What Millenials Want Most Will Surprise You

Discover the top factor that millennials are seeking from potential employers, and how this insight is shaping businesses' strategies for attracting and retaining talent. Explore how personal development is prioritized over salary and reputation and the implications of this trend on the global workforce.

Key Insights

By 2020, millennials will constitute the largest segment of the global workforce, leading companies to pay close attention to their preferences and expectations.
A PwC study indicated that personal development is the most important factor for millennials when considering potential employers, outweighing rate of pay and the organization's reputation.
A significant 65% of respondents cited personal development as the primary influence in their decision to accept a job, underlining the importance of ongoing learning and growth opportunities in the workplace.
However, a disconnect exists as only 26% of millennials feel that their current employers are invested in their professional development, signaling an opportunity for organizations to better support their learning objectives.
Interestingly, 72% of millennials believe that their formal education did not sufficiently prepare them for the workforce, further emphasizing the need for continued learning and development in their professional lives.
Building a company culture that supports the learning and development goals of employees is becoming increasingly critical in attracting and retaining top young talent.

Attracting and retaining top millennial talent is key for employers, but what do millennials want most from a potential employer? The answer may surprise you--find out what it is and how companies are taking note.

Millennials matter. By 2020, they’ll represent the largest segment of the global workforce. They’re set apart not just for their use of technology, but for deeply held views on how they like to work and what they expect from potential employers. And companies are taking note as they seek, and often struggle, to successfully attract, development and retain top young talent.

So what do millennials want most from potential employers? According to a comprehensive study on the topic by PwC, the answer is clear: personal development.

Money certainly isn’t everything, with 65% of respondents citing Personal Development as the most important factor influencing their decision to accept a position. This is more than 300% greater than the Rate of Pay/Starting Salary and 80% higher than the reputation of the organization. You can read the full PwC “Millenials at Work” report here.

PwC: Millennials at Work Survey, 2014.

And it’s no wonder that millennials are looking towards their employers for training. According to a recently study by EdAssist and Bright Horizons, 72% of millennials feel that their schooling did not effectively prepare them for the workforce (only 20% of 18-23 year-olds feel confident that the formal education they received has prepared them for their job). On top of this, only 26% feel that their employers are actually invested in their professional development.

So, with millennials citing professional development as their top criteria in choosing where to work, but ultimately feeling that their employers are failing on properly investing in it, a clear disconnect and opportunity exists. For companies looking to attract and retain top young talent, it’s never been more important to build a culture that supports the full breadth of an individuals’ learning goals.

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