3 Tips for Successful Human Resource Staffing of Millennials


Executive search consultants

Quality human resource staffing is one of the most important aspects of any successful business, especially when you’re dealing with high-level executive positions. Whether you utilize professional HR executive search firms or your own forms of talent acquisition management the amount of qualified Millennial-aged candidates is becoming more and more prevalent.

It’s a natural progression as the older generations, like Baby Boomers, move into retirement and open the door for new opportunities. While making generalizations can be a risky endeavor, there are certain common traits of this young and developing generation that should be taken into account when recruiting, hiring, and ultimately managing Millennial-aged human resource staffing. Here are three things to consider.

  1. Collaborative Work Environment: Unlike older, more traditional candidates executive search consultants are used to vetting, Millennials have shown a preference towards collaborative, team-building work environments as opposed to cut-throat, competitive ones. That’s not to say they’re not hard workers or averse to challenges, they just tend to work better with people than ‘against’ them. In fact, 88% of Millennials prefer a collaborative work-culture rather than a competitive one.
  2. Look for Untapped Potential: Maybe it has to do with the technology age they grew up in, but for whatever reason Millennials tend to have diverse knowledge and capabilities outside of their college majors or specific experience. Just because they were hired for one job or purpose doesn’t mean you should exclude them from consideration in other areas.

    Only 28% of Millennials feel that their current organization is making full use of their skills. Great human resource staffing isn’t just about hiring the right person to fill one job. It’s about being able to efficiently and productively utilize all the talent resources you have available, even if it’s not necessarily in their current job description, too.
  3. The Initial Hire: Even though this technically has more to do with hr executive recruiters than human resource staffing per se, it’s crucial to get a good fit the first time around. Not only will it save you time and money, but it will make your business look more appealing to the outside rather than having constant turnover.

    A recent survey by Robert Half showed that one-third (36%) of 1,400 executives surveyed felt the top factor leading to a failed hire, aside from performance issues, is a poor skills match. The second most common reason (30%) was unclear performance objectives. Having diverse and versatile skills is great, but you also need someone who will be able to do the task at hand at an exceptional level.

There are countless elements that go into successful human resource staffing, but when it comes to dealing directly with those in the up-and-coming Millennial generation these are a few of the important things. Remember, many Millennials will be quick to sever ties if they don’t feel they’re in the right environment due to their transient nature.


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