What Millennials Want

Federal human resources professionals have long contended that the government will be challenged by the younger generation's unwillingness to stay put at a job. Labor Department figures, which estimate that millennials will hold an average of 10 jobs before they turn 38, have backed up this belief.

But a recent survey by Toronto-based HR consultant I Love Rewards and StudentAwards.com found that millennials have a strong desire to grow their career with their employer. When asked how long they expect to stay with their current employer, for example, the average response was 8.9 years. Career development also ranked third, after salary and challenging work environment, as an important factor for millennials considering where to work.

The survey, conducted online in February with 1,033 Canadian college students, also found that millennials are bypassing job search sites and going straight to the Web sites of companies they want to work for. For example, 48.9 percent of respondents said they will apply directly to a company they are interested in without seeing an advertised position. As a result, the survey suggests that human resources professionals should begin looking at themselves as marketers and realize the importance of online employer branding.

The lesson for federal agencies is that millennials may very well want to stay put in their jobs, and the key will be for agency leaders to beef up retention efforts to keep the younger workforce satisfied and engaged. But will millennials begin to bypass Web sites like USAJobs.gov and head straight to the Web sites of agencies they want to work for? What does this mean for federal agencies, many of which still are struggling to fix a hiring process that has been broken for decades?