How to Catch A Rising Star

Recruiting and Retaining

Young Talent

Eve Sweeting

Outline

• Demographics

• Why Recruit the New Kids on the

Block?

• Where and How to Recruit Younger

Workers

• Benefits that X’ers and Y’ers Want

• Resources to Learn More

Demographics

Generations Now in the Workplace

• Traditionalists

• Ages 64 and Over

• 58 million

• Baby Boomers

• Ages 45 to 63

• 78 Million

• Generation X

• Ages 33 to 44

• 48 million

• Generation Y

• Ages 15 to 32

• 80 million

10%

46%

29%

15%

% in Workforce

Traditionalists

Baby Boomers

Gen X

Gen Y

Generational Uniqueness

Resource: Pew Research Foundation

Who are the Millennials?

• 21% are married (half

the % of their parents

generation)

• 34% are parents

• Unlikely to be better

off financially than

their parents (first

generation in a century)

• 37% underemployed,

18.8% unemployed

Comparison of Gen X & Gen YGen X

• Worried about

– Money/finances: 27%

– Career/job: 6%

– Family: 13%

• Social Media Use: 50%

• Sleep with their cell

phone: 68%

• Have a tattoo: 40%

• Read the paper: 32%

Gen Y

• Worried about

– Money/finances: 30%

– Career/job: 16%

– Family: 7%

• Social Media Use: 75%

• Sleep with their cell

phone: 83%

• Have a tattoo: 36%

• Read the paper: 23%

Why Recruit Gen X & Y• Well- Educated – 40% of 18-24 in college,

another 40% want to return to school

• Accustomed to diversity/integration

• Different thinkers

• Multi-taskers

• Tech savvy

• Driven by excellence

• Focused on results

• Though Gen Y is larger than Gen X, there is still expected to be a labor shortage in the next 25 years. (FutureWork Institute)

Job Postings

• Market your company like you market your product

• Provide information about your company culture and work environment

• ¾ of younger workers look at Company websites to learn about prospective employers

• Focus on leadership positions and job growth, benefits that younger workers want

Where to Recruit: Company Website

• Make your recruiting site interesting

• Make it easy to understand

– Hiring process

– Company values are

– Potential career paths

• Make it relevant

– Use real employees to

tell your story

Where to Recruit: Colleges• Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (Tallahassee)

• Florida Atlantic University (Boca Raton)

• Florida Gulf Coast University (Ft. Myers)

• Florida International University (Miami)

• Florida State University (Tallahassee)

• New College of Florida (Sarasota)

• University of Central Florida (Orlando)

• University of Florida (Gainesville)

• University of North Florida (Jacksonville)

• University of South Florida (Tampa)

• University of West Florida (Pensacola)

How to Recruit: Colleges

• Use your current young employees to

recruit new young employees.

“Millennials are particularly peer

influenced.” – Lisa Feldman, UC Berkeley’s

Hass School of Business

• Use videos or other media that show

what life at your company is like:

Google Recruitment Video

Where to Recruit: Social Media

Nearly ¼ of younger job searchers use

social networking sites when looking for

employment.

• TwitHire.com

• JobShouts.com

• Facebook

How to Recruit: Social Media

• Highlight current employee achievements

• Promote job fairs

• Promote specific job openings

• Post on a specific job board on Facebook• Employment Network in Sarasota,FL has over

1,200 followers

• Employment Network in Port Charlotte/Punta Gorda is growing with almost 300 followers

• Suncoast Workforce

Where to Recruit: ReferralsIf you are looking for young professionals, the best place to start is with the YP’s currently working for you.

• Offer incentives for referrals

• Do have a group membership to the local Young Professionals Group (YPG)

• Send your young professionals to local YPG meetings to recruit

• Post job opportunities on the YPG website

• Become a sponsor of the local YPG

Retaining Young Talent: BenefitsTop Ranked Benefits

Benefit Score

Vacation/PTO 8.82

Flex Hours/

Telecommuting

8.06

Profit-sharing 7.52

Subsidized

education

7.51

Mentoring

Programs

6.41

Top Job ConsiderationsConsideration Score

Salary 9.05

Benefits 8.86

Growth

Opportunities

8.74

Location 8.44

Company

Leadership

7.95

Source: Robert Half International, What Millenials Want, 2007

Retaining Young Talent: Work Environment

• Casual

– Peer to Peer

– Access up the Organizational Chart

• Fast-paced

– Do not want to spend Time paying dues

• Flexible hours

• Telecommuting Options

• Supportive/Mentoring

• Community/Purpose Driven

Retaining Young Talent: Work Environment

Quality Ranking

Manager I respect 8.74

People I enjoy 8.69

Work/Life Balance 8.63

Socially

Responsible

Company

7.42

Nice Office Space 7.14

41%

27%

26%

4%

Dress Code

Business Casual

Jeans

A Mixture

Business Attire

Retaining Young Talent: Work/Life Balance

• Children of workaholic

parents who want a

balance

• Will check in frequently

through tech devices

• Want to work smarter

– Get things done quickly

– Use connections

– Quickly research

information

Retaining Young Talent: Affinity Groups

• 40% of the DiversityInc Top 50 companies

have generational affinity groups; 88% use

employee resource groups for recruiting

• Allstate Insurance Co. has a young

professional organization with 600-700

employees

• Gen Y likes networking with people their own

age. Growing up with social networking has

encouraged this feeling of community.

Retaining Young Talent:

Motivating & Recognizing

Motivation

• Personal fulfillment opportunities

• Career planning guidance

• Importance in the organization (not job position)

Recognition

• Continual feedback

• Praise when deserved

• Rewards in the form of time off or other benefits

Recap

• 48 Million Gen X’ers & 80 Million Gen

Y’ers

• Untraditional Recruiting Techniques

• Facebook, YouTube, TwitHire

• Untraditional benefits

• Telecommuting, Mentoring,

Affinity Groups, Personal Fulfillment

Opportunities

• Lead to an untraditional workforce

Resources

• The Pew Research Center

• www.pewresearch.org

• Robert Half International/Yahoo Hot

Jobs Study

• What Millennial Workers Want: How to

Attract & Retain Gen Y Employees

• Diversity Inc. Magazine & Website

Questions?

“Understanding Generation Y is important not just for employers. Older workers--that is, anyone over 30--need to know how to adapt to the values and demands of their newest colleagues. Before too long, they'll be the bosses.”

Read more: What Gen Y Really Wants

TIME Magazine July 5, 2007