In my last post, I deconstructed five myths about Millennials that should have been buried in the rose garden a long time ago. Today, I’m going to show you how you can attract some of this young blood to your company, and even keep them around for a while – a task that has been a real struggle for businesses. According to an Upwork/Millennial Branding study, 53 per cent of the surveyed hiring managers said it’s difficult to find and retain Millennials. Thankfully, our growing sales development team has let me in on some best practices they use to effectively onboard and keep Millennials.
Craft an appealing job description
If you’re a fun, laid-back company on par with The Wolf of Wall Street‘s Stratton Oakmont, that’s obviously something to advertise (or not). But hope isn’t lost if you’re of the more conservative variety. For Millennials, nothing pops off the page more than “only six to 12 months’ job experience required.” Ideal candidates don’t have to have extensive experience, they just need to fit your office culture and possess a certain set of traits that, based on your experience, have made up the kind of person you want on your team.
ProntoForms just hired a recent grad for a sales development job. We are looking for people who are driven, excited to be here, full of energy, and can take rejection. These people tend to work well, even if they don’t have a lot of professional experience.
Make them understand what they need to do to get ahead
One of the most persistent myths about Millennials is that they are more prone to job hopping than previous generations. I thoroughly debunked said myth in my previous post, but that doesn’t mean your business shouldn’t do whatever it can to reduce employee turnover. It’s critical to define the career path of new hires – make them understand what could be in their future and what they need to do to get ahead. Managers should provide a professional development path as soon as a new employee comes onboard.
At ProntoForms, new sales development staff are told that within a year, they can become account managers. They also have the option of exploring other avenues within the company. If they’re more tech-oriented, they can work toward becoming an implementation specialist. I got a similar talk when I started in marketing. I was told that some day, I may be more than just a lowly peon of a marketing writer. But that would mean that our blog posts will have fewer snarky asides, so your loss.
Foster a cohort mentality
Right off the bat, new hires in sales development are teamed up with account managers, who help them manage their leads. Right away, there’s collaboration. New hires are also mentored by training captains. As soon as someone comes aboard, they already feel like they are part of a team.
Fostering a cohort mentality goes beyond just teaching them the ropes. It also means letting them contribute. Sales development recruits with creativity in mind. They actively seek people who will generate new ideas. Members of the team are even encouraged to make changes to the sales development playbook. In general, it helps to emphasize that new hires are working with you and not for you.
Build a creative and positive workplace
Make the onboarding a fun experience. Be informative and to the point, but use humor. Add some memes to your new hire handbook. Staff parties help. Casual clothing lets us express ourselves. I love the fact that it’s OK to wear a T-shirt with the Jaws poster on it. One might say it’s Jawesome.
There’s often a stigma attached to this kind of work environment. You’re labelled a “creative,” which gets a bad rep in some circles. People assume that because you have a ping-pong table, all you do is play ping-pong all day. But this kind of environment fosters creativity – a key trait that drives success for Millennials. Just combine creativity with process and structure, and you’ve built an ideal business environment that people will want to be part of.
The above pearls of wisdom aren’t exactly novel. And they’re not reserved specifically for snagging Millennials. These are best practices that can be applied to an array of demographics. Everyone wants to be given a chance at a meaningful career, regardless of their background. Everyone wants to feel like they are part of a team. Not everyone wants to work at Stratton Oakmont. Fair enough. To each his own. Just remember that Millennials aren’t some new species – well, not entirely, anyway.
Mitch Dupuis contributed to this blog post.
