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 young can be daunting and challenging.
So, employers must address this by catering, managing, and motivating younger employees within the company so they can do well. Continue to read on to learn how you can cater to 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, to include them and make them feel valued in the workplace, you must listen to their opinions, insights, and perspectives. Listening to your employees is vital for several other reasons too:
- Listening helps to reduce the 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, 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 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, you must support younger employees to help them achieve them; further training and education are often required for several professions.
If this applies to your business sector and industry, equip the younger generations with the necessary tools to succeed. After all, if they do well and feel supported by you, there is a high chance that the skills they have learned will eventually benefit the company.
There are several ways to support young employees in their professional development and 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. 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, 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 you can do for your young employees is to help them identify their strengths and weaknesses. Employees, especially those young, need to identify and be aware of their strengths and weaknesses for several reasons.
Knowing and being aware of your strengths is advantageous as you can use them for your and the company's benefit.
So, if you recognize that an employee, for example, works super well in a team environment or perhaps is very creative, helping them identify this is important as it helps them develop.
Furthermore, this information can guide them on where to position and situate themselves in the workforce. Identifying weaknesses is equally important; 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 connections, 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 a chance to meet others who are in a similar age range as them and make friends.
This is important because working will most likely be a pleasant experience if employees form friendships with colleagues.
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 many cool and exciting activities and games.
By doing so, employees can enjoy their well-needed break in a way that suits them. Consider having board games, bright and colourful designs, and natural light to foster great mental well-being and engage their brains actively. Your young and older employees also need to be valued, so show them that you care.
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