Millennials are a highly engaged generation with priorities that differ from those of previous generations. As the largest group in today’s workforce, they play a crucial role in shaping the future of employment.
Hiring and keeping millennial employees should be a key focus for your company, especially as the workforce continues to change and more millennials move into leadership roles. It’s also essential to understand how millennials prefer to be rewarded at work since recognition plays a significant role in employee retention and boosting workplace morale. Beyond popular company perks like catered lunches or a meditation room, how do you determine which rewards truly enhance employee retention and productivity?
We’ve identified six strategies that can help your company retain millennial employees and keep them engaged at work.
1. Use Merit-Based Promotions as Incentives
85% of millennials say they are motivated by promotions based on their individual achievements. The solution is straightforward: reward your top performers with promotions.
Many companies still promote employees based on how long they’ve been with the company, but this approach is outdated and can harm your organization. If an employee consistently excels, they should have the opportunity to advance within the company. Promotion schedules that are based on arbitrary timelines don’t appeal to millennials, who value fairness more than previous generations.
2. Reward Employees with Flexible Schedules
95% of millennials prioritize work-life balance when seeking a new job. They want to balance family time and hobbies with work, yet some employers still enforce a strict 9-to-5 schedule. Offering flexible hours to top performers can help millennials achieve the work-life balance they desire.
Flexible schedules have many advantages. Employees are likely to work harder if they know they can earn this flexibility. It also demonstrates trust in your employees, which appeals to millennials and aligns with their independent and self-motivated nature.
Allowing employees to work from home is another effective way to reward them. Remote work is becoming more common, and it provides the flexibility and work-life balance millennials seek without reducing productivity.
3. Offer Unique and Personalized Workplace Rewards
Employee rewards can also include things like event tickets or covering the cost of a Netflix subscription. Many companies offer these types of perks at work, from yoga classes to free snacks. Providing commuter benefits is another way to show you care about your employees’ daily lives.
You can also invest in professional development opportunities, such as management training programs or tuition assistance for advanced degrees or certifications. 35% of millennials find these opportunities a compelling reason to work even harder.
4. Promote Team Spirit with Social Events
Organizing off-site social events as a reward for good performance is a great way to build team spirit and keep employees satisfied. Many millennials see the workplace as the main place to form friendships, so this is a key way to offer rewards that resonate with them. This could be something simple like a happy hour or more involved, like a weekend retreat.
How does this benefit your company? In several ways. For example, millennials are likely to share photos from company events on social media, which helps build your brand and boost recruiting efforts.
5. Emphasize Personalized Rewards
A 2016 Aon Hewitt survey found that millennials are happiest when they receive recognition in two simple ways: sincere thank-you notes and verbal praise from teammates and managers. This is easy to do, and there are many platforms available to help recognize and reward your employees.
The best rewards platforms allow managers and leaders to customize the rewards, recognition occasions, and notifications they send to employees. You can also tailor rewards by location, ensuring each office has recognition events that are most relevant to its employees. Even better, you can automate this process, making it a win-win for both employees and company culture!
6. Gamify Your Rewards Program
Gamification is a newer trend that adds an element of fun and competition, which many millennials find motivating. While it’s not recommended to gamify your recognition program, adding gamification to your rewards program can be an effective way to encourage teams to meet goals, reach milestones, and push each other to work harder. This approach is especially useful for sales incentives, wellness challenges, and spot bonuses. Employees can redeem rewards after reaching specific goals or completing major projects.
When designing your rewards and recognition strategy, keep these tips in mind to ensure your company offers unique, meaningful, and relevant rewards for millennials. Offering as many of these options as possible will greatly help in retaining the millennial employees your organization needs to thrive.
