The priority of the diverse, digitally savvy, and determined-to-be-heard members of the millennial generation and the younger Gen Z as they choose where to work can be summed up in one word: impact.
“I hear that word echoed in many, many appointments,” says Michelle Hopping, director of the MBA career management office at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. Students there have been placed in summer internships at companies like Amazon, Kraft Heinz, and Procter & Gamble. They evaluate employers, she says, in a way that gives “impact” dual meaning: “Am I actually seeing the result of my work making an impact on the company? And is the company making an impact on the world in a positive way?”
Understanding what their day-to-day impact might be helps job seekers understand how their career will progress over time, something that’s hugely important for a generation that expects to change jobs multiple times.
Their decision-making process isn’t only if the company itself is appealing. They also ask, Hopping says, “How does this offer affect my next step in two, four, six years from now?” And young people want to work for a company that acknowledges that likelihood as well as has corporate values that align with the employee’s own.
This doesn’t mean that millennials and recent graduates expect companies to have purely charitable missions, says Julie Samuels, executive director of Tech:NYC, an organization of technology leaders whose members include corporate giants like Citi, Google, and eBay, as well as mid-sized companies and startups. Tech:NYC’s mission involves promoting the interests of the tech industry and recruiting and retaining talent in New York City.
What job seekers do want is a “culture of engaging in politics or policy debates, or a real culture of volunteerism,” Samuels says. That might mean a company that advocates for political issues affecting its particular industry, one that speaks out about legislation involving trans rights, or a for-profit company like Warby Parker that makes its charitable works a big part of its overall strategy. (Samuels and her team are based in New York’s WeWork Empire State.)
Samuels and Hopping’s observations align closely with Deloitte’s recently released 2018 Millennial Survey. Talking to millennials and Gen Z youth worldwide, they survey found that when members of those two groups find a company whose motivations and ethics align with their own, they perceive that those companies are “more successful, have more stimulating work environments and do a better job of developing talent.”
This broad view younger generations take on the workforce means that they’re open to a wide variety of companies, Wharton’s Hopping says, and it’s up to the companies to demonstrate what their culture is. Even companies whose longevity and size lend them prestige have to recognize the changing criteria students are using to select employers, she says. Her department has made an extra effort to provide companies info on the buzz about them on campus. “You need to be aware of in the student perception of your industry and how can we coach you to measure up,” she says.
Companies that do well in recruiting provide students with specific information and anecdotes of how their work will impact the company and what it’s like to work there.
“They know quickly if it’s not true!” Hopping says, so honesty is key. “The big firms do a great job of that. ‘If you join our large consulting firm, you’re growing your network, you’ll be an alum of our firm.’ They’re open to acknowledging you won’t be here forever, and that’s okay,” she says.
A clearly defined mission
Because younger generations are especially open to joining startups or smaller, quickly growing companies, the ways those companies impart information about their culture to potential or new employees can be particularly enlightening.
Sweetgreen, the Los Angeles-based fresh-ingredient restaurant chain, regularly has a Sweetgreen employee, often outside of the department being interviewed for, participate in the interview for the specific purpose of answering questions and providing information about the culture and how the company functions, co-founder Nathaniel Ru, 33, says.
Ru says the company also tries to provide prospective employees with concrete examples of what being part of the Sweetgreen family means. He mentions employees helping a small business owner in East Los Angeles refurbish and stock her store or donating to a rainy day fund that financially supports restaurant workers in unexpected situations, like a last-minute flight to a funeral.
“A lot of people we hire at Sweetgreen have never been part of the food space or restaurant world,” Ru says, and he attributes that in part to employees wanting to be part of a company with a clearly defined mission.
Luggage company Away has grown from a team of four to more than 150 in just over two years, says 30-year-old co-founder Steph Korey. Despite the rapid growth, they’ve made an effort to maintain and encourage open communication. Away employees are encouraged to comment via Slack on key business decisions and to speak up at weekly workshops; one discussion earlier this month focused on benefits and perks employees would like as the company grows. “We’ll use that feedback to inform what opportunities to prioritize in 2019,” Korey says.
Perks like modern design, open floor plans, and comfortable furnishings are often credited to tech world. But they’ve become common in all industries. Tech:NYC’s Samuels recently visited a very traditional finance company whose offices were what one would expect of that rarefied world—no expense spared, with polished dark wood everywhere. She learned, however, that the firm is planning a move to a more industrial neighborhood with offices that call to mind the creative, playful energy of Google.
Students aren’t specifically listing their preferred decor as criteria for jobs, Wharton’s Hopping says, “but they’re evaluating the company culture based on how the space or vibe comes across.”
MBA students have indicated that a company’s space gives them a feel for the level of transparency at the company, a value high on the millennial wish list. “Does the set-up affect the level of camaraderie or collegiality? Or does it signal things like privacy or lack of teamwork?”
Lyn Lewis, the 33-year-old CEO of the lingerie company Journelle, has come to appreciate the importance to employees of having a beautiful space and and a lively, collaborative environment. The Journelle office is open space with plush carpet, long white work tables, and gold-accented lighting fixtures similar to those in their brick-and-mortar stores.
Lewis, who started her career in traditional finance and consulting firms, was surprised at first to learn how much emphasis employees put on office aesthetics and things like the Wednesday group breakfast order. But she’s now convinced that they truly impact employees’ overall satisfaction with their job.
“People care, and I get it,” Lewis says. “Many people think of their work as an extension of their family.”