What benefits millennials want

A growing part of workforce management is tailoring services to appeal to millennials. These are people between the ages of 18 and 32. As young professionals begin to fill more and more jobs, HR departments have had to find ways to attract these workers to fill out their ranks. 

Enterprises are starting to reconfigure their employee benefits programs to satisfy millennials. Of course, achieving that end is impossible without understanding what these potential contributors want. The following is a look at some of the most popular perks among millennials. 

Flexible scheduling
Many young professionals don't want to work the traditional 9-to-5 workday. To many millennials, sitting in an office for eight hours every day feels like a waste of time and restrictive. While businesses may want their contributors to work the normal 40 hours per week, it might be difficult to convince youths that this is the optimal approach.

Millennials are used to having freedom and flexibility when it comes to almost everything they do. This means that these workers likely prefer loose work hours to a rigid schedule. For HR departments, this means that they need to develop an efficient time and attendance tracking system to keep tabs on their employees' movements and productivity. By implementing an system for oversight, management can ensure that staff members are coming in and handling their responsibilities even if they don't use normal operating hours. 

Out of office
For some millennials, flexible work hours aren't enough, as they also want to choose the location in which they work. According to the Brazen Careerist, many young workers want to telecommute. The news source explains this is partially because they want to know that their employers trust them enough to complete their projects without constant oversight. 

Allowing remote work is somewhat simple, as employers only have to implement collaborative technologies like video conferencing tools and cloud storage systems to offer the benefit to the staff. HR departments should consider putting a limit on the number of days employees can work from home so that no one can abuse the privilege. 

Time to Volunteer
According to the Pew Research Center, volunteering is the third highest priority to millennials. Behind being a good parent and having a successful marriage, the generation wants to donate its time in service to others. Organizations that address this altruism and contribute by allowing individuals to volunteer an allotted amount of time per quarter can satisfy high-energy millennials. Also, by creating an in-house charity directed by HR, employers can reinforce multi-generational team building. Some organizations also go beyond donating time, they also match their employees' contributions.