• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year

2

Indeed chief economist says we’re entering an era of ‘great mismatch’ thanks to a generational imbalance of workers

3

Microsoft reports are exposing AI's real cost problem: Using the tech is more expensive than paying human employees

1

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year

2

Indeed chief economist says we’re entering an era of ‘great mismatch’ thanks to a generational imbalance of workers

3

Microsoft reports are exposing AI's real cost problem: Using the tech is more expensive than paying human employees
CommentaryMillennials

3 Ways to Stop Millennials From Fleeing Your Company

By
Ken Lamneck
Ken Lamneck
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Ken Lamneck
Ken Lamneck
Down Arrow Button Icon
December 6, 2016, 11:30 AM ET
Teenage boy running on walkway
altrendo images—Getty Images

The Fortune 500 Insiders Network is an online community where top executives from the Fortune 500 share ideas and offer leadership advice with Fortune’s global audience. Today’s answer to the question, “How do you attract millennial talent?” is written by Ken Lamneck, president and CEO of Insight Enterprises.

As business leaders, we need to understand and appreciate our newest generations in order to attract and retain them. My daughter is a millennial. Recently I asked her when she uses email, and she stated matter-of-factly: when she has to talk to old people. Keeping this in mind, I’ve found these strategies to be especially useful when working to attract and retain millennial employees:

Offer diverse opportunities

If you want to employ millennials, you need to be prepared for a rapidly changing workforce that requires flexibility and demands new experiences. There a few ways that companies are integrating approaches that recognize these needs.

For more junior employees who are first entering the workforce, you can offer temporary rotations with different departments. You can also put practices in place that allow employees to apply for different jobs within the organization when they become available. Another smart approach is to create opportunities and encourage employees to build or join strategic committees within the company. This can offer the flexibility millennials want to help build a diverse resume.

Invite collaboration

We recently rebranded and crafted a new statement of purpose: to build meaningful connections to help our clients’ businesses run smarter. Collaboration with all of our employees—especially millennials—was important to shaping this statement.

To ensure teammate voices from all generations were heard, we worked hard to make sure we solicited millennial input just as much as we did from those who have been with us for longer. We also specifically worked to gather feedback from millennials by conducting video interviews, so that their language and thoughts would be effectively conveyed in the end result. Since millennials make up a majority of our workforce, it was important that they were part of this process.

Once millennials have an interest in what your company does, they start to research your core values and purpose. They visit your social media sites, make their way to your press room, and look at your community efforts. In fact, according to a Cone Communications study, 82% of millennials ages 18–24 and 75% ages 25–34 consider corporate social responsibility efforts when deciding where to work.

If your company’s actions and core values don’t resonate with millennials, it’s not going to be a good fit. Unlike workers from my generation, millennials will actually take a job making less money if they believe in the purpose of their work. Inviting millennials into the planning process and soliciting their feedback ensures that everything from your purpose statement to your corporate social responsibility initiatives will resonate with them.

 

Amplify their voices

By challenging organizations to innovate and evolve, millennials have been impressive change agents who are pushing companies to create better workplace practices to meet current and future talent needs. Embrace their passion for change as a way to drive transformation in your business and your culture.

For example, we offer teammates the opportunity to help shape our company with our Shark Tank initiative, which has been successful in offering both professional development and workplace innovation at the company. Insight employees across the company have the opportunity to pitch the executive team, including me, on how to improve the workplace. One millennial got to lead the replacement of our intranet platform; another won for suggesting the idea that teammates could purchase an extra week of time off.

So what does this all mean? If millennials have a sense of ownership, enjoy the projects that they are working on, are offered opportunities to try new things, and are seen as instrumental in creating the culture of the company, they will want to remain with your organization for a longer period of time. Beyond loyalty and longevity, you will likely unearth some great talent—and they may very well become your best employees.

About the Author
By Ken Lamneck
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Commentary

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Commentary

employees
CommentarySuccession
Millions of business owners are about to retire. They should sell to their employees
By Matt Helmer and Maxwell JohnsonMay 23, 2026
6 hours ago
Ashley Yetman
Commentarydisruption
Everyone is blaming AI for the death of ‘craft.’ Take a good look in the mirror
By Ashley YetmanMay 23, 2026
6 hours ago
clay
CommentaryLoneliness
I’ve spent 25 years studying loneliness. AI is about to make it much worse
By Clay RoutledgeMay 23, 2026
8 hours ago
ambrose
CommentaryRobotics
Former NASA Robotics Chief: America is building the wrong kind of robots — and China knows it
By Robert AmbroseMay 23, 2026
9 hours ago
morris
CommentaryEntrepreneurship
My startup hit $200 million ARR. But first I walked away from 2.5 million YouTube subscribers and nearly went bankrupt
By Joel MorrisMay 23, 2026
11 hours ago
brotman
CommentaryVenture Capital
I’ve spent 25 years in venture capital. Here’s how it quietly shut ordinary Americans out of the AI wealth boom—and what could fix it
By Steve BrotmanMay 22, 2026
1 day ago

Most Popular

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year
Success
Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year
By Preston ForeMay 21, 2026
2 days ago
Indeed chief economist says we’re entering an era of ‘great mismatch’ thanks to a generational imbalance of workers
Success
Indeed chief economist says we’re entering an era of ‘great mismatch’ thanks to a generational imbalance of workers
By Emma BurleighMay 22, 2026
1 day ago
Microsoft reports are exposing AI's real cost problem: Using the tech is more expensive than paying human employees
AI
Microsoft reports are exposing AI's real cost problem: Using the tech is more expensive than paying human employees
By Jake AngeloMay 22, 2026
1 day ago
Apple’s Steve Wozniak says he cofounded the tech giant after 5 rejections from HP—not to ‘make money.’ For years, his paycheck was just $50
Success
Apple’s Steve Wozniak says he cofounded the tech giant after 5 rejections from HP—not to ‘make money.’ For years, his paycheck was just $50
By Preston ForeMay 22, 2026
1 day ago
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
Workplace Culture
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
4 days ago
Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
Success
Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
By Preston ForeMay 20, 2026
3 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.