There has been considerable coverage of the aging federal workforce and the desire to attract millennials (people born from 1980-1994) to a career in public service.
This generation is said to [Tweet "Millennials value a feeling of knowing the work they are doing is meaningful and making an impact."]value a feeling of knowing that the work they are doing is meaningful and is making an impact on the community or world at large. With this in mind, public service jobs seem tailor made for these eager and idealistic workers of the future. Why then, is the government struggling to recruit them? Much of it comes down to a culture change in how the government does business. From reporting across the web on this topic, we've pulled out what we feel are three of the most critical areas for change and focus.
- Meaningful work - Entry level positions bring with them a fair share of grunt work. Millennials may complain about this work (didn't we all?), but they are not opposed to it as long as they see why they have to do it. How is the (seemingly) tedious work impacting the overall mission? How are people higher up in the organization using the materials they are creating? Do they get credit and visibility for the role they played? These industrious workers can spot busy work for busy work sake a mile away and will not tolerate being asked to do it.
- Outdated Technology - A generation that grew up with Internet access in the home and had access to the latest technologies in college are not interested in taking a job that will require them to work with systems that are older than their parent's smart phone.
- No Gold Watches - The government has to drop the expectation that people will stay in the same role for 10+ years. This generation that is used to dynamic content and instant gratification wants to move around and experience new things. The government needs to make it easier for employees to do that within the government. Creating rotation assignments within agencies or even across agencies keeps the knowledge and talent within the government and lowers the costs associated with recruiting, hiring, and training new employees every three-five years.
Another key focus for retaining millennials is clear vision of career advancement. [Tweet "Another key focus for retaining millennials is clear vision of career advancement."]They need to know their career path and are disheartened when they see the path is dependent on others retiring or leaving. If advancement is not possible, investing in them via training and professional development may be one way to build a feeling of value and open them up to new opportunities and experiences. In an upcoming post, we'll talk about how the millennials are impacting the conference and training industries.
Image Credit: Robert Churchill | Thinkstock
