Unemployment is low and quit rates remain high. Today’s employees are defying predictions of a recession with increasing confidence in the choice of leaving jobs that aren’t meeting all their needs. Does this mean employers are doomed? 

Not necessarily.  Job openings create the confidence level that keeps the Great Resignation alive. Employers can gain benefits by attracting talent across multiple generations by providing flexible offerings that meet specific needs. 

The unemployment rate is a staggeringly low 3.6%. Yet turnover across industries has remained high for over a year. It’s an employee’s hiring market, and companies hoping to recruit and retain talent will likely have to change recruitment methods and compensation packages to interest top talent. By understanding what employees from each generation want, you can recruit talent to fill empty roles and retain your most valuable employees.

Why Strive to Recruit and Retain Multi-Generational Talent?

Recruiting and retaining multigenerational talent provides companies with the ability to reap the benefits of each generation’s distinct working style. Four generations of employees populate today’s workforce, and each of them has something to offer. In spite of their different ways of thinking, these generations complement each other in diverse workplaces that highlight generational strengths. If you’re still unsure of the benefits of a generational melting pot, consider the different benefits offered by each generation’s workstyle.

• Baby Boomers: Self-reliant, goal-oriented, and practical, this generation strives to meet production goals and solve problems independently.
• Gen X: Independent, autonomous, and meritocratic, this generation strives to accomplish work goals through creative problem solving and hard work.
• Millennials: Inquisitive, responsive, and collaborative, this generation wants all the information required to do their job properly, values the power of teamwork, and responds well to positive communication.
• Gen Z: Flexible, structured, and transparent, this hardworking generation values innovation that cuts cost and time required to complete projects and isn’t afraid to speak up about the value they bring to the table.

When employers gather these values together, they can build powerful teams that improve the inner workings of the office or manufacturing floor while increasing production and profits effortlessly.

How to Hire and Retain Talent from Each Generation

If you’re seeking a single recruitment tactic or benefit that will delight each of these generations, you’re unlikely to find it. By learning what each generation is seeking, you can provide talent acquisition and compensation packages that meet the needs of each generation without creating a spiderweb of requirements for your HR team. These creative methods can help you recruit and retain top employees from each generation.

Adopt Recruitment Methods that Cross Generations

While employees from all generations appreciate technology to some degree, they don’t all like the same methods of communication or rely on the same job-seeking strategies. Surprisingly, Gen Z employees are the generation stressed most about new communication methods and prefer face-to-face recruiting methods like job fairs and referrals for recruitment. Yet, all generations value a streamlined recruitment process. 

By promoting awareness of various recruitment methods on social media, job boards, your company website, and professional connections, you can attract applicants from every generation. When candidates can use mobile features for interview scheduling, job fair sign-up, and resume uploads, you free up time for recruiters and offer a user-friendly experience for applicants.

Provide Flexible Benefits

Not surprisingly, the age gap and different lifestyles between generations mean that each generation seeks different types of compensation from their employers. 

• Boomers are interested in medical and life insurance benefits as well as quality retirement offerings.
• Generation X employees prioritize work/life balance because they are the most likely to have dependents and are often caretakers of their parents as well.
• Millennials tend to be debt focused and interested in benefits that serve their current needs. This can mean student loan repayment benefits and age-focused healthcare like maternal benefits or health plans that offer well care along with catastrophic care at a cheaper rate than full medical benefits.
• Gen Z employees are the most likely to seek out a job based on its benefits and prioritize job security and career growth and development as well as work/life balance.

By promoting your employer brand across multiple platforms, you can share the various benefits packages employees can choose from. You can appeal to your target audience with benefits that will help you retain employees in the future.

Create a Company Culture that Pairs Complimentary Work Styles

We’ve mentioned the value of the different work styles of each generation. These differences can improve your organization’s workplace performance and offer valuable insight into your workplace culture. Pairing different generations of employees on the same team can offer valuable opportunities for training and development. For instance, Boomers have often been in their chosen industry for decades. They can provide younger generations with critical information about processes and organizational branding and goals. At the same time, younger generations like millennials and Gen Z can share tech knowledge and help train other generations on new tools.

Use Measurable Data to Guage Results

Retainment is only one half of the puzzle. Recruitment is equally important. By using analytics to determine which hiring tactics and workplace benefits provide the best results, you can implement more strategies that work effectively. Many organizations are changing recruiting strategies and becoming dependent on new technologies. Without devising a way to measure the results of each strategy, it’s impossible to determine what investments bring the best ROI.

Using a Multi-Tiered Platform for Talent Acquisition

Although the hiring market can seem challenging during times of economic change, altering your recruitment efforts can generate new successes for your organization. By using a single platform to provide various recruitment offerings, you can appeal to employees from all generations. Platinum Group’s HCM platform, isolved, can help you develop employer branding strategies, provide mobile scheduling options, electronically onboard new employees, track processes, and more. To learn how our isolved EMPLOY Talent Acquisition feature can help you hire, onboard, and retain the best talent, schedule your demo.