“The Digital Generation in the Workplace” Report Uncovers That Millennials Value Culture, Coaching and Frequent Communication in the Workplace, with 50 percent Indicating a Preference for Feedback Monthly At a Minimum
Waltham, MA – September 29, 2015 – PeopleFluent®, a leading cloud provider of social human capital management software, today released its original Millennial research report, “The Digital Generation in the Workplace.” This report contains data aimed to help human resource professionals better understand the motivations and desires of a critical generation of the U.S. workforce.
In a national survey of nearly 650 working professionals aged 18-35, Millennials shared how their unique experiences have shaped their approach to the working world. After all, many of them grew up with information on-demand and started careers in the midst of the great recession. As a result, for the Digital Generation, careers are filled with possibility and instability. For example, while more than 75 percent report being “engaged” or “very engaged” at their job, nearly two thirds are still entertaining other opportunities. Due in part to these unique generational experiences, survey insights indicate that the “three C’s” of culture, coaching, and communication are the key to talent management.
“With a workforce comprised of 50 percent Millennials within the next five years, organizations are keenly focused on attracting and retaining the fast-growing, high-impact digital generation — and in their efforts, they are scrambling to address the expectations and aspirations that comes with this new generation of worker,” said Alys Scott, Chief Marketing Officer at PeopleFluent. “With our recent report, ‘The Digital Generation in the Workplace,’ we set out to learn more through surveys and focus groups from this important population of young professionals, and, in our efforts, hope to help the managers and talent professionals who work with them. We are delighted to debunk some of the misperceptions that plague the Millennial workforce and which create unnecessary disconnects in engagement and collaboration.”
Survey News Facts
- Sweeping Percentage Vote for Meritocracy
- One of the areas that matters most to today’s young professionals is recognition, both monetary and non-monetary. Of particular importance, 85.7 percent of survey respondents viewed performance-based raises as “important” or “very important” and a further 78.1 percent indicated that they would leave their current job for a bigger paycheck elsewhere. This generation operates by a meritocracy and recognizes the importance of achievement. Within that context, this is also a diverse, multi-cultural generation that believes strongly in the ethic and aspirations of fair and equal pay tied to goal alignment and clear feedback.
- Company Culture Is a Leading Driver in Millennial Referral Recruiting
- The importance of culture cannot be overstated with regard to recruiting the best and brightest young professionals, with 39.1 percent of respondents naming this as an important factor when looking for work. In addition to being a top consideration for workplace selection, great culture is a catalyst for referrals from current employees, with more than 35 percent saying culture would be the top reason they’d refer someone to their company.
- Ongoing Feedback Outpaces the Annual Review
- Young professionals value feedback from a variety of sources and see varied input as an important learning tool, with nearly 60 percent of survey-takers stating reviews were effective at boosting their performance. However, just 9.8 percent said that they’d prefer feedback to be given annually. For this generation, performance management means frequent, purposeful feedback that includes both tactical and developmental detail, preferably from a mentor. In fact, 78.8 percent said it made them feel more engaged with their organization to be part of a mentorship program. This was no surprise as many organizations move to develop year-round feedback loops, but it did emphasize the importance of informal and formal feedback mechanisms.
To see video from the Millennial focus group sessions and download the PeopleFluent Millennial report, “The Digital Generation in the Workplace” click here.
PeopleFluent will also be hosting a number of events to promote these research findings. On October 29, the company is hosting a webinar with New York Times Bestselling Author, Forbes & Inc. 30 under 30, Founder of WorkplaceTrends.com and Millennial Branding speaker Dan Schwabel titled “Millennials and Motivation: Management Strategies for the Digital Generation.” Registration for the event is available here. PeopleFluent Vice President of Product Marketing Frank Moreno will also be discussing findings from the survey and details of the report at the CHRO Exchange, held November 8-10 at the Hammock Beach Resport, Palm Coast, Florida. Frank’s session, “Understanding the Digital Workforce” will be on Day 1 of the conference on November 8.
About the Survey
“The PeopleFluent Digital Generation Insights and Experience Survey” received a total of 944 responses from working professionals. Of that pool, 639 responses came from individuals ages 18-35. Among those individuals, 90 percent were employed in a full-time, part-time, or contingent position. Of our Digital Generation survey-takers, 74.4 percent had completed a bachelor’s degree or higher. In addition, 302 responses were recorded from individuals ages 35-68.
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