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3 things that get 20-somethings excited about going to work

young professional millennial
Flickr/Het Nieuwe Instituut

Can’t we all just get along? From my unique vantage point as a bridge between the label-laden millennials and the companies who are hiring them, I say it’s time to cut to the chase about what they each want.

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In a recent study conducted by Bentley University, 95% of millennials said a company’s ethics are very important to them, including 22% who cared the most about a company’s policies toward the environment.

In addition, 47% of millennials polled by Deloitte believe the purpose of business is to “improve society and protect the environment.”

With statistics like this, it's no surprise that companies looking to attract millennials — who will make up 75% of the workplace by 2025 — are trying to appeal to this generation’s desire to help others and care for the planet.

While large organizations have room in their budgets to establish new volunteer programs or donate money to community organizations, there are other, less costly opportunities as well.

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Here are three things companies can do to appeal to this purpose-driven group:

1. Make a commitment to a topic or idea that is important to millennials.

For companies that don’t have official social mission programs, simply supporting and understanding a topic that is important to millennial employees can be enough to make a difference.

For example, recently PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) announced it will offer a new benefit to young employees to help them pay down their student loan debt. For many graduates leaving college today, this benefit is huge, and it sends the message that PwC is a company that cares about its employees.

While this example shows how PwC can support millennial needs from a financial perspective, the company also understands the sometimes untraditional career choices this generation makes.

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In fact, one recent Bentley graduate was offered a job with PwC but had hoped to spend a year with Teach for America before kicking off her career. PwC, understanding the flexibility this generation desires, allowed her to take a year off to teach before starting her new position.

2. Always be authentic and transparent.

When it comes to millennials, words like “authenticity” and “transparency” cannot be used enough.

L.L. Bean is a great example of a company that embodies these traits, as their values are reflected in all that they do.

Last summer, several motivated Bentley students spent their summer in Maine interning at L.L. Bean. Would they have made more money if they spent their summer with a big financial firm in New York City or Boston? Perhaps.

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But these students felt it was more important to work for a company whose values really mattered to them. By producing well-made products, caring for the environment, “doing good” in the community and treating others with respect, L.L. Bean puts its written values into practice.

Meaning trumped money for these students. And they gained insights on running a billion-dollar global brand in the process.

Additionally, millennials are looking to work for companies that foster transparency from the CEO to entry-level employees.

Not only do they want the companies they work for to share their values, they also want to feel like important members of the team. Through weekly lunches with senior executives or using team-based messaging apps like Slack to communicate widely with employees, organizations can make young employees feel like an integral part of the company and build strong loyalty.

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3. Although it may seem obvious, offer volunteer opportunities.

While companies like PwC and L.L. Bean provide great examples to emulate, not every company has the same resources as these established brands.

For start-ups or companies operating on lean budgets, there are many mission-focused opportunities they can offer to employees. Something as simple as giving employees a day off to volunteer at the organization of their choice, hosting a blood drive in the office lobby, or partnering with a non-profit on a service day shows employees that the company is interested in contributing to something beyond than the bottom line.

My advice to companies of all sizes is not to get hung up on trying to attract this growing employee group with big-ticket perks. What millennials are really looking for from companies is actually quite simple — demonstrating that you are a company that cares about them as people, their causes and “doing good” in the world. And, in return, you will discover that “doing good” by millennials is good business.

Susan Brennan is the associate vice president of university career services at Bentley University.

Read the original article on Contributor. Copyright 2015.
Millennials
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