Relocation & HR Trends

Millennials aren’t like other generations—and they’re proud of that.

As this generation continues to make waves in our workforce, claiming more than 36% of jobs by 2020, Millennials are transforming how businesses function— from the way offices look all the way to the benefits employers choose to provide.

More and more companies are moving to more favorable locations, and most want their bright, young, Millennial workers to assist operations in the far-flung office. However, because Millennial decision-making can be somewhat erratic from time to time, companies should consider weighting the choice with tactics known to effectively motivate the younger working generation.

Here are 6 strategies for encouraging Millennial employees to relocate.

Just Ask Them

Unlike employees of previous generations, who were often rooted to their location by a mortgage and a family, Millennials have little tying them down. It is well-known that Millennials change jobs more frequently than other generations, but it is also true that most Millennials are prepared to move across the country for a better position. In fact, one study found that as much as 84 percent of Millennials are willing to relocate if it's necessary to climb the career ladders.

That said, this doesn't necessarily mean you can command your Millennial employees to relocate. Millennials prefer cooperation to domination, which means you should strategeically propose and discuss the idea of relocating, and ultimately allow them to make the decision. If you phrase the prospect properly, it is likely that few young workers will even hesitate before accepting the opportunity.

Treat Them Appropriately

Millennials lose motivation when they feel undervalued, bored, or unmotivated. Therefore, employers should strive to understand what motivates this generation and earn Millennials’ trust by being authentic and vocally appreciate of the work they do.

Even if a company lacks the goals or values of the Millennial generation, it can earn loyalty and obedience from its Millennial workers when their leaders act genuinely and offer opportunities for Millennials to express their creativity. In environments like this, you increase the likelihood of Millennials agreeing to take a step such as relocation on behalf of a company they feel a connection to and wholeheartedly support.

Offer Their Unique (But Coveted) Benefits

High salary and good health insurance are things most Millennials expect from a job, but to keep them committed, you must offer unconventional benefits, as well. For example, few Millennials are eager to conform to the traditional nine-to-five work schedule; flexible time, which allows them to clock in and out as they please, is a coveted perk for younger workers.

Similarly, most Millennials are confident and capable telecommuters, so allowing them to work from home on select days will win your Millennial workers’ good faith. Professional development programs are also enticing to Millennials, and packaging these benefits with a relocation request is an almost foolproof plan to motivate this generation to move.

Hire Persuasive Speakers

Most Millennials are passionate about continued learning and take advantage of supplemental educational resources, like podcasts, online courses, and more. Inviting experienced and noteworthy motivational speakers into your office might help you inspire your Millennial workers and feel motivated to take on tasks and experiences such as relocation. Millennials revere the work and words of experts, and when experts can back up your desires with data and anecdotes, you can convince your young employees to do almost anything.

Target Mentorship Programs

If your business doesn’t have an established mentorship program, you should start one immediately. Millennials crave the personalized attention and guidance of mentors, and connecting business leaders with promising young workers is a recipe for long-term employee dedication.

Additionally, you can have some control over the mentors’ messages - perhaps encouraging them to emphasize the importance of relocating at the start of a young worker’s career. It is not guaranteed that Millennials will blindly follow their mentors’ advice, but mentorship programs are strong tools for motivation.

Promote Them First

Millennials crave validation, and there is no better evidence of support than a boost in title. Your organization’s career ladder doesn’t need to be strict and stable; you can create positions as necessary to please your staff while simultaneously ensuring productivity.

In-between steps and titles are excellent tools to motivate your Millennial workforce; terms like “senior” and “team lead” do little to impact the daily flow of the office, but they do much to boost an individual worker’s morale and investment in the business. Armed with the pride of a recent promotion, a Millennial will usually gladly move to further boost his or her career status.

Whether you're a Millennial, Gen Z-er, Gen X-er, Baby-Boomer, or part of any other generation in today's workforce, you know how different the traits of each can be.

Every generation comes with its own slew of stereotypes and expectations for how they should behave—this is nothing new. But, what we are finding now, is that there's actually quite a bit one generation can learn from the other once we set those stereotypes aside.

First of all, before we dive into this, it's important to put out the disclaimer that while generalizations about characteristics of different generations are helpful to know in terms of motivational tactics, involvement, and communication, they are still stereotypes, and not everyone will fall under these assumptions.

That said, let's take Millennials and Baby-Boomers (our favorite generational comparison) for example. 

A point accurately identified in this article about mixing Millennials and Boomers in the workplace is, 

"Millennials and Baby Boomers can complement each other well in a work setting, filling in the gaps to create a diverse and accomplished team. For example, Millennials who are new to the workforce will require a certain amount of direction and supervision. Baby Boomers, who are exceptionally skilled at delegating assignments, can easily fall into this role and provide instructions to their younger counterparts."

However, the difficult part can be identifying the different opportunities for these complements. Take international expansion or global assignments. Typically when we think about these types of opportunities, Millennials are the first people to come to mind for the job. And there's good reason for this. We know Millennials want to travel. We know they see international opportunity to be almost a requirement for their place of work.

In fact, Millennials and Gen Z are so infatuated with the ability to travel and work abroad, that they barely even recognize the opportunity by its presence, but rather, by its absence. They struggle to understand how this option wouldn’t be accessible, and may not be as quick to consider it as a benefit to tip the scales. But, without it, you’ll put yourself at risk for boxing out a big demographic of potential candidates. Because so many things have become seamless, the ability to work remotely in another country falls within the same category. 

That said, there is one thing to pay attention to when it comes to putting Millennials into these positions. We are often a little too quick to assume that simply because Millennials are tech savvy or globally accepting, this also means they're automatically programmed to be the best fit for driving installation in a foreign location.

The truth is, this isn't always the case. In fact, it's rarely the case.

Opening offices in foreign locations is a huge project, and it requires a certain level of experience and business knowledge—something that doesn't come after just a few years in the workforce.

We often find that while Millennials are excited and eager to accept the opportunity, once they arrive in their foreign location, they need a little extra time to get their bearings and develop this global savvy-ness we already assumed they had. 

This is an example of a prime opportunity for apprenticeship between Millennials and Boomers.

While your Millennials might not be ready to dive into leading-up the opening of your new office across the globe, there are people in your office who have the necessary experience to help support this endeavor—you guessed it, your Baby-Boomers. 

If companies are able to come to the realization that many of them have  already put employees through the necessary development required of a task like this, and can identify who their most globally rounded person is on staff, they can then have that person be a mentor or  regional assistant to these local setups. This allows them to exercise their willingness to teach and share their knowledge, and Millennials will appreciate the guiding hand once they arrive on site. 

Millennials will be driven and active at the thought of an international assignment, but they might not necessarily have enough experience that's required for an agile jump into a brand new environment with brand new surroundings. 

Especially as the dreaded talent shortage comes back to rear its head, partnering in ways that encourage mentorship, apprenticeship, and regional guidance will be the best way to develop guide your Millennial groups pushing for global presence.

Aside from just this specific situation, we should strive for partnerships like this beyond just one-off situations and expand them to more deeply impact an organization. All generations have so much to offer one another, and if we can strike a balance with how to achieve this in a way that doesn't disrupt the workforce's natural work habits, you'll see great value in the results.

Millennials are the most mobile generation in history.

In their lifetimes, everything from phones to the internet have gone from rooted connections to roaming, unchained necessities in daily life.

Their perspective towards a career has done the same—especially compared to previous generations.

An early 2016 Gallup poll found that 60% of millennials were open to new job opportunities. On top of that, 21% have changed jobs within the last year, triple the number of those in other age demographics.

Millennials have no qualms about moving from job to job or company to company in pursuit of career advancement. The combination of their mobile upbringing and a lack of loyalty to corporations (likely due to their experience with economic recession and job losses) means that retention of this huge generation is an issue across the board. But, you can take preemptive steps to avoid issues by appealing to other common traits among this generation.

A Path Forward

This generation wants more from a job than just a paycheck. Now, this doesn’t mean they don’t value their pay. A staggering 42% of millennials have student loan debt. But beyond monetary fulfillment, they seek to be part of a cause and part of a big picture goal. They want to contribute and see a progression in their contribution to an achievement.

Two places you see this manifesting itself are in the explosion of “cause marketing” (when a company advertises a product by tying its sale to a charitable group) and “gamification” (turning everyday tasks or goals into a game, granting points and levels up when tasks are completed) in recent years.

While you don't have to turn every job duty into a point-giving task for millennials, understanding how much progression and a path forward matter to them will improve their work and make them more likely to stay.

Continued Learning

Alongside a career path/progression, millennials value continuing their education. They want to gain new knowledge with experience, whether it is specific to their industry or something that adds to their employment value.

Whether you can offer lunch and learn sessions, pay for a portion or all of an employee’s continued education, or encourage cross-departmental learning for those interested, millennials will value your commitment to their development.

Guidance

One of the earliest reads of the millennial population (that turned out to be inaccurate) was that they were a coddled, needy generation that required constant supervision. The reality is that they have a strong urge to please their superiors and a desire to stay on the right track to remain efficient. They grew up in an educational environment that began to heavily value testing, meaning there was a right and wrong way to do things.

A weekly check in, or whatever arrangement works best for each manager, should be enough to prevent too-frequent contact from millennial employees. Most of the time, the certainty of knowing there is someone and a specific time to turn to for questions and feedback will be enough to keep them on task and out of managers’ offices.

There’s nothing that can guarantee a high retention rate, but making your culture attractive to millennials, and focusing on the short-, medium-, and long-term of their careers can make a huge impact. Remember that they value many of the same things as previous generations, but the way they seek to achieve them manifests differently.