The Winston Employee Benefits Blog

Benefits for Millennials: What Every Employer Needs to Know

Posted by Colin Bradley on Tue, May 27, 2014 

According to a recent study by Bentley University, almost 70 percent of corporate recruiters say it’s difficult for their organizations to manage millennials. The millennial generation is generally identified as those born between the early 1980s and early 2000s, and as with any new generation that comes into the workforce, employers are examining how they manage and communicate with these workers in order to get the most out of their talent.

Even benefits communication tactics should be examined when it comes to millennials. Knowing the general traits of this generation -- they’re interested in customized options, they’re connected, they blur the line between work time and private time -- can help you tailor a benefits communication strategy just for them.

Keep these tips in mind to effectively reach millennial employees:

Focus on the here and now

Young people generally don’t spend a lot of time planning for the far-off future, and millennials are no exception, says Todd Cherches, CEO and co-founder of BigBlueGumball, a management and leadership development firm. The future, to them, is pretty much the next 6 to 12 months, Cherches says.

So, trying to sell them on benefits with a longer time horizon than 6-12 months isn’t valuable or appealing for millennials, and generally ineffective as a talent acquisition, retention, or engagement strategy, he says.

Millennials aren’t likely to be around to vest in long-term incentives such as 401(k) plans and equity ownership, Cherches says, adding that those kinds of benefits are more aimed at baby boomers and Gen Xers. Instead, Cherches recommends focusing on benefits that have more immediate impacts: “a great work environment and innovative culture, social networking and developmental opportunities, freedom and flexibility, and access to cutting-edge technology,” Cherches says.

Update often

Millennials are known for being connected, and are open to regular updates, says Lynn Berger, a career counselor. “Since millennials are constantly connected, you need to send them messages repeatedly reminding them to enroll in the benefit package and explain to them concisely what everything means,” she says.

Educate them

Millennials like to be informed, and they like to customize their options -- so show them how they can do so with their benefits. When communicating with them about benefits options, highlight the ways they can make the plans their own. “If possible, include personal stories and humor,” Berger says -- millennials are comfortable with less formality in the workplace. Hold in-person meetings that explain the benefits packages, or offer webinars and Skype sessions to get everyone informed, Berger says.

Don’t write them off

Millennials are sometimes stereotyped as lazy and not serious, but it’s important to remember that those are just stereotypes. “Millennials are not the slackers they are often portrayed to be,” Cherches says. “They want to succeed; it's just that they need to be shown that they are being set up for success now.” Help them succeed at your organization by ensuring that the benefits communication they receive is tailored just for them -- and shows them how to put a package together that works best for their needs.

http://www.winstonbenefits.com/The-Employee-Benefits-Blog/bid/198079/Benefits-Communication-for-Millennials-What-Every-Employer-Needs-to-Know

I really loved my job.

And then my boss walked in one day and informed me that I was being laid off.

That was way back in January 2010...though it's as fresh in my mind as if it happened yesterday. There’s a lot more to the story than that, but it’s what happened immediately after that that I want to talk about.

Upon receiving the news that day, I felt confused, disoriented, shocked, lost. It was around 10:00am on a Wednesday morning, and after going to the same office every day for the past three years, I didn’t know what I was supposed to do with the rest of my day. Or my week. Or my life. I guess I was just supposed to go home. But the reality hadn’t really sunk in yet, and I wasn’t quite ready to face my wife with the news.

So I left the office and meandered aimlessly up Broadway with no specific destination in mind. Before I realized it, maybe an hour or two, and 50 blocks, later I somehow ended up at 81st Street and Central Park West, right in front of the American Museum of Natural History. So I went in and just wandered around Africa and Asia for a while, then the Planetarium, before settling under the big Blue Whale.

It Starts with Perspective
But as I was leaving, as I took one last look up at a big dinosaur, something strange happened: a feeling of calm came over me. I gained a sudden sense of perspective that made the layoff seem as though it was not the worst thing in the world, and that is was time for the next phase of my career to begin. So I left the museum rejuvenated and recharged, with a clear head, a fresh perspective, and a renewed feeling of energy. And confidence – from the Latin for “with trust or faith” – that everything was going to be alright.

When you lose your job, or fail at a task, or even when you’re a freelancer out there all on your own, it’s so easy to lose your confidence. Without the support network of colleagues or the guidance of a boss, and other feedback mechanisms, it’s common to have feelings of self-doubt, vulnerability, loneliness, and fear. But confidence is so important that we need to do whatever it takes to get it back, because it’s hard to accomplish anything without it. As Henry Ford said: “If you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right.”

I’ve learned from experience over the years that confidence is often the key differentiator between those who succeed and those who don’t. Earlier in my career I learned the hard way that even though I possessed the knowledge and intelligence and experience, I lost out on a number of promotion opportunities simply because I lacked confidence. And it showed.

How to Get Your Groove Back
While there are a lot of different definitions of confidence, I like a simple one by Harvard professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter who defined it simply as “the expectation of a positive outcome.”

So what can you do to regain or maintain your confidence and increase your odds of a “positive outcome?” Here are five quick tips to keep in mind:

1. Build on your past successes and “keep your eyes on the prize.” Stay focused on your ultimate goal. Be ready, willing, and able to bounce back from adversity and set-backs when – not if – they happen. Resilience is key.

2. Leverage your strengths. Don’t dwell on your weaknesses or limitations. Be self-aware about — and make others aware of — what you have to offer.

3. Make everything a learning opportunity. Einstein said: “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” Be ready and willing to fail, learn, and move forward.

4. Seek out feedback and create a support network. Build your own personal Board of Advisors. Appreciate that feedback is a gift.

5. “Act as if.” Behave as you believe, and your belief will eventually become reality.

The Three Types of Confidence
Lastly, self-confidence is just one of what I call “The Three Types of Confidence”:

1. Self-Confidence: your belief in yourself.

2. Other-Confidence: your ability to make others feel confident in you (i.e., in your ability and in your potential to succeed).

3. Leader-Confidence: your ability to make others feel confident in themselves (and in their ability and potential to succeed).

Those who are most successful possess and exhibit all three types. But it all starts with Self-Confidence. It’s hard to instill confidence in others when we don’t feel confident in ourselves. It’s kind of like the airplane instructions where they tell you that in case of emergency you need to put your oxygen mask on first, before you can help others.

And keep it in mind that confidence is not a straight arrow, but a roller coaster. Even the most confident people experience nervousness and self-doubt at various times. Especially when pushing themselves beyond their comfort zone. The key to success is the ability to realize it and move past it.

Dos and Don’ts
So, finally, how can you be, act, and appear more confident, all while instilling confidence in others? Let’s start with a few “Don’ts”:

• Do pay a visit to the American Museum of Natural History.  Be sure to tell the brontosaurus that Todd said, “Hi, and thanks again!”

For more inspirational quotes on boosting your confidence, click here.

I am proud to report that I am now officially a "thought leader"!

Please see my guest post on leadership expert Mike Figliuolo's excellent thoughtLEADERS blog.

(Mike is the author of one of my new favorite leadership books, "One Piece of Paper.")

Today’s guest post is by Todd Cherches, the CEO of BigBlueGumball.

Here’s Todd…

There’s an old maxim about not answering a question with a question, so I’m not gonna do that. I’m gonna answer a question with TEN questions!

And the question is: How can you become a more “self-aware” leader?

As one of the keys to being an effective leader is self-awareness, here are 10 powerful, thought-provoking, and challenging questions you need to think about – and be ready, willing and able to answer – if you truly want to be a more reflective – and effective – leader:

*To read the full post, please click here for Part 1, and here for Part 2 !