recruiting, retaining and managing millennials: insights from interviews
TRANSCRIPT
Recruiting, Retaining and Managing Millennials: Insights from Interviews
Juan Meng, Ph.D., University of GeorgiaBryan H. Reber, Ph.D., University of Georgia
Mickey Nall, APR, Fellow PRSA, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide
PRSA 2015 International ConferenceAtlanta, Georgia
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Attract, manage, and develop the next generation of leaders in the field of public relations and communication.
Project Background
This project is funded by
Who are the millennials?
No definitive agreement on birth years;
Experts agree that those born between 1982 and 2004;
Nearly 90 million individuals entering the workforce;
40% of employed Americans by 2020.
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Techno-
savvy
Connected…24/7
Self-confide
nt
Self-centere
dUnmotivat
ed
Disrespectful
Disloyal
Characteristics… (criticism maybe?)
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Dete
rmin
ed
Team
-or
ient
edDi
vers
e
Glob
al-,
civi
c-, a
nd
com
mun
ity-
min
ded
Entr
epre
neu
rial
Achi
evem
ent-
focu
sed
Characteristics… (be optimistic!)
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Results and Insights presented in this workshop reflect interviews with
36 millennials PR
professionals
39 PR executives who
hire and manage
millennials
8
In-depth interviews conducted by two classes in the fall of 2014
ADPR 3510 PR Research
Phone, Skype, or face-to-face interview
Millennial PR professional
Questions focused on: Recruitment and
retention Engagement Leadership development Work-life balance
JRMC 7940 PR Foundations
Phone, Skype, or face-to-face interviews
PR executives who manage millennials
Questions focused on: Recruitment Engagement, motivation
and development Impact and retention
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BBDO Chick-Fil-A Children’s
Healthcare of Atlanta Cohn and Wolfe Dodge
Communications Edelman Fleishman-Hillard Golin Jackson Spalding
Participating organizations (partial list)
Ketchum NBC Universal Novelis Ogilvy Porter Novelli Southern Company The Coca-Cola
Company The Home Depot UPS Weber ShandwickPRSA 2015 International Conference
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Post job openings on LinkedIn Provide an honest job description Show them how the company fits into the
community Offer them a flexible work environment Let them ask questions Show you can promote them eventually Encourage a face-to-face environment Give them long-term opportunities Don’t overwork them too quickly
How millennials want to be recruited and retained?
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“Millennials want to grow quickly and rapidly within a company. Promotion promises retention. They have high expectations in the workplace and want recognition, praise and congratulations for their hard work. Millennials are more interested in companies who are involved in meaningful work—ones who have social responsibility contributing to a greater good.”
Illustrative quote
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Insight:Millennials need to and want to
be engaged and motivated while on the job. If they are bored or distracted, they may look for other job opportunities.
How millennials want to be engaged?
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Receiving praise or acknowledgement for hard work
Working in a diversified office environment
Attending team outings before or after work hours
Having opinions and ideas heard and valued by management
Being paid well with the opportunity for a raise or promotion
Top Five Factors of Engagement
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“Every day when I come in, I go over my duties with my supervisor so that I know what I am expected to accomplish that day. If my duties were not clearly stated, my day would not have any direction and I’d be bored trying to create work for myself.”
Illustrative quote
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Guide themOffer safe opportunities to leadChallenge them Let them know it is okay to failAllow them to explore new
interestsPair them with veterans
How to turn fresh talent into the next great leaders?
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“It is never too early for millennials to become leaders.”
Illustrative quote
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“When you leave work, you should mentally leave work.”
Work is an important part of life, but it shouldn’t take over life. A lack of work-life balance leads to unhappiness and it is definitely less tolerated among millennials.
How is millennials’ expectation on work-life balance?
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Choosing a hobby that regularly forces a person away from media or a cell phone for a few hours.
Creating a schedule for each day, and sticking to it. Doing this ensures that enough work gets completed during work hours, which allows employees the chance to concentrate on other sectors of their lives while at home.
Supporting co-workers in their lives and hobbies outside of work, builds office relations and a sense of community. If employees feel connected to their coworkers on a personal level, they are more likely to be happy with their job, and less likely to want to search for a new one.
Ways to achieve adequate work-life balance include:
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“Even if work-life balance is the millennials’ responsibility, employers should value work-life balance and understand that millennials have a life outside of work. Millennials value this highly, and it can go a long way toward retention.”
Illustrative quote
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Agencies look for people that are curious, creative and have a global mindset; meaning that they are culturally aware and open to new experiences.
Attitude is probably the most important.
Attitude
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Millennials have to be incredibly smart. Public relations or communications requires a genuine global curiosity and an intellectual ability to quickly learn about multiple subjects.
Professionals have to use this acquired knowledge to come up with solutions on demand.
Aptitude
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Employees must understand that they have to be professional. They have to present themselves in a way that is appropriate to the environment.
Approach
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Contribute to an organization’s culture Provide reliable service to an organization
and its client Demonstrate impeccable work ethic Produce quality work Strive for excellence Receive constructive criticism and are not
defensive
Some qualities are desired from millennials:
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Two-way communicationChallenging assignmentsOpportunities for growthTraining programsRecognition of accomplishmentsClear purpose of organizationSet goals to achieve
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1.Listen2.Give opportunities3.Provide experiences4.communicate
4 steps to engage millennial employees
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“As a leader, if I don’t have that road map [defined of millennial employees’ goals] then they could very well leave because they could find another agency or someone else that could help provide that.”
Illustrative quote
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“Millennials’ energy and personality impact an agency positively. When millennials are excited about their job and their work, they can accomplish great things for themselves and the agency. It is important to keep millennials enticed to come to work everyday.”
Illustrative quote
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“A strategy to retaining millennials is to provide opportunities to advance within the agency. More importantly, recognize when the employee is ready to grow. By keeping opportunities in line with recognition, employees are apt to remain.”
Illustrative quote
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Real life stories in working with millennials from Mickey
Nall