By Lindsay Gellman
Many managers like to complain that twentysomething workers
won't stay put in a job for long. But for employers, is that a
problem or an opportunity?
Millennials--those roughly 18-to-34 years old--now make up the
largest share of the U.S. workforce, about 34%, outnumbering
Generation Xers and baby boomers, who account for about 32% and
31%, respectively, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The rising number of young workers has some companies worried
about keeping them on board. Other businesses are embracing flux in
the talent market, and say they are focused on getting the most
from young hires while they have them.
Last year, the median job tenure for workers aged 20 to 24 was
shorter than 16 months. For those aged 25 to 34, it was three
years, according to the BLS, still far short of the 5.5-year median
tenure for all workers age 25 and over.
After working as a front-end engineer at Facebook Inc. in Menlo
Park, Calif., for a little over a year, Colby Rabideau left the
social-media company last year to be closer to his girlfriend and
family in Boston. The 23-year-old said he never intended to stay on
the West Coast permanently. Mr. Rabideau now is a software engineer
at Hubspot Inc., where he plans to spend "at least a couple more
years." But, he said, he doesn't expect to stay "at a company for
30 years." He added that he might start his own business down the
road.
"There is a very pronounced level of unease" about young workers
and their loyalty to employers, said Caroline Ghosn, founder and
chief executive of Levo League, an online career-development
network geared to young women.
Levo has consulted with companies such as marketing-analytics
company Quantcast Corp. about how to engage and retain young
workers.
The 28-year-old Ms. Ghosn has advised those companies to
strengthen networking opportunities for junior employees, such as
by hosting mentorship "mixers" to allow relationships to develop
between senior and junior colleagues. She said a lack of close ties
at work, via networks or a social group, frequently causes young
people to leave.
Companies like International Business Machines Corp., Coca-Cola
Co. and Visa Inc. have recently relaxed office dress codes and
convened councils of millennial employees to weigh in on everything
from marketing campaigns to workplace policies. Auditing firm Ernst
& Young Global Ltd. and Dutch health-care and consumer-products
company Philips NV have begun programs designed to send employees
overseas for stints of a few months, giving them global exposure
and developing their leadership skills.
Online deals site RetailMeNot Inc. said it is inviting junior
employees to take part in hiring decisions. "Millennials are only
interested in staying here if we're attracting other 'A' players,"
said Annette Alexander, RetailMeNot's vice president of human
resources. To make young workers feel heard, executives must
"involve them in key hiring decisions for the company," she
said.
Some managers think companies should stop trying so hard. They
cite "The Alliance," a book co-written by LinkedIn Corp. co-founder
Reid Hoffman that proposes a different model for the
employer-employee relationship--one based on mutual expectations
and the possibility of the employee leaving.
At LinkedIn, managers often segment an employee's career into
"tours of duty" that last a couple of years. The employee and
manager agree on specific goals to be met during that period. At
the end of a given tour, both parties understand that the employee
might leave.
"By talking openly about the fact that an employee might leave,
you actually increase the likelihood" that he or she will stay on,
said Ben Casnocha, a co-author of the book and Mr. Hoffman's former
chief of staff. Employers should make clear that "if it makes more
sense for you to leave [than stay], that's OK," he added.
Toby Murdock, CEO of Kapost, a Boulder, Colo. marketing-software
firm, said he has adopted that mind-set. "It is a very fluid
marketplace for young people," said Mr. Murdock, 41. "Let's be
honest about that instead of trying to deny it."
He wants young workers to consider his company a career
accelerator, rather than a parking lot. That attitude has given
Kapost a reputation as a career launchpad, Mr. Murdock said, and
helps the company attract a stream of ambitious young
candidates.
Investor-research firm Cognolink also touts its ability to boost
young people's careers. "My goal is to train them so well that
people are going to come and want to head-hunt them away," said
Brian Lewis, chief operating officer of the 285-person firm, which
has offices in London, New York, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Mumbai. "I
expect that, and it makes me proud," he said.
If an employee hesitates to pursue an attractive opportunity
elsewhere, "I'll fire them so that they have to go take it," Mr.
Lewis said.
Write to Lindsay Gellman at Lindsay.Gellman@wsj.com
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