5 Tips for Improving Retention Rates of Millennial Employees

By Jezabel Southard

Posted on January 26, 2018

By any measure, millennial employees aren’t the new kids on the block anymore – they’re adults, ranging in age from 18 to 35. In other words, they now make up the younger half of the adult workforce.

This generation has a tendency to switch jobs far more often than their predecessors. Studies indicate that most millennial employees have had multiple jobs, and many don’t stay put longer than a year or two.

How can a company seeking stability, long-term growth and the cultivation of its next leadership generation keep these restless professionals in their ranks?

Here are 5 tips to help improve millennial retention rates:

Offer continual challenges.

Millennials often job-hop when they no longer find a challenge in the work they’re doing or when they’re looking to learn something new. To keep these restless lifelong learners under your roof, ensure their work offers ongoing challenges and support their quest to learn and implement new skills. Bonus: Workers who learn more often innovate more.

Plan for long-term economic stability.

The 2009 recession hit working millennials particularly hard, as did the rise of the “gig economy.” To keep younger workers, companies will need to provide the kind of stability older generations took for granted. Create compensation, benefits and internal hiring plans that focus on keeping your best talent, and create business plans and goals that are sustainable.

Ensure compensation reflects actual cost of living, as well as competitive pressure.

Studies indicate that while cost of living has risen continually over millennials’ working lives, compensation has largely remained stagnant. As a result, many millennials switch jobs looking for one that will pay what it costs them to live where they work. Stay aware of cost of living in the community and pace your compensation to match.

Make work-life balance a reality.

Because they’re highly engaged with one another, passionate about their communities and interested in a life with personal meaning, millennials may job-hop seeking work-life balance. To attract and keep them, make sure your company prioritizes work-life balance to prevent burnout and sustain both engagement and productivity.

Communicate an employment brand that reflects your internal culture.

Millennials’ engagement with one another and their communities means they also want to work in a place where they feel supported and valued – and they’ll search for new jobs for as long as it takes to find that place. By putting your company culture front and center in your employment brand, your company can help attract candidates to whom your culture sounds like home.

Follow these tips to help you not only retain your top employees, but also attract new talent. If you are looking for recruiting assistance, contact the recruiting experts at TERRA Staffing Group. At TERRA Staffing, our recruiters can help you reach some of the best rising talent available – and keep these top performers on your team. Contact us today to learn more about our award-winning recruiting services in Seattle, Portland and Phoenix.

Categories: Employee Engagement Ideas

Tags: Employee Retention Tips, Millennial Employee Retention, millennial employees

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