entire office is working from home, communicate the plan one week ahead of time to all employees with this type of message and action step:

Maria is joining the team. Her first day is on Monday, April 20th. As usual with onboarding, Maria’s first few days will be consumed with meetings and greetings. Her current schedule for Monday and Tuesday is:

• Monday, 10 am: Organizational onboarding with team lead
• Monday, 11am: Meet the President / CEO
• Monday, 1 pm – 4 pm: On an individual basis, meet each team member (15-30 minutes each)
• Tuesday: Connect with the IT department for allocation of computer system
• Tuesday 2 pm: Weekly project meeting

TAKE ACTION: Please set up a 30-minute Zoom session with Maria on Monday between 1 – 4 pm.

For uniformity of information, please use the below agenda during your meeting to help Maria to digest all the information she is receiving:

1.    Introduce yourself

·         Role in the project

·         Assignments and interest outside of the project

·         How long you have been with the organization

2.    Three interesting things about the project, team &/or the organization

3.    Ask questions

·         Show interest in her background

·         Answer work questions

Step 2: Onboard

The actual onboarding call is similar to an in-person onboarding meeting. You will cover the same material, just via video or phone. A possible agenda could include:

1.    Organization History

2.    Organization Structure

3.    Administrative

Step 3: Post-Onboard

This step is the most challenging in a virtual situation. Once the new employee meets everyone and understands team roles, how do you ensure the employee feels challenged and engaged? If you can no longer chat over lunch or coffee in the office, how do you stay connected with the person, to answer any questions they may have?

Our team texts new employees daily at first, to ask about what support they may need. In addition, we do video coffee chats and regular calls, to let them know we’re available to answer any questions. Also, the HR team discusses new employees weekly, to ensure all leaders are aware of any new employee challenges and/or success stories.

If we were operating in an office environment, new employees would have the opportunity to listen to and participate in informal office discussions about the work, accelerating their situational awareness. Since many organizations don’t currently operate in a face to face environment, consider inviting the new hires to participate in your phone calls and Zoom calls, as schedules permit, even in those areas that may not be their primary areas of responsibility. This will allow them to gain background context.

That’s our employer perspective. What do our virtually onboarded employees say? Here’s what one new employee wrote about her virtual onboarding experience.

I met all employees virtually and completed the onboarding process via numerous Zoom meetings in my first week. The President already had two Zoom calls with me prior to onboarding, which increased my employee engagement prior to joining the company.

I have had the best experience as a new employee so far. The importance of working from home and its success lies in the management of work via the remote desktop and accessing shared files. I was provided with the login for this remote desktop and could access all important information to start my work. I did face some technological glitches in the functioning of remote desktop, but they were quickly resolved.

Managers you’ve read about the employer and employee experience with virtual onboarding. Now we want to hear from you! Tell us about your experience with virtual onboarding. What worked and didn’t work for you and your new hires? What has been the role of HR and individual employees in this process?

Let’s share experiences. Leave a comment below, send us an email, or find us on Twitter.

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