Building Materials Executive Recruiter James Aiken Shares Secrets of Retaining Top-Performing Millennials.

  GREENVILLE, SC - 09/15/2016 (PRESS RELEASE JET)

Common "Solutions" To Retaining Millennials:

- Increase compensation

- Give them newer tech (cell, laptop, etc..)

- Let them work remotely

- Tuition reimbursement & training opportunities

- Increase company social events 

- Avoid requiring overtime

There's a lot of different options on how to address chronic millennial turnover in a certain position. I've come to realize that all of the above solutions are actually just added bonuses - you shouldn't focus on implementing one of these as a solution until making some other changes first. Often times turnover isn't an operations problem, it's a recruiting problem.

The way you lower your turnover is first understanding WHO you are recruiting. It's crazy, some managers will complain that they can't retain someone in a certain position past a year but they never ask the candidate/employee where they want to be in a year! When you recruit for a position, you need to use candor - plain and simple. You need to understand a prospect's aspirations. You need to understand what makes them tick. 

I personally believe that for millennials - its often a matter of them wanting to do more than what they're currently doing. They want to increase their scope - they want to develop their career. Keep them happy up front by understanding where they want to be and helping carve the path in front of them. If you want to retain somebody, you need to understand their yearly outlooks (1, 2, 5, 7, 10). Don't have them answer by a form, ask them live. 

On the other hand, you need to be frank with the candidate on what the position entails. If the position is one of those positions where there's no vertical opportunities, you need to disclose it. If the person is going to be traveling three weeks out of the month, disclose it. If the company vehicle is a PT Cruiser, DISCLOSE IT! Disclose to the candidate the most difficult parts about the responsibilities and environment. Disclose it up front and save yourself the tears, time, and money!

It's tough to retain millennials - but with the right level of communication, forecasting and planning, it's a piece of cake. 

Building materials organizations can contact James Aiken at 864-417-8431 or on his website at http://www.legacysearch.net