Millennials for hire?

Are you struggling to attract young talent? Or has your latest staff survey been a wake-up call in terms of employee engagement? Have you ever considered that your failure to hire and retain amazing people is happening because they feel completely disconnected from your organisation and its purpose?

More of us feel increasingly unsatisfied with our lot these days. And it's not just the millennials. Bored in mindless careers that lack meaning, purpose or fulfilment huge numbers of us are quitting roles with organisations who don’t appear to care about us or much else for that matter, except the bottom line, in favour of carving our own fortunes.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), more than 3.2 million Brits were expected to quit the 9-5 last year. According to one survey, which spoke to 1,000 working British people, over half were considering quitting their 9-5 role in the next few years to start their own business.

But here’s where it gets interesting. Because, asides from the 52 per cent of people seeking a better work-life balance, a whopping 36 per cent said they wanted to follow their passion and 35 per cent longed for a greater sense of achievement.

All eye wateringly high figures that should be scary reading for our business leaders. 

It's not just the millennials

Anyone who works in recruitment already knows this of course. It's no secret that recruiters have major problems getting millennials – especially those aged 25-33 to apply for a position if they don’t feel the organisation’s values or purpose (if they have one) is aligned with theirs. Take into account that 93 per cent of millennials want to buy from companies with social, sustainability and environmental stewardship it's no surprise.

They want to work for them too. 

Simply put. People coming into the workforce (and many already here) aren’t prepared to work for you, or buy from you, if your organisation doesn't have a clear purpose that goes beyond the traditional 'business as usual'. 

So what can you do to turn things round?

Bart Lacroix of GoodUp recently told Forbes Magazine that: ‘Truly purpose-led businesses realise better financial performance and a competitive edge towards employees and customers.’ He also says that empowering your people to express and fulfil their personal purpose will help you to attract and retain talent, multiply your positive impact (CSR) and make your business more sustainable. 

So then, the answer is simple. Find your purpose and become the kind of organisation that the next generation (and much of the current one) would kill to work for or buy from.

And how do you do that?

Well, creating your Brand New Story is quite a good place to start.

Get in touch if you'd like to find out why.