Employee Relocation and Millennials

Creating a Millennial-Friendly Culture with Exciting Relocation Work Opportunities
Traditionally, employees willing to relocate were either experienced workers looking to move up in the rankings or new hires. The increase in millennials in the workforce is causing a shift in Canadian companies.
Millennials are people born between the years 1980 and 2000. Generally, this segment of worker is highly educated and tech savvy.
The Canadian business world is quickly becoming a millennial market. It’s estimated that 60 percent of new jobs will require the skills held by millennial workers (an estimated 20 percent of today’s workforce). It’s important to create a work environment that appeals to the millennial worker.
This isn’t an uncommon trend in the business world. Workplaces have needed to adapt to newer generations of workers in the past. Generation X, baby boomers, and even traditionalist workers all came with their unique characteristics in the past. Canada’s millennial worker is no different.
Unlike their baby boomer counterparts; millennial workers are accustomed to moving between companies to better aid in their professional goals. The ability to learn and to progress through the ranks quickly are both important elements of career success. Past generations valued the notion of working for one company for their entire career; this is of lesser importance for today’s younger employees.
Typically, millennial workers prefer to work in urban regions and value a strong balance of work and personal time. Creating a workplace culture that echoes these same values could pay dividends for a company’s growth and success. If possible, offer employees a flexible working schedule.
Many millennials are single and renters; this allows them the ability to relocate with minimal disruption to their lives. Relocation can open the door for some really exciting opportunities for both companies and employees. A recent study conducted by Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand found that 70 percent of millennials want or expect an overseas assignment at some point in their careers. With an estimated 1.8 billion millennials taking up 50 percent of the world’s jobs in 2020 it’s important for companies to make their employee relocation plans attractive today.
It’s important to empower millennial workers during employee relocation. It’s important to provide them with both strong financial and support resources during the process. Employees should look at the relocation as an opportunity for both professional and personal growth.
Another important trait is a millennial worker’s need to invest in something bigger. A recent Forbes article found that 64 percent of millennials want to leave their footprint on the world and make it a better place. Incorporating a charitable cause or a community outreach element to a relocation opportunity can make it more appealing.
Technology is a core component of a millennial worker’s day-to-day life and it will play an important part of their relocation. Most millennials prefer to text as opposed to email and they are very comfortable communicating via Skype. They want the ability to view information related to their move at all times. This generation expects transparency and open lines of communication.
Younger workers will typically want to take more ownership in their relocation than other groups. They will use their experience with technology to instantly view and inquire about future homes. Integrating mobile technology is another important factor. Giving employees the ability to track everything from budgets to moving trucks from their mobile devices will make the relocation process less stressful.
It’s impossible to put all workers of a particular age group into a single bucket. Every relocation is unique and creating a personalized experience for each worker is extremely important. Creating a culture that appeals to millennial workers and offers attractive mobility work opportunities will help your company succeed today and tomorrow.