Our Blog

You may have noticed more seemingly young people at your workplace. The fact is, Millennials have recently passed Baby Boomers as the world’s largest generation. In a university town like Guelph, paying mind to what the next generation wants in the workplace is going to be key to your small business’ quality of service and longevity!

But is it even possible to keep millennial employees? The younger generation has a reputation of hopping from job to job. But like any employee, if you give millennials a good reason to stay, they most likely will.

This generation of Facebook memes and smartphone attachment might seem inaccessible to you, however, there’s no need to fear! Millennials are very open and clear with their expectations from a workplace. Here’s some perks you might consider to attract the next best generation of talent to your business.

More Flexible Work Hours

In the days of the internet, more and more businesses are finding ways to make remote positions and flexible hours work. Millennials like to have their hands in many different projects – a workplace that gives them the flexibility to do this is going to get huge bonus points. In fact, this study says 35% of millennials would rather have flexibility over pay.

Continuous Training and Mentorship Programs

If you just leave a millennial alone to do their job, there’s a chance you might be doing something wrong. Young people love constant feedback and to be told when they’re doing a good job.

Millennials also love to develop more practical skills to help grow their careers. The next generation is 71% more likely to leave a job if they feel their leadership skills aren’t being developed. Offer opportunities for growth and education – young people will flock to you like they do to the Hillside Festival.

Student Assistance

This American trend could be a terrific offer to Canadian students as well. As you may have heard, this generation has more student debt than their parents and are spending a lot more time paying it off. The average Ontario student has over $25,000 in debt. Any help paying off these big debts are going to be very enticing to millennials.

Health/Dental Benefits

Some things never change. Health benefits are still listed as a top preference and deciding factor for employees of every generation. The truth is, about 89% of millennials prefer benefits or perks to pay raises from their employer. And roughly 75% of 18 to 24-year-olds from the same study believed company perks were crucial to their job satisfaction.

Be Creative

You don’t need Google-sized benefits or to make your company competitive, but Google-sized creativity might help. Paid volunteer time, time off for travel, child care, office yoga and free swag all have their place in the new generation of benefits. Plus, millennials are never ones to turn down fun and free perks offered by their workplace!

Continuing your business going means continuing to attract the best and brightest employees. The next generation has plenty of creativity, forward-thinking, and positive change to bring to your organization. Once you invest in them, they will be more than happy to invest themselves in your business.
BenefitsFlexibilityGuelphHealth BenefitMillennialsNew GenerationTime Off

Jackie