The survey of Millennial professionals revealed that almost a third felt that a social introduction to meet their colleagues in an informal setting was the most important part of their workplace induction. Among SMEs, 48 per cent offered a social outing with colleagues as part of the induction for new starters compared to just 33 per cent of larger employers.
In addition, 8 in 10 Millennial professionals regard a fun and social workplace as important when starting a new job. While 52 per cent of SMEs focus on creating a social workplace through sponsored social events just 39 per cent of larger businesses do the same.
Ed Glover, Associate Director at Robert Walters, comments: “Millennials are increasingly willing, and even enthusiastic, to have less of a boundary between their personal and professional lives.”
“SMEs have a significant edge over larger employers in being able to offer this kind of environment when looking to attract top Millennial talent.”
While SMEs can benefit from their ability to appeal to Millennials’ desire for a social workplace there are other areas where they can stand to improve in order to compete with larger businesses for top talent.
In particular, 68 per cent Millennials feel that the potential for rapid career progression is important to keeping employees engaged. However, just 51 per cent of SMEs provide clear guidelines as to what employees must do to achieve career progression compared to 63 per cent of larger businesses.
Ed glover continues: “SMEs may struggle to offer the clear, structured career ladder available to larger firms due the size of the business. However, this does not mean that SMEs cannot compete in terms of their ability to attract top Millennial talent through the offer of career progression.”
“Employers can encourage Millennials to use their insights to explore possibilities for how the business can expand, and offering them the chance to play a key role in that expansion.”
“This approach can ensure SMEs appeal to a significant number of Millennial professionals, providing employers are clear about these opportunities.”
