Meeting the millennial challenge.

Millennials are changing the face of the UK workforce and businesses need to face up to this new challenge if they are to continue to grow. 

According to Safwan Hak, founder to 9Sharp, an online networking platform, by 2025 Millennials are likely to make up over 75 per cent of the global workforce and this new generation of employees presents new challenges to UK businesses who want to continue thriving. Hak believes there are some key areas businesses need to look at closely to achieve future success. 

Career development is vital, he says. Millennials thrive on constant feedback and receiving recognition for their hard work and many disengage if they feel they are stuck in a dead-end job with no future prospects. Companies must provide employees with feedback, training and progression opportunities. 

Millennials like to be flexible and tend to be more focused on their performance and results achieved over the hours spent at their desk. With the advancement of cloud technology and collaboration tools, employees are able to adopt a more flexible routine and are able to work remotely. 

With Millennials becoming a prominent fixture in UK companies, the need for a better work life balance is also becoming more commonplace. “This isn’t to say that they want to work whenever they want and go home early,” says Hak. “On the contrary, work is an important aspect of their lives and Millennials are the generation who are most likely to stay late and work weekends if needs be. However, they also want to ensure that their own well being isn’t put on the back burner and this can mean that sometimes their personal life can overlap in the working hours”. 

Hak suggests that in order to provide a better work-life balance, employers should recognise this need and provide an environment where staff can feel relaxed and open. An environment where staff feel on edge and under constant pressure to work non-stop will ultimately lead to employees to becoming disengaged and demotivated.  

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