In 2015, the population of Millennials (people aged 18 to 34) surpassed Baby Boomers (people aged 51 to 69), according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, by .5 million. This may not seem like a large margin (the population of Baby Boomer population was estimated to be 74.9 million, while Millennials numbered 75.4 million), but the trend is indicative of a changing workforce and employers’ consequent changes in their employment screening processes.
Attorney Lester Rosen of Employment Screening Processes states that “employers need to be sensitive to special issues in hiring and working with millennials. Studies and practical experience show Millennials are influenced by factors much different than Baby Boomers and are motivated and communicate in different ways.”
The Changing Face of the U.S. Workforce
As Millennials continue to outnumber Baby Boomers, employers, their workplaces, and hiring processes in the U.S. will have to adapt to the increasingly mobile and social-media-oriented behaviors of this generation. There is a reason the Millennial generation has been called the most “wired” generation in history. Millennials have been groomed to expect (even demand) intuitive, user-driven technologies even in the hiring and screening process and will be attracted to those organizations that are up-to-date and as fast-paced as they are.
Other considerations employers should make for the up-and-coming generation are:
- Millennials, simply because they are younger, may have less information to obtain in the screening process
- Work and credit history will be relatively limited
- As many millennials have found car ownership impractical (or simply not an option), driving records will be sparse due to the rise of rideshare services and public transit
- Millennials comprise a large portion of the workforce in what has been dubbed the “Gig Economy,” whether by employing themselves in freelance or working as driving for TNCs like Uber and Lyft
Going Forward
Adopting innovative hiring processes is not only a strategy for attracting technology-savvy Millennials, but it will ultimately benefit your company by protecting your interests in the most effective and efficient way possible. Bringing ideal people onto your team is imperative to your long-term success, and doing so begins with effective and intuitive screening.
