How to retain young employees

How to retain young employees?

I’ll give away the ending; it’s not all about the money.

If you’re Gen X or later, you may (fondly?) remember the movie, Can’t Buy Me Love.

The sentiment still rings true…winning people over isn’t all about money, especially as we’ve been discussing the changing priorities of today’s workforce.

Just this week, I’ve spoken to several candidates who stated they’re willing to accept a lower salary in exchange for a more satisfying company culture that promotes people development, supports work life balance, and prioritizes helping employees avoid burnout.

These are people working 60, 70, 80 hours a week.

They’re seeing their colleagues AND leaders turn over due to burnout and they don’t want to suffer the same fate.

While some are lamenting that people don’t want to work anymore, that’s not exactly true.

And it’s worth considering another perspective:

We’re in an age of rising prices / costs, which has translated to paying nosebleed salaries to land talent. But the key for how to retain young talent today is STILL not all about money.

Now that the frenzy of the Great Resignation has settled down, there is some relief in sight…

Especially if a company/leader can offer a better work/life value proposition, they may NOT need to pay such high salaries.

If there’s so much work to be done that the team can’t avoid consistently working 70 to 80 hours, perhaps a bit larger team, paid a little less, aided by technology, could be the answer.

The result? Better morale and less turnover, lower recruiting and hiring costs, better work quality and consistency, fewer performance issues, all allowing the leader and company to do what they do best. Want to talk more about this topic? Connect with me on LinkedIn and let’s chat.