The Rt. Hon. David Blunkett MP shared his views on the millennial generation at a GTI Breakfast News event on 5 March.
The Labour politician highlighted how millennials are interested in social responsibility, reputation and the purpose of potential recruiters. Feeling good about themselves at work, he said, would drive millennial workers to be more productive, creative and effective. For recruiters, it’s about understanding what young people want and offering advice, listening and mentoring to show the individual’s value to the organisation.
Recruiters must also be sensitive to the issues valued by this generation, as found by NUS research, Mr Blunkett said. These could be where they live, their daily commute, their working environment and the desire to be empowered and involved.
The GTI event, which has been running for eight years, takes place five times a year, in London. The 200-strong audience tends to consist of senior recruiters, agency professionals and university careers advisers. Attendees of the March edition also enjoyed a presentation from Kate Robertson, Global President of Havas Worldwide and co-founder of One Young World.
Millennials’ values and preferences are of major concern for recruiters as more and more come into the workforce. From engaging Generation Y at the hiring stage to satisfying their drives in the work environment, all against a backdrop of an increasingly digitised and globalised world, where the nature and processes of work are in flux, it’s a consideration that all HR departments should be considering, if they are not already.
Tom Phelan is an assistant editor at HRreview. Prior to this position, Tom was a staff writer at ITProPortal, where he travelled the globe in pursuit of the latest tech developments. He also writes for a variety of music blogs.
