Join our Live Demo Webinars hosted every Wednesday.    Register Now.

Getting your business some young blood: How to onboard and keep Millennials | TrueContext, formerly ProntoForms

Product

Solutions

Pricing

Resources

close

Product

Solutions

Pricing

Resources

west

Why TrueContext

Field Service App Platform

Adapt, automate, and transform your field operation

Advanced Automation

Double the productivity, half the effort

Connected Data

Break down data silos across your business

Compliance & Security

A platform that meets your IT requirements

Capabilities

Workflow Creation

Built for complex field environments

Mobile App

Equip your teams anywhere and in any language

Reporting & Analytics

Visibility now, predictability for tomorrow

west

Use Cases

Installation

More assets in less time with guided workflows

Maintenance & Repair

Improve asset uptime with predictive maintenance

Inspections & Compliance

Optimize your operational excellence

Environment, Health & Safety

Protect workers, the public, and the environment

Industries

Industrial Equipment

Power asset performance and human safety

Medical Equipment

Precision for sophisticated instrumentation

Oil & Gas

Operational excellence across the energy stream

Field Service

Break new ground in productivity, quality, and safety

Use Case Spotlight

west

Explore

Customer Stories

TrueContext applied in enterprise environments

Professional Services

Digitization at speed and at scale

Events

Explore emerging trends with us at upcoming events

Blog

Stories and insights from the field

Learn

Knowledge Base

Answers to the most common product questions

Product Documentation

TrueContext features, usage, and technical details

TrueContext University

Hands-on training to optimize your deployment

Resource Library

Content for your industry and application

Connect

Community

Collaborate with industry peers

Contact Support

Having trouble? Ask our product support team

Talk to Sales

See how TrueContext can help your business

Getting your business some young blood: How to onboard and keep Millennials

Millennials

Millennials

In my last post, I deconstructed five myths about Millennials that should have been buried in the rose garden a long time ago. Today, I’m going to show you how you can attract some of this young blood to your company, and even keep them around for a while – a task that has been a real struggle for businesses. According to an Upwork/Millennial Branding study, 53 per cent of the surveyed hiring managers said it’s difficult to find and retain Millennials. Thankfully, our growing sales development team has let me in on some best practices they use to effectively onboard and keep Millennials.

Craft an appealing job description

If you’re a fun, laid-back company on par with The Wolf of Wall Street‘s Stratton Oakmont, that’s obviously something to advertise (or not). But hope isn’t lost if you’re of the more conservative variety. For Millennials, nothing pops off the page more than “only six to 12 months’ job experience required.” Ideal candidates don’t have to have extensive experience, they just need to fit your office culture and possess a certain set of traits that, based on your experience, have made up the kind of person you want on your team.

ProntoForms just hired a recent grad for a sales development job. We are looking for people who are driven, excited to be here, full of energy, and can take rejection. These people tend to work well, even if they don’t have a lot of professional experience.

Make them understand what they need to do to get ahead

One of the most persistent myths about Millennials is that they are more prone to job hopping than previous generations. I thoroughly debunked said myth in my previous post, but that doesn’t mean your business shouldn’t do whatever it can to reduce employee turnover. It’s critical to define the career path of new hires – make them understand what could be in their future and what they need to do to get ahead. Managers should provide a professional development path as soon as a new employee comes onboard.

At ProntoForms, new sales development staff are told that within a year, they can become account managers. They also have the option of exploring other avenues within the company. If they’re more tech-oriented, they can work toward becoming an implementation specialist. I got a similar talk when I started in marketing. I was told that some day, I may be more than just a lowly peon of a marketing writer. But that would mean that our blog posts will have fewer snarky asides, so your loss.

Foster a cohort mentality

Right off the bat, new hires in sales development are teamed up with account managers, who help them manage their leads. Right away, there’s collaboration. New hires are also mentored by training captains. As soon as someone comes aboard, they already feel like they are part of a team.

Fostering a cohort mentality goes beyond just teaching them the ropes. It also means letting them contribute. Sales development recruits with creativity in mind. They actively seek people who will generate new ideas. Members of the team are even encouraged to make changes to the sales development playbook. In general, it helps to emphasize that new hires are working with you and not for you.

Build a creative and positive workplace

Make the onboarding a fun experience. Be informative and to the point, but use humor. Add some memes to your new hire handbook. Staff parties help. Casual clothing lets us express ourselves. I love the fact that it’s OK to wear a T-shirt with the Jaws poster on it. One might say it’s Jawesome.

There’s often a stigma attached to this kind of work environment. You’re labelled a “creative,” which gets a bad rep in some circles. People assume that because you have a ping-pong table, all you do is play ping-pong all day. But this kind of environment fosters creativity – a key trait that drives success for Millennials. Just combine creativity with process and structure, and you’ve built an ideal business environment that people will want to be part of.

The above pearls of wisdom aren’t exactly novel. And they’re not reserved specifically for snagging Millennials. These are best practices that can be applied to an array of demographics. Everyone wants to be given a chance at a meaningful career, regardless of their background. Everyone wants to feel like they are part of a team. Not everyone wants to work at Stratton Oakmont. Fair enough. To each his own. Just remember that Millennials aren’t some new species – well, not entirely, anyway.

Mitch Dupuis contributed to this blog post.

TrueContext Editorial Team

– on