This is the second in a series on Millennials in the workplace.
Now that we have an overall understanding of Gen Y, and how they show up in the workplace, it’s important to attract those workers to your organization or team. If you want to grow, innovate and compete in the coming years, you are going to need their help.
According to the 2015 Deloitte Human Capital Trends report, one of the major concerns of business and HR leaders around the world is developing leaders at all levels. If you don’t have an eye to the future, you won’t have anyone to grow the business as your current leaders move on or retire. The absolute first step in filling your leadership pipeline is attracting the next generation of leaders.
Unfortunately, the traditional way of attracting talent isn’t working and organizations are struggling to keep up. Gone are the days of posting a job online, software scanning résumés for key words, HR reviewing the “matches”, scheduling interviews with the “top 10 candidates”, and hoping for the best. Gen Y knows they’re interviewing you as much as you’re interviewing them. They have access to a wealth of information online and if they want to work for you, they’ll have done their homework and then some.
If you want to attract the best Millennial talent it’s time to start thinking like a reVisionary leader and understand what the next wave of HR (or HR 2.0) is doing. Here are ten tips to attract the next generation of leaders to your organization:
Stop writing job descriptions like you’re hiring a robot. Clearly outline the expectations and results for the role and write the job description in everyday language that is easily understood.
Focus on your culture and people. Highlight what sets you apart and what makes people love working for your organization. Make it clear on your website, especially in the jobs/career section.
Sell yourself. Don’t focus on why you’d want the candidate to work at your company, but focus on why that person would want to work with you. Remember, Millennials don’t think of themselves working for a company but with a company.
Branding, branding, branding. It doesn’t matter how big or small your organization is, be consistent in your branding and make sure it’s up to date, appealing, and positive
Add a human touch. Have a real person review résumés and respond to candidates — there’s nothing worse than sending a résumé into the black hole of an HRIS and never hearing anything. Or worse yet, having a candidate follow up with the hiring manager and hearing nothing back, not even a polite “we aren’t interested in you” email. (Millennials are turned off by this and it will mar your brand significantly)
Be open-minded to styles of résumés. No one likes writing or reading impersonal summaries of work experience, so don’t discard something just because it looks different than what you’re expecting.
Reward creative applications. If someone writes their résumé in story format, uses first person, or submits a website or online portfolio, acknowledge and comment on that even if you don’t end up interviewing them.
Incorporate technology. You could use particular questions to screen candidates via video in the first round of interviews, or connect with people on LinkedIn or Twitter. Have an online application? Allow candidates to include links to websites or gifs or whatever else they feel will set them apart.
Don’t be limited by the technology you know. Your website, traditional job sites and LinkedIn may be great places to start, but think outside the box — post jobs on Twitter, Instagram, Periscope, or Facebook (to name a few).
Encourage employees to help with recruiting. They’re your best ambassadors and will have great insight into the expectations your job posting should include.
The keys to attracting Gen Y talent are incorporating technology; allowing them to showcase their personality and what makes them different; and to focus on the entire applicant experience. Your employee experience begins the minute a potential applicant hits your website, so make sure you’re giving them an experience that makes them interested in working for your organization.
Be sure to read the third post in this series, Leading Millennials.