In the YouthSpeak Survey, run by AIESEC in 2015 with over 45,000 responses, we found out that the four difference aspects millennials pay great attention to in the first 5 years of their careers are constant learning, meaningful work, work-life balance, and the ability of the employers to provide entrepreneurial experiences in their daily work.

But how well are employers taking these four elements into consideration?

1. Helping young employees balance personal and professional life

It is easy to assume the younger generation is more inspired by their career development. A growing number of millennials ranked having a work-life balance as their first priority for choosing their employers. However, according to the respondents of the Youth Global Employability survey, employers are moderately passive in their ability to cater to this need. Compared to the older generation of employees, millennials have a stronger sense of freedom and autonomy in their lives. While it’s not just about having open desk offices and employers compensating their employees’ life after work, we encourage employers to innovate on their approaches to ensure work-life balance for their employees.

2. Aligning the young employees’ personal goals with the business purpose

Millennials care about the triple bottom line of the business. Is my work meaningful? Why do we do what we do? A strong connection between the young employees’ personal goals and the business goals is at the center of their motivation. However, the insight shows that employers are not yet able to effectively communicate their purpose to their employees. Such communication should not be just limited to big words and commitment to a better world on a C-suite level, but it should penetrate to the daily work of employees and their personal goals, especially when considering millennials.

3. Contributing to the skill development of youth

Millennials are hungry to learn. After global opportunities, constant learning is the highest rated aspect for millennials to choose their employers. Within the four aspects being surveyed, employers have also rated themselves the highest for their contribution to the youth’s skill development. Facilitating young employees’ learning should be on top of the employer’s priorities. With the increasing demand of work complexity and competition between businesses, employers are facing challenges in onboarding and retaining their recruits. However, it is not just enough to train millennials on the skills needed to perform the tasks, but investing in their ability to learn, unlearn and relearn.

4. Reacting to the growing need of the millennials’ entrepreneurial spirit

62% of millennials have plans to become an entrepreneur in the future. So how well are employers catering to this unsettling need? With an average score of 7.03 and NPS of -10, employers are rather passive. Young people are aware that only focusing on a fixed job description will not be able to equip them with the necessary skills to venture on their own. Employers ought to adapt or innovate their management practices and cross-portfolio synergy to invest on the young employees’ need to learn new aspects of the business.

Taking these insights into consideration, it seems that employers are rather passive in their efforts to engage millennials. This generation is looking for a whole new way of finding fulfillment in their lives, both personally and professionally. The question is, how can employers find ways to turn these elements into a common good for both the employer and the employee?

Interested to read more about youth employment?

Download the full report