Is Your Business Culture Millennial Friendly?

Regardless of the size of your brokerage or real estate team, recruiting must always be a top priority. Even if you don’t have openings today, you may next week and it is critical to be proactive about recruiting in order to have a strong bench to support your business.

In today’s post, we are going to focus on millennials, the demographic group of 18-34-year-olds who have very distinct attitudes when it comes to work and careers.

Like any generation, millennials come to the workplace looking for the essentials: growth opportunities and solid benefits. However, unlike previous generations, millennials are not fixated on long-term tenure, working in one job at one company for the entirety of their career.

According to a 2016 Gallup study, 21% of millennials claim to have changed jobs at least once in the past year, which is three times the rate of job change for non-millennials. It is estimated that a millennial today will work for at least four different companies by the age of 32.

So, why are millennials likely to change jobs so frequently? Gallup says its all about low engagement in the workplace. The study found only three-in-ten millennials are engaged at work, meaning they are emotionally or behaviorally connected to their job or company. In fact, 16% are actively disengaged, meaning they could potentially do damage to the company or its reputation.

Assuming all things being equal in terms of opportunity and benefits, the critical variable in determining a millennial’s likelihood of staying in one place is corporate/business culture. According to Inc.com, approximately 80% of millennials examine cultural fit with potential employers before applying for or accepting a job.

If you run a growing brokerage or real estate team, here are four factors to consider in order to build the kind of culture that will attract millennials:

WORK MUST BE MEANINGFUL 

Studies show that millennials would prefer to make $40,000 a year at a job they loved instead of $100,000 a year at a job they don’t like. In this regard, it is important for you to have a corporate mission and clearly-stated corporate values. But it’s even more important that you and your existing team live those values every day.

LEADERS MUST BE ENGAGED

What kind of boss are you? Are you controlling? Or are you disengaged? Millennials want to work for leaders who are committed to teaching and coaching, and also who invest in job training. At the same time (and here is the paradox), they want to be given the trust and freedom to take risks.

“HOW AM I DOING?”

Unlike any other generation, millennials were raised in the digital culture so they are used to rapid and frequent communication and feedback. In the workplace, they want constant feedback so they know what is expected and what they need to do to improve and grow. The problem is, this isn’t happening. In a national study, 54% of millennials said they wanted active engagement and feedback from their managers. Unfortunately, only 19% say they are getting such feedback.

FLEXIBILITY

According to a study by the Intelligence Group, more than 70% of millennials want to work for businesses offering flexible work schedules. Nobody wants to be tethered to a desk from 9-to-5. Millennials believe they should be trusted to take advantage of the flexibility offered by technology.

If your business is growing or is primed to grow in the near future, recruiting must be a top priority for your team. But while you are gearing up your recruiting efforts it might help to take a step back and look at the culture you’ve created. Does it address the expectations of today’s millennials? Are you doing enough to attract the best, young talent into your organization?