Worcester Business Journal

22 Worcester Business Journal • May 23, 2016 www.wbjournal.com C ollege commencement season is upon us, and graduates will soon flock to the job market looking to launch their careers. Just as graduates remain hopeful of being chosen for an attractive job opportunity, companies also need these would-be employees to c h o o s e t h e m . Competition for new talent is high: A CareerBuilder survey found 75 percent of employers said they planned to hire recent college graduates this year, the highest in almost a decade. In order to benefit from the talent, technological skills and eagerness to learn that t h e s e pr i m ar i ly M i l l e n n i a l - a g e d graduates often bring, companies should understand what this demographic tends to look for in a workplace. This applies beyond recent graduates – as Millennials make up the largest generation in the country – comprising about a third of the population in 2013. They will be a significant part of the population for years to come. Below are steps firms can take to ensure they are a top choice of this season's talented college graduates, as well as Millennials in the workforce or graduating in the years ahead. Engage in talent branding. Just as your company brands itself to customers, you should brand yourself to potential hires. This brand will come across in your employment postings, on your website and in interviews, and it should sync with your overall brand. Promote your strengths. Some companies simply assume young people wish to work downtown and among peers. If this does not describe your office, then you need to dig deeper and think about what you offer. Are you near a walking path that employees enjoy during lunch hour? Does your company attend conferences allowing employees to travel? Do you offer tuition reimbursement? Culture, culture, culture. Millennials look for culture in a workplace. You can demonstrate your company's personality with something as simple as adding out-of-work interests to staff biographies. You should promote ways in which colleagues interact. Do you hold Friday lunches, volunteer or brainstorm together? Communicate your values. Many Millennials wish to be part of something larger. Think about what your organization stands for and how you communicate that to potential hires. No matter your industry, you can be involved in a charity, committed to employee health and environmental sustainability, or committed to employee growth through mentoring. Allow work-life integration. The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology released its annual list of Top 10 Workplace Trends late last year, which highlighted work-life balance across generations. SIOP addresses what Millennials see as blurred lines between work and life: they are on social media at the office and working after hours. Now might be a good time to review your policies related to social media, flex time and telecommuting, and to evaluate whether they can or should be updated. Job searches are about to start for many talented Millennials this spring – and for some, they have begun. Now is the time to think about the talent your firm needs, consider your office policies, culture, strengths and values, and promote these attributes on LinkedIn, in employment postings, at job fairs, in interviews and elsewhere. When you find an applicant who is the perfect fit, this person will ideally say the same about you. n Lisa Carpino is director of the master of science program in industrial organizational psychology at Anna Maria College in Paxton. 10 Things I Know About... How to attract Millennials to your company KNOW HOW 10) Understand your fatigue level. Fatigue is the major cause of illnesses and injuries. It makes you less vigilant. Be aware of the symptoms and sources of your fatigue, such as lack of sleep, a high stress level or a high sugar diet. 9) Increase your deep sleep. The goal is not to increase the number of sleeping hours but to improve the sleep quality. Deep sleep is the constructive phase of sleep for recuperation of the mind-body system. Four hours of deep sleep are sufficient. Avoid caffeine, alcohol, fat and fast sugars before bedtime. 8) Cope with your stress sensitivity. Sometimes, you feel overwhelmed, due to bad stress (fear, anxiety) or overcome with good stress (concentration, creativity). Stress reduction techniques are easy to implement, such as utilizing breathing exercises or visualization. 7) Face up to your stressors. Problems in your daily life can be stressful. The appropriate solution is to deal with them based on their difficulty level. 6) Relax to reach a calm mind. Relaxing benefits health by calming nerves, improving emotional balance and aiding sleep. Listen to quiet music by car or at home. 5) Drink sufficient water. Proper hydration increases energy. Signs of dehydration include achy muscles, fatigue, headaches and dry skin. National Research Council says 12 cups of water daily for men, nine for women. 4) Make food your medicine. Who hasn't heard Hippocrates' quote? The main point is to eat various foods to provide sufficient vitamins, minerals and build an immune defense. 3) Strengthen your concentration. We are distracted by our environment; Use this easy 30-second technique: Inhale five seconds and exhale five seconds three times. 2) Prevent with safety guidelines. Each year, more than 2 million workers are injured severely enough on the job that they cannot return to work. Update your safety checklist; practice the procedures established for the job. 1) Don't feel guilty having small breaks. Resting is part of the successful routine of sports professionals. It allows them to recharge the batteries, avoid injuries and stay focused. n M ore and more, we're seeing that wellness programs to keep employees healthier add up to dollars and cents in terms of less absenteeism, greater productivity and fewer long-term healthcare costs – not to mention happier people around the water cooler (with fewer health gripes, anyway). Working more wellness into your firm doesn't have to come with a lot of expense or involve large changes all at once. Here are three ways to encourage healthy habits at work. Do away with doctor's notes in an effort to get fewer people to come to work while sick. Alison Green of Money. USNews.com says companies should drop policies that require a note after a certain amount of sick time. "It's insulting to employees … This policy drives up healthcare costs by pushing people into medical offices when they just need rest and over-the-counter medicine, and it encourages people to come to work sick, since that's often easier than getting a medical appointment on short notice," she writes. Offer education. Think staff brown-bag lunches where you invite in a local health expert to discuss or demonstrate an aspect of wellness. A nutritionist could discuss healthy meals; a yoga teacher could do a quick class and discuss benefits, for example. "Keep sessions entertaining but informative, and offer incentives for employees who attend," suggests Lauren Lastowka of Inc.com. Help them get the tools they need. Kathryn Mayer of BenefitsPro. com tells of one company that bought employees Fitbits to track their fitness and sold them to employees for half the cost. "It even offered payroll deduction so employees could pay just a few bucks per month to pay for the device," Mayer said. Discounted gym memberships, reimbursement to enter a 5K race … all these things can add up and pose a financial barrier to wellness, according to Mayer. n 101: WORKPLACE WELLNESS >> BY SUSAN SHALHOUB Special to the Worcester Business Journal Avoiding illnesses and injuries at work BY LISA CARPINO Special to the Worcester Business Journal By Vincent Emery Vincent Emery is the president of RESO Corp., a group of dietitians and health coaches providing programs covered by health insurances, with offices in Worcester. Reach him at vincent@resoyourlife.com.

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