What’s the most important thing you can provide your IT workforce? If your answer involved “competitive salary” and “comprehensive benefits,” that’s understandable — but you’d be wrong. Sure, those elements are on any employees’ list of must-haves, but what they want most is flexibility. In fact, 2016 was a watershed year for workplace flexibility, as workplace flexibility became a more desired employee benefit than healthcare for millennials and “Gen Z,” according to a survey from Future Workplace and Randstad U.S.A.
What does all this mean for organizations trying to lure and retain talent, especially from the younger generations? It’s not about flashy perks, or billion-dollar campuses; it’s about flexibility and the ability to hone communication skills, foster growth and career development, says Dan Schawbel, research director at Future Workplace, an HR executive network and research firm, and author of Promote Yourself: The New Rules for Career Success and Me 2.0: 4 Steps to Building Your Future.
“What all this really tells us is that … millennials and Gen Z are very focused on how to make the workplace better for everyone, regardless of age. The workplace should be flexible and tech-enabled, and should accommodate and embrace all sorts of people, personalities and work styles,” Schawbel says.