Upcoming baby boomer retirements are causing concern among many employers about their ability to adequately staff for the future. In a survey commissioned by Robert Half International, 47 percent of senior executives nationwide pointed to boomer retirements as the most significant workforce trend in the next 10 years. Who will replace these departing employees?

Generation X, workers born roughly between 1965 and 1978, are already starting to take over the reins from the baby boomers, but they are a much smaller workforce pool. And when the full brunt of the boomer retirements is felt in the next decade, the oldest members of Gen X will already have begun contemplating their own retirement.

Anticipating dwindling ranks of skilled and knowledgeable practitioners for the foreseeable future, many accounting firms and corporations — which are already dealing with a shortage of skilled accounting and finance professionals — are particularly eager to step up their recruiting of “Millennial” professionals. Also known as Generation Y, this group consists of more than 80 million individuals born approximately between 1979 and 1999. Many are already out of college and in the business world, while others are still in elementary school. They are the workforce of the future.

Despite the need for companies to woo promising talent from Gen Y, however, many employers are unsure of the best way to attract and retain these workers. This is partly because Millennials are, in many respects, an unknown quantity, since they are only now starting to climb the professional ladder. Also, some hiring managers harbor a number of preconceived — and often negative — notions about Gen Y’s attitude and approach toward work and life.

While casting stereotypes within any demographic can lead to overly simplistic conclusions, researchers have nonetheless identified a set of broad characteristics that distinguish Generation Y from other age groups in the workplace environment. A recent survey of Millennial workers by Robert Half and employment Web site, Yahoo HotJobs, which examined common myths about these individuals, discovered that — despite rumors to the contrary — Gen Y members are quite serious about making their mark in the business world. The survey also revealed that employers may need to take a more proactive approach toward managing Millennials than they may have applied to previous generations. In short, Gen Y professionals have fairly clear ideas about what they want from employers and, if a work situation does not meet their expectations, they are more likely to move on to the next opportunity.

Following are some insights from the Gen Y survey that can help accounting and finance managers better understand what Millennial workers are seeking from their careers in order to maximize this new talent pool’s contributions:

• Show them the path to growth and offer new challenges. Approximately half of all Gen Y members polled in the survey said they expect to spend no more than one to two years “paying their dues” in entry-level jobs. This means most Millennials aren’t going to be satisfied waiting around doing the same old “9 to 5” until they earn the opportunity to take on greater responsibilities. From the day Gen Y workers begin their jobs, employers should make a point to offer diverse and challenging assignments that will stretch their skills, build their confidence and make them feel valued. Pairing Millennials with more seasoned employees in working or mentoring arrangements can yield positive results, since Gen Y workers are eager to learn and mentoring facilitates knowledge transfer. Also consider offering in-house training programs, and encouraging Millennials to attend professional development events and join industry associations.
• Be accessible and communicative. Since many Millennials grew up on technology from e-mail to cell phones and everything in-between, they are accustomed to instant communication. Translated to the work environment, this means Gen Y workers want — and expect — frequent communication with their supervisors. Ideally, they expect a boss with an open-door policy, and would like to receive daily feedback on their performance. Take a cue from this input and don’t wait for the annual review to talk with Millennial employees about where and how they can improve their work. Also, it’s important to note that most Gen Y workers expect a balance when it comes to communication: Too much interaction is as bad as too little. They do not want a micromanager; in fact, according to the survey, that type of boss is considered “a nightmare.”
• Help them achieve work/life balance. It’s no secret that most professionals, regardless of their generation, are eager to achieve a healthy equilibrium between time spent on professional and personal obligations. For Millennial workers, this is a particular priority: Nearly 73 percent of Gen Y professionals surveyed said they are concerned about being able to balance their careers with personal obligations. Therefore, to keep these workers happy, employers should rethink the need for more traditional work schedules, and increasingly embrace flexible arrangements such as telecommuting, job sharing and compressed workweeks.
• Don’t make them wait too long for perks. While it may be a longstanding policy for new employees to wait a certain amount of time (frequently three months) for healthcare coverage or a year or more to invest in your company’s retirement plan, the sooner you can provide benefits to Gen Y workers, the better. The survey revealed that, far from the myth that these professionals focus primarily on living for the moment, they are already concerned about their long-term security, including healthcare and retirement benefits. Respondents cited healthcare coverage, paid vacation, dental care programs and 401(k) programs as the top four most valued employee benefits. Employers should strive to offer competitive benefits, and be up-front and clear about what employees can expect to receive and when. Make a point to provide benefits details through your company’s Web site, literature and recruiting advertising.

In many ways, Millennial employees are the product of those they ultimately will replace: Two generations of workers who have spent decades improving the workplace and the way business gets done. As expectations evolve, employers serious about retaining valued employees today would do well to listen closely to what Millennial workers are saying.

For more information, visit Accountemps.

Accountemps is one of the world’s first and largest temporary staffing services specializing in the placement of accounting, finance and bookkeeping professionals. The company has more than 360 offices throughout North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific region and offers online job search services at www.accountemps.com.