The search for talent is an on-going battle, and for startups and small businesses, it’s an all out war. With graduation around the corner, the competition for young, fresh-minded talent – millennials – is ramping up. Generation Y is innately attracted to a tech-savvy workplace culture, executed seamlessly with the latest office gadgets – from tablets to Google Glass to even a Human Resources portal. So what’s the secret to not only enticing, but keeping, these workers around? It’s all about engagement.
The problem
The traditional, paper-based HR experience is often time-consuming and disjointed. Employees are often bounced around between human resources, managers and external advisors, or brokers. Millennials, who have grown up with technology, can recognize the inefficiencies and don’t have the time or attention span for such lengthy processes. They don’t want to mess with clunky portals or outdated “benefits booklets,” so they lack an understanding of the value and opportunities their benefits programs offer.
The solution
New software is addressing these issues by helping HR move faster and in real time, much like the technology that Generation Y interacts with in their own personal lives. The software and employee interfaces are becoming increasingly intuitive in their design. These programs use data and analytics to better understand their audience and provide a more engaging experience. They are also personalized, automated and use the cloud to manage data and encourage autonomy. Tech-enabled HR processes demonstrate a thorough understanding of employee communication needs, and self-service HR platforms allow for immediate feedback and engagement for this new generation of employees.
The technology
Cloud-based software platforms enable a reduction of paper form completion that allows the employer to streamline the on-boarding experience for employees. For example, some employers use tablets and USBs, preloaded will all benefits enrollment applications and materials, to make the enrollment process simple and engaging for new hires.
Additionally, 35 percent of adult millennials own a tablet, and one-third of millennial tablet owners regularly use them at work, according to research from MediaPost. As young talent continues to rely more heavily on their mobile devices to access work-related content, well-designed mobile-friendly employee portals and benefits self-service platforms that provide an engaging user experience and mimic consumer technology will become essential to workforce productivity. Businesses seeking to engage millennial workers should ensure their HR self-service platforms are mobile optimized.
These self-service platforms should also maintain multichannel communication strategies that utilize branded, automated and personalized benefits enrollment messages based on new hire demographics. For example, there are technologies that can identify employee status updates such as address changes, new job titles, or family changes. They can then automatically generate personalized messages to offer congratulations, alert employees to required actions, and aid in benefits selection.
An example of a company that has capitalized on technology to engage a younger workforce is bwin.party Digital Entertainment. Probably better known for its brands which include bwin, PartyPoker and Foxy Bingo, bwin.party is the world’s largest listed online gaming company and has a relatively young (average age is 32) and extraordinarily IT-literate workforce. The company recently updated their HR technology to a cloud-based benefits management platform to automate processes and demonstrate the value of benefits packages to the staff.
Their communications program leading up to benefits open enrollment included a viral video campaign, similar to those commonly shared on social media, and the technology maximized value to employees by offering choice, innovation and flexibility. The result? Employee login rates for enrollment were as high as 98 percent in some locations.
The bottom line
Software is enabling HR to drive value from their reward spend, and demonstrate that value to tech savvy employees, using features like personalized communication, mobile optimization and a consumerized approach to design. HR departments can now deliver an engaging experience that provides employees with a clear understanding of the benefits available to them and empowers them to make informed benefit decisions. Most importantly, giving millennials the tools and technologies they need to be successful will help foster a productive, creative, and efficient workforce.