THE GENERATION GAME
Robert Kenward provides a guide on recruiting and retaining Millennials , a critical segment of the event talent pool
illennials ( those born between 1981 and 1996 ) were apparently the second-largest age group to leave the workforce during the pandemic . We all know that we need next-generation employees for our businesses to flourish , so how do we attract and retain Millennials ?
The first thing to do is to stop calling them Millennials , or Gen Y , or whichever name clumsily pigeonholes nearly two decades of wildly different people into one handy , but lazy and misleading , description .
If you lump people together like this , the next step would be to assume that everyone that is born in that 15-year period wants and needs exactly the same things . They don ’ t .
The steps The next step is to listen : to quote the old adage ; you have two ears and one mouth and it ’ s best to use them in that proportion . It ’ s very common for one generation to look at the next generation , shrug and proclaim , “ we just don ’ t understand them .” Teenagers were the first to get that reaction in the 50s with the advent of
“ Look internally : what ’ s your current demographic like ? If you have no one of the next generation currently on your team ( and listed on your website ) candidates may think that your company is an unsuitable and inappropriate place for them to work .”
Robert Kenward rock ’ n ’ roll , and every generation since is a mystery to the previous generation . We don ’ t know what interests them . Our likes and dislikes are not theirs and we are not going to understand unless we listen .
Use active listening : take listening to the next level and really engage with your audience ; but understand that you are not going to like what you ’ re going to hear . You ’ ll assume that they all want to play Fortnite on their Xbox or go onto TikTok , but you will not know all the answers . ( I do promote The Hub on TikTok and Instagram , but I employ a very knowledgeable expert to guide me and tell me how to appeal to this audience .)
Personalisation is key : when it comes to perks and benefits , you cannot assume anything , so you need to take a personalised approach . I realise that an employer can ’ t offer every employee a vastly different remuneration package , but you could have an array of benefits for them to choose from . I would love to see companies present suitable candidates with a list of perks , then a blank space and a question ; “ if we were to offer you the role , what perk / perks would clinch the deal for you ?”
Employers may be surprised that the things people want may be easy to arrange and affordable , but you will never know unless you ask .
Look internally : what ’ s your current demographic like ? If you have no one of the next generation currently on your team ( and listed on your www . conference-news . co . uk