Competitive Pay & Good Managers – Key To Millennial Retention

Millennials – the notorious generational bunch, known for their different workplace values as compared to the Baby Boomers and Gen Y. They are infamously known for their job-hopping trend, chasing after trendy employee perks and fatter paychecks. Yet, organisations are willing to "succumb" to their workplace demands as they are known for their tech-savviness, adaptability and creativity – a talent pool which organisations today need and highly value.

Recruiters today are then faced with a huge dilemma – what is the best way to retain Millennials?

According to a study conducted by HR consulting firm, Mercer, it developed a predictive model about Millennial turnover. Some of the predictors included in the model are individual characteristics (e.g. age, performance, tenure with the company), organisation and job characteristics (e.g. supervisor status and relationships, span of control, job type and function) and external market characteristics (e.g. work location, industry, local unemployment rates).

The study concluded that a higher base pay is proportional to Millennial retention rate, supporting the notion that competitive pay is still the key driving factor in employee retention. At the same time, a strong employee value proposition is strongly linked to the choices that Millennials make at work.

Besides competitive pay, based on the model, it appears that supervisor characteristics do matter in Millennial retention rates as well. For instance, assuming all other characteristics remain equal, the model predicts that Millennials are far less likely to leave the organisation when they report to highly rated supervisors or to female supervisors. At the same time, they are more inclined to leave if their direct supervisors quits. This relationship is not observed in other generations.

While competitive pay and good supervisors have been identified as key driving factors to Millennials’ retention levels, there are no doubt other factors that play a supporting role in retaining Millennials within the workplace as well.

Learning and development, career advancement opportunities and the entire employee value proposition are all highly valued by Millennials as opposed to other generations. As such, it is imperative that organisations make a conscious effort to understand the multigenerational workforce that they have within their organisation and to better understand their needs and wants. It is crucial that leaders structure their entire employee value proposition in order to attract and retain their key talent – not just the Millennials but the multigenerational workforce.

Organisations need to create talent strategies that engage all generations within their workforce. With the multi-generational workforce today, it is imperative to tailor learning opportunities based on an employees’ experience level, seniority, as well as adaptability. For instance, smaller opportunities such as participation in a project whereby an individual can rely on more experienced peers for support can benefit those who are unfamiliar or newer to a crucial skill. Bigger opportunities that require employees to take risks and step out of their comfort zones may be more suited to those who have prior experience carrying out certain tasks and wish to expand on their skill sets.

Similarly, the level of control that managers should have over employees’ learning experiences should also vary. A more experienced employee might be encouraged to seek out his or her own opportunities for growth independently while a less experienced employee might require a more structured learning environment that targets key learning areas. Either way, employees should be allowed full autonomy in deciding their career advancement objectives. Mistakes may be made, but it is only through trial and error that one truly learns.

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