Most millennials are satisfied with their jobs, but not their career paths

Dive Brief:

Most of the 5,000 millennials are satisfied with their jobs, according to a new study by LaSalle Network, a staffing, recruiting and culture firm. In general, 65% said they're "satisfied" or "very satisfied" in their current jobs. Millennials also said they're generally satisfied with their benefits (62%) and company culture (63%). But less than half said they were pleased with their career path (45%) and training and development programs (49%) at their current company.
The survey cited the top hiring challenges employers face. More than 60% said it's difficult or very difficult to find skilled workers. Slightly less than half said the same about meeting compensation requirements, and about the same amount have struggled to identify diverse candidates. Employers also said finding candidates with the right skills proved a challenge, with 49% reaching to find candidates with hard skills and 51% experiencing difficulty in looking for employees with soft skills.
On hiring trends, 74% of employers said they plan to increase staffing, with 67% stating they plan to add from one to 50 jobs. Technology, sales and accounting and finance make up the top three areas for additional hires. More than 60% of employers plan to raise wages in 2019, with 70% saying increases will range from 0.5% to 3%.

Dive Insight:

The good news from this survey is that most millennials are satisfied with their current jobs and benefits; the more troubling news is that career advancement and training and development programs at their organizations fall short of their expectations. Without a sense of where they are headed career-wise, employees will consider looking elsewhere for opportunities.

An O.C. Tanner report released in April found that this generation's members often switch jobs when they feel underutilized. To attract and keep millennials onboard, O.C. Tanner recommended that companies recognize their contributions, take an interest in their overall wellbeing, establish communication pipelines with leadership and give them opportunities to make a difference.

Of course, employers can apply this advice to all age groups of employees. While most, if not all, employees benefit from a fair-paying job, meaningful work, job flexibility and recognition from a job well done, differences among generations emerged in some studies. For example, a FlexJobs survey released in September showed that millennials are more likely to consider changing jobs for more flexible work options than older workers, even though flexibility appeals to all generations of employees.

Millennials are particularly invested in corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs at work as well. Employers with strong CSR initiatives offering volunteer opportunities and support for social causes may beat their competition as they work to recruit millennials in this tight labor market.