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

Trendingnow

1

As CEO of the $96 billion Sam’s Club, Latriece Watkins is testing her mettle at the warehouse retailer that produced CEOs for Walmart, Target, and Walgreens

2

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

3

As AI slashes white-collar jobs, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff says almost no one is being hired—except in sales

1

As CEO of the $96 billion Sam’s Club, Latriece Watkins is testing her mettle at the warehouse retailer that produced CEOs for Walmart, Target, and Walgreens

2

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

3

As AI slashes white-collar jobs, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff says almost no one is being hired—except in sales
CommentaryFortune 500

How to Make Millennials Want to Work For You

By
Mary Beth McGrath
Mary Beth McGrath
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Mary Beth McGrath
Mary Beth McGrath
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 13, 2016, 2:30 PM ET
Millennials office work
Photograph by Getty Images/iStockphoto

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 Mary Beth McGrath, senior vice president of global talent management at Level 3 Communications.

One of the biggest challenges for an employer today is setting aside your stereotypes and evaluating if your workplace is actually an attractive environment for the millennial generation. If not, you’ll have to make some changes to stay relevant.

First, you need to show employees who you are beyond the balance sheet by communicating high-level company goals and how employees’ specific roles fit into those goals. According to a May Gallup study, 71% of millennials who strongly agreed that they know what their organization stands for and what distinguishes it from its competitors say they plan to be with their company for at least one year.

I saw this firsthand when Level 3 consulted a small group of millennials and discovered they prefer more frequent feedback for their performance reviews, rather than once or twice a year. We now coach our managers through professional development webinars and manager-specific internal communications to prepare for a shift in the frequency of providing feedback both about the company and employees’ individual roles.

Second, you can help your millennial employees become engaged in their communities. Millennials don’t check their interests in philanthropic causes at the office door. Organizations need to help employees connect to their passions in meaningful ways. We have an employee resource group (ERG) specifically focused on millennials. One of the group’s priorities is giving back to the communities where employees live. A sampling of their community outreach this year includes volunteering at our community garden, holiday gift-wrapping for a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping underprivileged children, and helping at a food bank.

Third, you should create a nimble work environment. Through our millennial ERG and our interns, as well as from focus groups and internal surveys, we have heard loud and clear that our employees desire work-life integration, not just balance. This means that they may do work at different times of the day, even when not in the office.

 

Offering flexible schedules is one way to achieve this. We allow individual managers to decide if flexible arrangements work for their teams. A recent study found that millennial employees in many industries feel rewarded by employers that let them decide when and where they work. Being mindful of how employees perform best enables teams to function more effectively.

Finally, it’s important to show millennial employees you value their input and contributions. Take time to better understand their individual motivations and how you can help them grow within your organization. We tested out a new way to do this last summer by challenging a group of interns to come up with new and innovative avenues for solving workforce issues. Topics ranged from attracting talent; to science, math, engineering, and technology (STEM) initiatives; to flexible work schedules. Each group researched their topic and interviewed various subject matter experts from within and outside the organization. At the end of the program, each group presented a proposed solution to a group of company leaders. Feedback from that program will help inform how we move these issues forward.

About the Author
By Mary Beth McGrath
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

t
CommentaryCoding
Girls Who Code CEO: 70% of teen girls want to work in cybersecurity. We’re losing them before they start
By Tarika BarrettMay 29, 2026
15 hours ago
r
CommentaryLayoffs
Big Tech is laying off developers. My company just hired its first. We’re both right about AI
By Rob CollieMay 29, 2026
16 hours ago
lentz
CommentaryCareers
I built a Fortune 1000 career most people wouldn’t walk away from. Then I did
By Christine LentzMay 29, 2026
16 hours ago
s
CommentaryMarketing
What Schlitz beer can teach us about AI adoption
By Julia Dhar, Kristy R. Ellmer and Philip JamesonMay 29, 2026
16 hours ago
hs
CommentaryVenture Capital
I raised $15 million without VC in one of tech’s most capital-intensive sectors. Here’s what I learned
By Hebron SherMay 29, 2026
18 hours ago
dd
CommentaryCareers
Conference Board: We’ve just hit a peak at job satisfaction. AI threatens to completely ruin that for the unlucky 50%
By Matt Rosenbaum and Allan SchweyerMay 29, 2026
18 hours ago

Most Popular

As CEO of the $96 billion Sam’s Club, Latriece Watkins is testing her mettle at the warehouse retailer that produced CEOs for Walmart, Target, and Walgreens
Magazine
As CEO of the $96 billion Sam’s Club, Latriece Watkins is testing her mettle at the warehouse retailer that produced CEOs for Walmart, Target, and Walgreens
By Emma HinchliffeMay 27, 2026
3 days ago
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
8 days ago
As AI slashes white-collar jobs, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff says almost no one is being hired—except in sales
Success
As AI slashes white-collar jobs, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff says almost no one is being hired—except in sales
By Emma BurleighMay 28, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of oil as of May 28, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of May 28, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 28, 2026
2 days ago
UBS says Ron DeSantis has a problem with his plan to help 92% of homeowners save on property taxes: His own state's data
Personal Finance
UBS says Ron DeSantis has a problem with his plan to help 92% of homeowners save on property taxes: His own state's data
By Nick LichtenbergMay 28, 2026
1 day ago
The river that supplies 40 million Americans is down to 23% — and about to make a $25 million bet on one fish
Environment
The river that supplies 40 million Americans is down to 23% — and about to make a $25 million bet on one fish
By Dorany Pineda, Brittany Peterson and The Associated PressMay 27, 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.