HIRING MILLENNIALS - Issues to be tackled!!

               Few decades ago, researchers with a bend towards anthropology observed hard the budding human force and claimed to have found a major shift happening on the psychological front. The studies gradually led to the conceiving of the next generation stereotype, labelled as the Millennials/Generation Y/Echo Boomers. The researchers also threw in a bunch of traits to identify them – Tech-savvy, Creative, Individualistic, information hungry, communicative, and geared to multi-task.

The Corporate HR’s Perspective: 

We may be getting older with each year but our workforce clearly isn’t. The workforce of any organisation is witnessing a rapid demographical change with the Millennials eyeing corporate jobs for their sustenance. Before long, this ‘Y’ influx will start questioning the status quo and change the rules of the HR game. For instance, growing up with inherent technological platforms to communicate and express oneself (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) has made the Millennials self-expressive, a major shift from the old Indian psychology of thinking more than twice before sharing anything. This self-expressive nature has also led to a more open-minded culture with wide idea-sharing and strong receptivity. Collaborative teamwork also scores highly with the Echo Boomers; this can be discerned from the architectural structures of companies as open offices replace private cabins. The soaring levels of Ys’ cognition and creativity have influenced the C-Suite of every company to conclude that revamping the workforce with Millennials is the new edge to thrive through the cut-throat competition. On the other hand, these same laudable qualities also pose quite a few challenges to the Human Resources as they struggle in attracting, engaging, and developing the Gen Next.

1) RECRUITING THE RIGHT MIX: Most of the Millennials think they are entrepreneurial. While only a few hit the bull’s eye and take off successfully, the majority enters the corporate world. Here is where the HR managers face the initial test. The recruiters are thrown by the impressive levels of confidence and spirit that the Gen Next display. This gradually directs them to select a handful of Yers for entry-level positions. Then, 5-6 months go by and we find that these rookies have already hopped on to the next job and from there to the next. By the end of 2-3 years, we notice that almost all of them own start-ups. Therefore, it is absolutely critical for the HR folks to drill the Millennials during the HR interviews to unearth whether the candidates are entering the workforce to gather funds and rehearse before staging their own commercial play.

2) BLIND TO HIERARCHY: Another common myth - They are irreverential and pay no heed to authority possessed by the higher echelons in an organisation. The statement may look negative but it is not if we see it from a different perspective. The Millennials are on the lookout for an egalitarian atmosphere where everybody is given importance. They respect people based not on years of seniority or authoritative titles but on the levels of intellect. This trait of the Millennials will fire up issues in a company that has lengthy organisation structures as the Yers are currently at entry level positions and vertical structures will put them right at the bottom. Therefore, if a company is considering recruiting Millennials, it is better for the HR managers to move on to flatter charts.

3) ATTENDANCE TRACKING: This probably looks like a trivial issue but it sure irritates the Yers. They love flexi-hours and hate the ‘Out of Sight, Out of Mind’ paradox. They feel it is not necessary to step into the office as long as their performance is lofty and the deadlines are met. Tailing such a generation to be present in flesh on a daily basis is not such a good idea. Realizing this, Philips and Marico are among a few companies that have stopped tracking attendance as a part of their workplace innovation.

4) MERIT/SENIORITY PAY: When HR managers dole out salaries and compensation, it is common in India to dispense a specific seniority pay. But, the millennials do not agree with this HR policy. They vote in favour of, ‘Pay for performance’. They find merit pays highly motivating while cashing the seniority the status is unacceptable to them. Thus, designing a compensation policy accommodative of merit pays to a certain extent add to the HR to-do list. 

5) ENGAGING TO CURTAIL ATTRITION: About 91 percent of this age group are likely to leave their job in less than three years, according to the "Multiple Generations @ Work" survey by the Future Workplace. Talking to the Economic Times, Rajeswari Murali, Practice leader (talent & performance) said, "For organisations that have an overall attrition rate of 12 per cent to 15 per cent, the Gen Y attrition is often as high as 25 per cent to 40 per cent.”. Maybe that is how the high-flying HR term ‘Employee Engagement’ was introduced. The ancient HR schools of thought claimed that high business performance would result in Employee Engagement. But, the whole paradigm has turned upside down. The belief today is that engaged employees herald good results. Behold the HR policies and work environments of a few top-notch companies to understand the distinct trend. Eg: Google, HubSpot etc.

6) OTHER ISSUES: Stringent dress codes, dysfunctional feedback mechanisms, vague developmental plans, poor employer branding and failing on the brand promise are other issues that have to be tackled by any HR department in order to retain the Millennials.

CONCLUSION: 

             ‘Money can’t give you Happiness’ – The new-found philosophical mantra of the Gen Next. Not everything is merely means to an end for them. The Millennials love being a part of something greater that steers development and spearheads innovation. Triple Bottomline Reporting and paid time-offs for community volunteering also interest them. In a way, the Indian Gen Next can be said to possess traits that are similar to the typical constructs of the western world. Hence, emulating the HR practices of the western companies could help the Indian counterparts to arrtact, engage, and retain the Millennials.