Retaining the Next Gen

As you may have experienced, younger employees often move from job to job at a much faster rate than those from other generations. In fact, a full 72% of Gen Zers say they are considering a job change in 2023, according to a December 2022 survey conducted by LinkedIn and Censuswide. That is compared with 61% of U.S. workers who feel the same way.

Why are 20-somethings looking for greener pastures? According to Cornerstone, “A good portion of younger employees are self-starters and aspire to be entrepreneurs—or at the least work alongside like-minded people. Therefore, they are likely to move from one job to the next without much weight given to company loyalty.”

Approaches That Work

What can you do to help retain your younger employees?

Affirmation is often more important than a small raise for many employees in their 20s. They are quick to part ways if they feel underappreciated.

But how do you strike the right balance to keep them in place?

Here’s what several experts have to say about ways to keep young workers longer than the average two to 2.75 years that Zippia reports is standard for them.

It’s all about the workplace environment, stresses the Corporate Governance Institute, which notes that workplace flexibility, positive feedback, and opportunities for growth and development are key factors that influence their decision to stay or go.

Social Aspects

Harvard Business Review says that the key to retaining these younger workers is better onboarding. That doesn’t give you time to make up for mistakes in managing them from the get-go.

While higher wages, benefits, and sometimes even signing bonuses help get 20-somethings in the door, “what is more important to get young workers to stick around,” reports Harvard Business Review, “are the social aspects of hiring, especially those having to do with developing mutual respect and trust.”

Some suggestions include:

• Create career, not just-for-now, jobs.
• Communicate opportunities for progression.
• Build positive relationships before hiring.
• Encourage and respond to questions.
• Understand nonwork lives and their importance.

The Optometric Perspective

All this may be easier to balance in a larger organization. How do you manage to instill this enthusiasm in a smaller company in general and a private optometric practice in particular? Bess Ogden, the Williams Group’s director of operations and education for consulting, agrees that “retaining younger employees is a huge challenge right now.”

Here are a few ideas she says the Williams Group, based in Lincoln, NE, has been trying with clients:

“Review and improve employee compensation packages. We recommend working toward a minimum hourly wage of $20 per hour, adjusting for local cost of living and competition considerations.”

“Consider wellness or dependability bonuses—a monthly reward of $100 for showing up when scheduled to work.”

“Commit to a minimum of quarterly one-on-ones for good communication, rapport, and culture building.”

“Provide a really solid and consistent onboarding and training plan…and stick to it. Don’t short-circuit after a week!”