Millennials are expected to complete 75% of the global workforce by 2025. They’re undeniably an integral part of the workplace future. They’re smart about their career and company options as well as prefer productive and purpose-driven employment.
So you might be asking yourself, how do we keep the millennial workforce happy? Keeping millennial employees happy starts with establishing a more ideal and purpose-driven workplace. Want to learn more about the new company culture for millennials and how your company can embrace it effectively while helping your business grow?
Millennials on Great Company Culture
Compared to earlier generations, millennials place greater emphasis on company culture. The concept of corporate culture may have been present starting from the 1970s. However, it has only recently become a greater priority for upcoming talent. Among millennials, 86% would accept a pay cut just to work at a company with the same values as them.
Meanwhile, among baby boomers, only 9% would be willing to accept lower pay, and salary is often a major deciding factor when choosing a job. These numbers suggest the need to focus on creating a great company culture to find and recruit competent millennials and keep them in the company for years to come.
Engagement and Greater Sense of Purpose
One thing that characterizes millennials in the workforce is that they crave a sense of purpose. Instead of being mere employees, they want to become contributors. Thus, you should establish a purpose-driven workplace to help them stay engaged, motivated, and feel accomplished.
According to Cone Communications, 86% of millennials consider their job more fulfilling when companies offer them opportunities to create a positive impact on society. Moreover, 76% of millennials decide where to work based on a company’s environmental and social goals.
Matching gift programs can help your employees feel that sense of purpose and increase engagement. With a cutting-edge gift matching platform like ReciprociT, your employees can feel better as they know they’re doing something more impactful beyond their job responsibilities. Through payroll deduction, you match their donations automatically. Then, we provide you with itemized reporting to ensure Internal Revenue Service (IRS) compliance.
Matching donations also help promote giving. Research showed that 74% of millennials are more likely to donate if their employers match part of their gift. Furthermore, matching gift programs enhance company culture and engagement as employees know that your company cares about causes beyond the organization.
You’re setting your company as a great example for your employees too, helping you create a positive and strong brand image. ReciprociT also believes in pursuing purpose-driven causes. That is why we also allot 10% of our bottom line every year to charitable causes.
Commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility
Research showed that 73% of millennials would be willing to pay more for more sustainable products and services. This means that your brand should focus on corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs.
For example, a large majority of millennials prefer companies that are committed to helping address various environmental and social issues. Moreover, others are interested in volunteer opportunities, donation drives, and other causes that allow them to give back to the community.
So how do you find ways to connect with your millennial workforce? One popular way is to offer gift matching programs so they can support the causes that they’re passionate about. Offering gift matching can help increase employees’ engagement so they become loyal to your company. At ReciprociT, gift matching has never been easier. Your employees are free to choose a non-profit organization that they want to donate to. Then, you automatically match their donations with payroll deduction.
You don’t have to worry about all the admin and accounting tasks as we’ll handle them for you. Thus, you can focus on other more important aspects of your business while we help you create a positive company culture for millennials.
Maximizing New Technology
Millennials have been raised in a digital era, which is why they’re mostly tech-savvy and utilize technology for increased productivity and efficiency. While they’re thought to be easily distracted by technology, technology itself allows them to realize their maximum potential, which is also beneficial for your business.
Changing systems may sound tedious, expensive, and challenging. However, failing to adapt to new technology and innovations puts your company at a disadvantage. Instead, seek higher engagement from your millennial employees by using a state-of-the-art digital gift-matching platform. With ReciprociT, you can say goodbye to administrative burdens and spend more time establishing a happy and ideal workplace for millennials.
Moreover, gift-matching programs are still not maximized — usually due to incoherent and complex processes. As a result, both employers and employees end up exhausted and frustrated. Meanwhile, ReciprociT ensures a simple, streamlined, and easy-to-use platform, so you can increase efficiency while helping employees — and your whole organization — make an impact on the community.
We help you quickly match your employees’ donations on a single platform while following your gift-matching guidelines. We can also help you establish these guidelines if you don’t have any yet. From onboarding to transferring from a currency company gift matching program, ReciprociT makes every stage convenient for you. With little to no maintenance needed, you’re increasing not only your employee’s productivity but also that of the whole organization.
Focus on Diversity and Inclusion
Diversity and inclusion in the workplace have become more important in recent years, and millennials play a great role in driving these initiatives. They are not afraid to voice their thoughts and perspectives; they’re open to change, and they love learning about different beliefs and cultures. With a more nuanced view of inclusion and diversity, they want to work in a company that has solid inclusion and diversity programs.
Millennials also love to work with people from different backgrounds and have more opportunities to learn and try new things. Thus, you should pursue a genuinely inclusive and diverse culture in your company.
ReciprociT helps you promote an inclusive workplace by letting your employees donate to their chosen non-profit while still giving them the privacy that they need. Apart from the plethora of options where they can donate, their non-profit choices are kept confidential.
Moreover, no minimum donation is required, so every employee can donate based on their means and decisions. ReciprociT provides volunteer hour tracking as well. This way, your employees can offer their support, whether monetary or through time.
By letting your employees feel that you genuinely support the causes they value, they’ll also feel heard and appreciated. This can result in higher productivity and employee retention.
Love for Feedback and Continuous Learning
Among millennials, over 50% want to receive feedback regularly from their respective managers. They welcome comments and suggestions early on instead of waiting for their mid-year or annual review to come out. That’s because they want to know how they’re performing; they value managers’ input and recommendations, and they’re generally receptive to feedback.
Apart from wanting to receive affirmation, many millennial professionals want to focus on their personal and professional development, so they need to hear other people’s feedback. In addition, they’re accustomed to living in a fast-paced environment with various opportunities, so they’ll want to maximize their potential.
With ReciprociT, HR can implement great new benefits easily and quickly so they have more time to develop robust programs that support personal and professional development.
Emphasis on Work-life Balance
For millennials, a good company offers a good work-life balance. They prefer a workplace that values employees’ health and happiness. These include giving them a chance to work remotely and enjoy flexible hours. Furthermore, educational assistance and family-related benefits — such as paid parental leave and pet insurance — help promote work-life balance among millennial employees.
A healthy work-life balance for millennial professionals can also be promoted with a recognition of both their personal and professional needs and goals. These can include healthier food options, easier access to fitness programs, mental health support, and support for the causes they care about.
With ReciprociT, you can make the donation process smooth and hassle-free for your employees. Because employees are the ones who drive donation decisions, they feel more connected to the company culture. Because of how easy ReciprociT makes corporate gift giving, employees feel they have more ‘free’ time to find their optimal work-life balance.
Investing in Ideas
A new company culture for millennials also means focusing on ideas. They’ll want to work for a company that allows them to share and cultivate more ideas. Additionally, they’ll want to feel comfortable voicing their opinions. By giving them an avenue to bring out more ideas, millennials feel that they’re part of a greater cause, motivating them to grow together with your business.
If your employees think their chosen non-profits will create a bigger impact and help them maintain purpose-driven employment, show them your support with an effective gift-matching program. Use ReciprociT’s comprehensive digital solution to put company culture back into the employees’ hands with little to no management necessary from your HR team.
Push for Transparency
Among millennials, 74% reported wanting the company they’re working for to be more transparent. Moreover, 75% of them would be willing to choose a job opportunity that demonstrates transparency. These figures prove how much millennial professionals value companies’ transparency, so it’s best to maintain transparent communication with them.
Be open and honest about your company’s inner workings. Share reports and let them know how their tasks and responsibilities will affect the company in the bigger picture. At the same time, be transparent about your company’s challenges without causing unnecessary panic.
When it comes to gift matching opportunities, you should be transparent about the impact that your employees are creating. Give them the liberty to choose the non-profits that they feel more connected with. ReciprociT will manage the admin work, and your employees can select up to three qualifying 501(c)(3) organizations they wish to support.
While millennial workers expect transparency from your company, they also want you to respect their privacy. That’s why ReciprociT helps promote confidential non-profit choices. Regardless of the nature and focus of the non-profit, they’re supporting, our digital corporate gift-matching platform makes giving a smooth, safe, and fulfilling experience for you and your employees.
Engage Your Millennial Workforce
Given that millennials form the majority of corporate workers, it’s essential to build a great company culture that caters to their needs and values. They want to promote diversity and inclusion, experience work-life balance, crave a sense of purpose, learn continuously, and maximize technology for increased productivity and efficiency.
Make your business the best place to work by supporting its causes and goals. Use an efficient workplace-giving platform like ReciprociT to pursue a sense of purpose and employee engagement while making gift-giving a smooth and meaningful experience for everyone.
- The New Company Culture for Millennials - January 27, 2023