Startup Employee Retention: Managing Millennials

October 4, 2010

Knowing how to manage Millennials is critical for startup employee retention since it is highly likely that Millennials are already a part of your company, and will continue to be at a growing rate. Since I provide recruiting support to OpenView’s expansion stage portfolio companies, I am keenly aware of the increasing number of Millennial hires for sales and marketing support positions.

Every year, Fortune magazine and the Great Place to Work Institute conduct a nationwide employer survey to find the 100 Best Companies to Work For. In 2008, Human Resource Executive Magazine asked the Institute to sort the rankings by age of the respondents, which formed the Millennial Magnets list of the companies ranked best in America by employees under 25. According to this Workforce blog, the Millennial Magnet companies share five basic traits.
The Five Basic Best Practices of Millennial Magnets are:

  1. Personal-Touch recruiting. Many of the companies take a very active and personal role in their recruitment of young employees. As an example, FactSet, a software company based in Connecticut, sends gift baskets and “good-luck” notes to new college senior hires before they take their finals.
  2. Work-Life balance. Many of the top companies listed offer employees flexible schedules that allow them to have a more balanced life. Some even allow employees to schedule their own hours.
  3. Group socializing. Studies have shown that as a whole Millennials enjoy working and socializing in groups, and as a result, these employees are more satisfied when they have regular lunchtime forums and social get-togethers.
  4. Recognition. The companies that came out on top for Millennial employee satisfaction know how to motivate employees through positive feedback. Several of the top companies also make employees eligible for both awards and rewards for their success.
  5. Casual but professional environment.  Many of the Millennial Magnets are following Google’s lead in crafting a corporate environment that is friendly, comfortable, and cutting edge.

The bottom line is that targeted policy adjustments can make a big difference in recruiting, engaging, and energizing Millennials. When it comes to startup recruitment, understanding how to target and manage Millennials as they continue to fill the workplace will be crucial to your business growth strategies.

VP, Human Capital

<strong>Diana Martz</strong> is Vice President, Human Capital at<a href="http://www.ta.com/">TA Associates</a>. She was previously the Director of Talent at OpenView.