Raises aren’t the only thing that will keep valued workers on board
Employers sometimes assume a salary increase will provide the biggest motivation for an employee to stay at a company – and there’s some truth in that notion. Research has found salary woes can be workers’ top reason for leaving a job.
Making more money, however, isn’t the only reason employees start looking for a new employer.
An abundance of data has been released in recent years about the different drivers that influence various generations; and while individual employees may have a completely different reason for staying in a job or deciding to work somewhere else, knowing what each age group in your office values may help HR retention efforts be more successful.
Filling employee vacancies can be costly and time consuming. If the amount of departing employees at your organization keeps trending upward, you may want to consider some of the following findings:
Gen Z
They’re OK with coming into an office
Most Gen Z workers (57 percent) want a physical workspace; although 48 percent would like that to be combined with the ability to work remotely, according to an 8×8, Inc. study.
You won’t woo them with tech
Gen Z members are generally less technology-dependent than the generation before them. They tend to opt for face-to-face contact. According to a recent Adecco survey, they’re also more likely to rely on personal connections when job hunting; so networking may be your best bet to find new hires in this age group.
They want to learn face-to-face, as well
Gen Z workers overwhelmingly prefer in-person training (69 percent) to online opportunities (13 percent), according to a survey involving 19 countries from the INSEAD Emerging Markets Institute, Universum and the HEAD Foundation.
Millennials
You can recruit them online
Millennial employees are more likely to use online job boards than Gen Z, according to an Adecco survey.
They job-hop; but they may stay if they can grow within the organization
Millennials have had 2.2 jobs in the past five years, according to Qualtrics data, which notes that many jobs amounts to, on average, getting a new position every 26 months.
Millennial employees may want new opportunities — however, they’d be happy to find them at their current employer. Sixty-three percent say they intend to stay in their role for a few years or more.
That being said
They don’t plan on hanging around forever. The right amount of time to stay in a single role, according to millennials, is less than two years, according to two-thirds of Gen Y members, and less than a year, according to a quarter.
Making the job meaningful can encourage millennial employees to stay
Helping Gen Y members connect to the mission and purpose of their company are the strongest factors for boosting retention among the age group, according to Gallup research.
Gen X
They might be a flight risk
A report from Australia’s Curtin University, produced in conjunction with Making Work Absolutely Human, found Gen X members are more likely to be dissatisfied with their job than other generations, with the exception of Gen Y.
One recent survey found more than 80 percent of millennials and 75 percent of Gen X employees are looking for a new job, due in large part to frustration with their employer’s operational efficiency.
Entice them with education
Generally, Gen X employees and Gen Y workers are more enthusiastic about management job-related coaching and mentoring than the increased responsibility the positions involve, according to the INSEAD Emerging Markets Institute, Universum and the HEAD Foundation.
Baby Boomers
They prize philanthropy
Roughly half of baby boomer workers like the employer they work for to contribute to social or ethical causes, according to research from the Brookings Institution.
Optimize your job listing for desktop computers
That’s how they prefer to conduct job searches; however, a growing number are also using mobile capabilities.
Plan for potential training
Less than half (42 percent) say their company is investing in the kind of training they need to gain the skills and knowledge that’s necessary to keep up with changes in their line of work or industry, according to a Kelly Services report.
Hiring in a hot climate?
Baby boomer workers are relatively more interested in warmer places than other generations of jobseekers, according to research from Indeed.
For more on what different age groups want in a work environment, view our posts on managing millennials, why you shouldn’t overlook a Gen X or Y manager and things your organization can do now to prepare for more Gen Z members to enter the workforce.
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