Businesses and companies, big or small, typically have a diverse talent pool. This means that when working, it is likely that you will be working with people who are older and more experienced, but also those who are younger and have just graduated.
Starting a new career and profession at a young age can be daunting and challenging.
So, employers must address this by catering, managing, and motivating younger employees within the company so that they too can do well. Continue to read on to learn about the ways in which you can cater and care for younger employees.
1. Listen
One of the first things that you must do is listen. The voices of younger generations are often unique and different from those of older generations.
So, if you want to include them and make them feel valued in the workplace, it is important that you listen to their opinions, insights, and perspectives. Listening to your employees is vital for a number of other reasons too:
- Listening helps to reduce employee turnover rate – if employees feel unheard and undervalued, it is more likely that they will not enjoy working for the company in question and may leave.
- So, if you want to avoid losing good employees, you must always listen to them and their ideas. Importantly, make sure that listening is not superficial. If employees have good suggestions, ensure that their ideas actually come to fruition so that they can see that change is being made.
- Listening shows employees that you care – if the company reaches out and asks for the opinions of younger employees, they are more likely to recognize the caring nature of the company.
2. Support their professional development
Whatever their professional goals are, it is important that you support younger employees to help them achieve them. For a number of professions, further training and education are often required.
If this applies to your business sector and industry, be sure to equip the younger generations with the necessary tools to succeed. After all, if they do well and feel supported by you, there are high chances that the skills they have learned will eventually benefit the company.
There are a number of ways to support young employees in their professional development and in the process of developing their skills. For instance, you could offer peer support and give them a mentor – the mentor being someone who is well experienced and can help answer their questions.
Another way to help young employees is to support them financially. Education often comes with a large price tag, and if they are just starting in their professional careers, it is unlikely that they will have the financial resources to fund further education all by themselves.
If this is the case, then you could support and offer a tuition reimbursement program, which will have a massive positive impact on younger employees.
3. Identify their strengths and weaknesses
Another helpful and invaluable thing that you can do for your young employees is to help them identify their strengths and weaknesses. Employees, especially those who are young, need to identify and be aware of their strengths and weaknesses for a number of reasons.
Knowing and being aware of your strengths is advantageous as you can use them for your personal benefit and the benefit of the company.
So, if you recognize that an employee, for example, works super well in a team environment or perhaps that they are very creative, helping them identify this is important as this helps them develop.
Furthermore, this information can guide them on where best to position and situate themselves in the workforce. Identifying weaknesses is equally important, as by doing so, they can actively work on them and improve.
4. Provide opportunities to socialize
Younger employees will unlikely be connected to a wide network of people. So, to help them network and gain connection, be sure to host and organize a range of social events so that they can find their place in the company. Perhaps they like football, baking or arts.
Whatever their interests, it is important to incorporate them when planning social events since the events are supposed to support and be catered to them.
Social events are also important because they give younger employees the chance to meet others who are in a similar age range as them and make friends.
This is important because if employees form friendships with colleagues, working will most likely be a pleasant experience.
Also, friendship implies trust, and colleagues who trust and support each other will work well and deliver great business results.
5. Have a fun break room
Another great way to take care of younger employees is to have a fun break room with lots of cool and exciting activities and games to play.
By doing so, employees can enjoy their well-needed break in a way that suits them. Consider having board games, bright and colorful designs, and natural light to foster great mental wellbeing and engage their brains actively. Your young employees, and older ones too, need to be valued, so show them that you care.
Add Comment