Ways to Keep Your Millennial Employees Happy and Satisfied

According to a report on Organisation development and learning partner, Amdocs, India, studies show that by 2020, Millennial or Gen Y are expected to be 50% of the workforce, and by 2025, this projected number is forecasted to reach 75%.

As workplace demographics continue to shift constituting more of millennial force, organisational practices have to shift as well. Gen Y is a job-hopping generation, with only 29% engaged at work. This brings a big challenge for business leaders to keep their millennials employees happy and satisfied as their satisfaction is directly linked to their engagement demonstrated at workplaces. 

Here are a few ways to keep millennial employees happy and satisfied:

1. CREATE A PURPOSE-DRIVEN WORKPLACE 

Millennials are always inclined towards jobs with purpose and quality. Millennials feel more fulfilled when they have the opportunity to make a positive environmental and social impact. Beyond a fair salary, employees today are also looking for real purpose and they want to contribute to the greater good.

To make an organisation appealing to this soon-to-be prodigious generation, the corporate culture must be dedicated towards improving and contributing to the entire community. They do not fear obstacles and, instead, get excited about the opportunities and have the desire to take on added responsibilities. Money does matter to millennials; however, not at the expense of other important things in life i.e. value and purpose.

2. PROVIDE LEARNING AND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES 

Purpose and management play an important role in fostering employee engagement. However, to effectively boost engagement, organizations need to create a culture that fosters constant experimentation and continuous learning. Sodexo’s research indicates that  more than a quarter of employees do not have access to training services, even though over 80% believe these are ‘essential’ or ‘important’.

New employee priorities are the core drivers for changing expectations in the workplace. In today’s constantly-changing workplace, the vast majority of millennial employees see the value of ongoing training and development. This is the reason they expect their employers to provide onsite or virtual opportunities for skill-building and personal growth. A better- educated workforce benefits both the business and its people. The more millennial workforce are given new skills, the more loyal they become. 

3. USE POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT AND GIVE FEEDBACK

Everyone is used to receiving feedback on everything they do and quickly. Whether it was at home or in school or at home, everything today’s workforce did was observed. Either met with criticism or they were applauded for doing good work. And, they are used to this, in fact, they yearn for it.

Moreover, giving feedback and positive reinforcement is considered as an experience essential and organizations can also be benefited by providing immediate feedback. As a result, a shift to greater feedback holds the potential to turbocharge an organization’s learning strategy and further improve personal and professional growth for employees. 

4. PROVIDE DIGITAL EMPLOYEE BENEFITS FOR ENHANCED EXPERIENCE 

In an increasingly agile and digital world, millennials view their smartphones as more than just a device they carry. Most people commence their day by checking work emails, checking off the to-do list or manage calendars. More than 70% of millennial employees rate mobile and internet reimbursements as their top employee benefits as they are non-taxable according to Income Tax guidelines.

However, claiming these reimbursements involve a tedious process of filing paperwork and then waiting weeks for it to reflect in the beneficiary's account. To successfully attract, satisfy, retain and grow with this dynamic generation, Sodexo BRS India helps to eliminate the time-consuming process with the introduction of a cost-effective solution for paperless management of employee's claims. 

Furthermore, the future workplaces require innovation across advanced technologies, and Sodexo Multi-Benefit Pass is an example for the same. The card allows easy verification and approvals of employee benefits.

Moreover, it provides annual tax savings of Rs 75,000 per employee, followed by quick disbursement of funds without any hassle. Digital savvy millennials want processes to feel convenient and seamless, whenever and wherever they choose to work. The presence of a next-gen app and an integrated web portal helps to make it easy to administer and implement multiple benefits on the go.

Retaining and keeping the millennial workforce motivated are one of the most significant challenges faced by organisations. Recently, a webcast to be conducted on 17th December by People Matters and Sodexo answers the most relevant questions of the know-how to keep millennial employees happy, satisfied and motivated. The speaker, Suvodeep Das, VP Sales and Marketing, Sodexo BRS India is going to construe the question, “The why and how of motivating millennials.” To know more about the webcast, click here