10,000 baby boomers retire every day. Replacing those loyal team members is the always moving “Millennial Shark.”
It can take two years for a new employee to become fully productive. Millennials change jobs every 2.5 years on average. That means you only have each role filled with a fully productive person 36 months every decade. Without proactive action, the chances that your organization will ever have every role filled with a productive employee are astronomically low. The math is simple. Keeping millennial employees on your team will be the only way to survive in the post-boomer economy.
Millennial Shark is a digital native. He has never known a world without the internet; doesn’t remember pagers—let alone payphones. Knowledge has always been available at a click. They have experienced very little waiting in their lives and aren’t going to develop the patience for it now. They don’t have time for seniority politics. When they feel like they have stalled, they move to another company. Millennial Shark, like his aquatic namesake, has to keep moving to survive, right? Not necessarily but keeping the shark in your pool is going to take some work.
Millennials will move if they feel like they have stalled, but there is a way to keep them on your team. Millennials live in a world that is constantly changing. They came of age during the great recession. They know that the next downturn can happen at any time with no warning. Staying in one role, at one position, for too long means they are not getting the knowledge and experience their peers are getting elsewhere… They aren’t getting that knowledge and experience unless you proactively give it to them.
To keep millennials on your team you have to actively develop their skills and build a culture of learning in your organization. You have to make them feel like they are moving while they are staying in the same place. A corporate university is the most effective way to do that. The best part? Establishing a corporate university program will help your organization achieve its goals while also helping your millennial employees achieve theirs. You are creating better-equipped employees with a common culture and deep knowledge of your organization and strategy while making sure they are gaining the knowledge they need to remain engaged.
Creating a corporate university is not a small endeavor but it is worthwhile. Can you afford to have a less than 100% productive company?