The culture and mentality of those now entering the workforce is pushing companies to rethink integration and retention strategies. Often referred to as the “millennial” generation, recent college graduates and others under 30 differ significantly from Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers in their approach to the world of work, how they set and work toward personal goals and priorities, and how they assimilate new information. Among characteristics often ascribed to millennials are:
- Technologically savvy
- Focused on convenience
- Team-oriented
- Goal-focused
- Fun-seeking
- Responsive to leaders they view as having integrity
- Expectant of quick rewards and a structured fast-track
- Possessing a strong social conscience
- Emphasize highly interactive, team-based, and workshop formats
- Offer readily available “at-my-convenience” online and interactive tutorials that learners can access while multi-tasking
- Avoid lengthy, dense texts, giving preference to reference guide formats over manuals
- Ensure easy navigation in all written documents, mimicking well-designed online navigation
- Mirror online communication techniques, using simple, direct language and short paragraphs, and organize information into easily digestible combinations of text segments and graphical illustrations
- Address issues of corporate social responsibility, such as environmentally conscious practices and giving back to the community
- Clearly answer a key question for millennials: “What’s in it for me - today, tomorrow, and in the future?”
- Acknowledge the millennial’s desire for life/work balance, offering strategies for maintaining this balance
- Emphasize teamwork and a team mentality overall
- Educate managers and others on millennial characteristics
- Partner closely with HR and Recruiting - Recruiting top-notch candidates can increase acceptance of millennials - Mentoring and career-pathing can directly address specific millennial needs
- In early 2008, we launched a comprehensive training initiative designed to provide construction project teams with customizable, supplementary onsite training geared toward the specifics of their projects.
- We offer numerous courses exploring LEED and sustainability and their internal and external significance.
- We provide managers specific training on understanding and managing millennials.
- Our Learning Management System allows employees to use a range of convenient, self-service tools to facilitate and organize their learning experience.
- Our in-house designed and developed online curriculum is highly interactive and conveniently accessible to learners nationwide.