Do you ever wait until you see your friends face-to-face to tell them a joke, gossip or something really important? Not often I bet, if you’re like me you would just whatsap them or tag them in a stupid meme on facebook instead.
We live in an extremely impatient world where we want access to information NOW and do things NOW. Especially millennials. Not only are we impatient but we have also always had milestones to achieve which has somewhat dictated our routine and lifestyle; finish GSCE’s(tick), finish A-levels (tick), finish degree (tick), get a job (tick),….and then what?
I believe this directly relates to young professionals’ first job experience; “and then what?”. Granted, some young talent going into their first job have a clear vision of what their second job role will look like. They can take the necessary steps to achieve this (tick). But this is not the case for all. Young talent in their first jobs can exert their passion on their current role, to find themselves 1.5 years (yes, 1.5 years because we want things NOW) later with nothing to (tick) realising they have lost valuable time in taking steps to work towards their next job role/achievement.
This is the critical point in the young talent's life and the organisation's. “Do I look for new challenges elsewhere or could I find something internally…but what could I do here?”
Of course most organisations will want their talent to stay, saving them money on re-hiring and re-training, but has the organisation done enough in the run up to this moment to keep them?
I believe this next level (or “future looking” level) of development planning is missing and it can be developed by recruitment and management working strategically and simultaneously together.
The ultimate position for recruiters is to predict the future workforce needs. This requires input from line managers. But what if when recruiting young talent into their first job roles the recruiter thinks about where this person could fit in the next 2-3 years as well? Also making these future thoughts clear to the candidate, allowing them to believe there is a career here. This should generate higher efforts and passion in the young talent’s working life to secure the next “tick” on their invisible list. As a young professional there is motivation to stay and the question “should I stay or go” will be pushed back by 2-3 years.
This is the idea but how to pull it off? Management play a key role. Young professionals know they are a “hot commodity”, so why stay if they are being told “no” to new ideas and are blind to future prospects? Supportive management can nurture new ideas and creativity. As well as open internal doors and suggest how to go about building the right skills and network for their future role alongside their current role. I hope it’s not just me that thinks the latter sounds far more appealing!
Ultimately, if recruiters are able to provide the next item on the young professionals list, make this clear to the new starter, and ensure an encouraging management team is ready to take the young talent under their wing. The organisation is increasing retention, satisfying those “hot commodities” and recruiters have more time to keep their focus on the more strategic activities and future skill requirements to achieve strategic goals.
