The great modern brands of today not only talk the talk, they walk the walk. It comes as no surprise that the most loved brands of millennials are also considered the best places to work. These great brands are built from the inside-out, articulating and evangelizing their brand ideas with internal stakeholders — especially their millennial employees.
This is a major strategy that all brands need to be aware of, as millennials are quickly taking over the workforce and entering their peak earning years. According to Pew Research Center, millennials overtook Gen X as the largest generational group of employees in the workforce in 2015. And unlike the generations that came before them, millennials have new expectations that are shifting the way the overall workplace functions. The millennial mindset in this area emphasizes that employees don’t work for you — they work with you.
In fact, 88% of millennials prefer a collaborative work environment rather than a competitive one. This desire for and prioritization on collaboration is a core tenet that stems into all facets of the workplace for millennial employees, including how and in what way they communicate. In opposition to the stereotypes and myths regarding their work ethic (e.g., lazy, unfocused, unprepared), millennials are actually paving a way for increased efficiency and output.
Brand Getting It Right: General Electric
Market giant, General Electric, is a great example of a brand that has embraced this new workplace mentality. As a digital and industrial company, GE is constantly striving to evolve to be more humanistic and approachable in its innovation, and its commitment to millennial employee values is part of this endeavor.
“The culture of GE — at the heart — is this ability to change, adapt and evolve,” said Leslie Coyne, Director of Global University Relations. “We operate in this way so we can continue to keep up with what’s going on in the world and with our stakeholders to provide the right solutions at the right time.”
To get to these solutions, Coyne has seen an organic uptick in team building and co-ownership of intrapreneurial projects: the modern brand’s attack on external disruption.
“Forget about who you report to, forget about your functional area, and even about your area of expertise,” said Coyne. “Where we see a need, whether it be around a product or customer issue or even some internal mechanism that needs to be addressed, our employees are pulling together into cross-functional teams that forget about the boundaries of their own role or chain-of-command to make a difference. This has completely changed how our work is done. It allows all of us, regardless of our department, to feel more empowered. As a result, we are moving faster and making a bigger impact.”
This has enabled investors and consumers to see that GE is not the same business it was 30 years ago. The brand isn’t just manufacturing equipment, it is now building smart software to streamline traditional processes and provide predictive analytics - directly and positively impacting the bottom line of customers. Subsequently, GE is also taking great strides in brand performance.
So, what can we learn from GE about about attracting, motivating and retaining millennial employees?
Make Content Genuine And Authentic To The Brand
“We recently launched a contest called the Unimpossible Missions for students to select a common expression and then describe an experiment that disproves it using GE technology,” said Coyne. “Students from more than 150 countries visited the site and we received nearly 600 submissions.”
Many millennials have also seen the Owen commercials, which were created to connect with a new generation of employees. The campaign is more lighthearted, featuring a college grad who has just been hired as an industrial developer at GE.
“It shows that we have a sense of humor and are willing to poke fun at ourselves,” said Coyne. “It resonated well, leading to a significant increase on our careers site.”
Be Flexible And Open-minded About The Work Environment
“Millennials are interested in integrating work with life, and because they are so connected, they do this effectively,” explained Coyne. “Organizations must be flexible in terms of how and when work is done, and learn to trust the fact that when employees can work flexibly, they are often times more productive and satisfied. Ultimately, it’s time to think differently and more openly.”
Keep A Finger On The Pulse Of Educational Culture
“I believe that the next generation will break the education mold,” Coyne said. “There will be more options for attaining educational goals, they will be more cost effective, and they will be better prepare individuals for careers in which they are interested. For organizations that want to hire the best and the brightest, it’s vital to keep a pulse on how these changes will affect the recruitment process.”
As millennials continue to grow in the workforce and begin taking over managerial and supervisory roles, it will be vital for brands across industries to understand and incorporate millennial communication preferences if they hope to attract and retain the talent they seek. This, in turn, will inform their public perception and growth opportunities and impact their bottom line.
