Marketing to Employees

5 Strategies to Attract & Retain X & Y Workers
By Craig Arthur

"As business owners, we now need to create a business that is attractive to both customers and employees." - Craig Arthur

When I speak with business owners about their “Limiting Factors to Growth,” finding and retaining good people is always in the top three.

Last week I was invited to a presentation titled “Managing a Multi-Generational Workforce,” by Rhonda Thorburn, the regional Director for Kelly Services, Australia.

As a rough guide, below are the year brackets that determine the generations.

• Silent Generation: Born between 1922- 1945
• Baby Boomers: Born between 1946-1960.
• Generation X: Born between 1961-1980.
• Generation Y: Born between 1981-2000.
  

How to attract and keep good people is a growing problem for all businesses, across all industries, especially so when we talk about Generation X and Y.

So how do we specifically attract and retain these younger employees?

The below *Five Strategies from Rhonda’s presentation will help set you on the right path. (*Edited from the Kelly Services white paper titled Five Ways to Connect with Generation X and Y Workers, click link to download PDF.)

1. Think “High-Tech”
Make sure your company invests in the latest technology. Gen X & Y want the latest and greatest. Provide it and benefit from high productivity and dedicated employees.

2. Create Fun Environments
Add entertaining elements to work environments, eg… chair massages and spaces with lounges for social networking. Celebrate birthdays and recognize achievements.  Offer work contests with high-tech rewards such as MP3 players, Mobile Phones and Laptops.

Investing in your company socially will help create a fun work environment that not only attracts Gen X & Y, but also enhances productivity, quality, customer service and job satisfaction.

3. Leverage Relationships / Get Personal
Gen X & Y value friends and work mates of their own generations. They are the perfect resource for word-of-mouth recruitment for new employees. Educate them about the kinds of workers your business is seeking. Offer incentives for their part in the process.

Communicate. Communicate. Communicate. Build relationships with these generations by talking with them, showing you care, and making yourself available to hear their concerns. And never forget to thank an employee for doing a good job.

4. Embrace Workplace Flexibility
Develop an accommodating environment. Provide employees with opportunities for job changes, internal mobility and flexible schedules. Don’t micro manage. Give them room to grow and make decisions.

Studies show that three out of four Generation X workers pick the place they want to live before they find a job. This means your company may need to follow talent.

5. Expand & Enhance Training Opportunities
Gen X & Y thrive on developing their work skills and knowledge. Most opportunities are seen as stepping-stones to something better in terms of their career. Provide learning opportunities by expanding e-based learning modules.

Create work “teams” or pair older workers with younger workers to prepare them to take over when necessary.

Does some of that sound too much?
It may have in the past, but things have changed.

As business owners, we now need to create a business that is attractive to both customers and employees. Creating a work environment that nails these five strategies will appeal to all generations and all genders, not just  X & Y's.

As my business partner Michele Miller says, "Everything is Marketing."

Marketing to employee's is a new arrow you must place in your marketing quiver.

Subscribe to The Wizard Chronicle