Businesses must be forward-thinking to be able to attract and keep talented employees as workplace dynamics are rapidly changing.

The Census Bureau recently found the amount of millennials in the country recently surpassed the amount of baby boomers. This means the strategies required to manage developing workplace demographics and shifting, and expectations will be crucial as we advance into the next decade.

One way to shape a strategy is to tap into the culture of emerging young professionals by engaging them at the college level.

What Millennials Want: Growth, Flexibility, and Feedback

Millennials want to work at a company where they can grow professionally. To offer that environment, companies may need to teach current workers on the usage of evolving technology or adjust to managing the other shifting expectations of today’s younger employees. Professional training and educational programs are highly effective tools for HR professionals looking to help workers gain the skills they need to get ahead and succeed at their jobs.

While flexible work arrangements have led to improvements in recruitment and retention, they also present challenges for human resources professionals and companies that lack the required infrastructure to support these arrangements.

With workers now able to do their job in nontraditional settings, communication between employees is shifting as a massive amount of data is exchanged through email and text message applications.

As these trends are built into workplace culture, HR professionals shouldn’t forget about the possible implications they may have on the worker experience. It’s crucial for hiring personnel and HR professionals to have an active role in preparing workers and organizations for these shifting mechanics.

In addition to growth opportunities and flexible arrangements, many companies are now addressing millennials’ preference for regular feedback through real-time coaching and just-in-time feedback. These practices are preferred by millennials and they shift companies away from the conventional yearly performance evaluations.

Connecting with Academia

One way to get out in front of changing workplace dynamics is to connect with the business programs at colleges and universities.

Making these connections can assist business schools by helping them better understand employers’ needs. It also helps to ensure the next generation of the workforce is ready to handle the difficulties and expectations in their future workplace.

Aligning HR and company needs with what is taught at a university is crucial for solving one of HR’s most challenging issues: Finding workers with good soft skills. Some secondary schools have already incorporated soft skills into their curricula to help make sure that future employees are ready for tomorrow’s economy.

Soft skills, or the ability to effectively communicate, work with others, and manage projects, are becoming even more important as we move to more technologically advanced and flexible workplaces.

At Cornerstone, we help to connect our client companies with workers from every generation. If your company is currently in need of a comprehensive staffing solution, please contact us to set up a consultation.