The female caller identified herself as the applicant's mother and said, "I know you were expecting a call with John ("not his real name"), but he's tied up in another interview at the moment. Fortunately, I know him so well that I can do the interview for him. Do you mind?"
The recruiter understandably replied that she did mind and asked John's mom to have her son call when he was available.
If you suspect this conversation is an anomaly (and a shocking one at that!), think again. I speak with large groups of HR executives several times a month and when I ask the question, "How many of you have had a parent get involved in the hiring process?" at least half raise their hands, sometimes, two thirds.
I often follow up by asking how many have had a parent intervene in the performance review process. About a third raise their hands to this question. Rather than being surprised by all the hands in the air, the executives seem comforted knowing that others are in the same boat when it comes to recruiting and retaining Millennials.
This is a new reality: Parents are increasingly involved in their Millennials' decisions. According to one study, more than a third of Millenials with a mentor say a parent fills that role. In another study, when asked to list the most influential people in their lives, 61% named their parents ahead of political leaders, news media, teachers, coaches, faith leaders, and celebrities. Pew Research reports that 36% of Millennials still live with their parents.
In a sense, knowing that a single group yields so much influence with Millennials makes your job designing strategies for attracting and retaining them easier. Parents may very well be your secret weapon in convincing Millennials to join or stay at your organization.
Here are five ideas for integrating parents into your talent strategy:
* INVITE PARENTS IN. College recruitment has long included parental visits and open houses the first week of school. Some Indian companies, recognizing the importance of family, are doing the same: welcoming parents to new employee orientation (a few have even taken it a step further and offer benefits to dependent parents, strengthening the employee bond). Why not invite parents to your employee orientation or onboarding program? You might let them visit during an open house or join a conference call to ask questions about benefits, understand the employee value proposition, and link them emotionally to your brand.
* OFFER FREE TRAINING FOR PARENTS. Since mentoring is the number one way Millennials choose to learn, and the parent is frequently chosen as a mentor, consider preparing mom and dad for the role. Give them mentoring skills as well as training on problem solving, interpersonal skills, communication, leadership, or even the performance review process. The idea is that if you give parents these skills, they will hopefully transfer what they learn to their child - your employee.
* HOLD A "TAKE YOUR PARENTS TO WORK" DAY. LinkedIn held their first Bring in Your Parents Day this past November. It was "designed to help bridge the gap between parents and their professional children." According to their research: 35% of the parents they surveyed are not completely familiar with what their child does for a living; 59% of parents want to know more about what their child does for work; and 50% of parents say they could be of benefit to their offspring by having a better understanding of their careers.
* USE PARENTS TO RECRUIT. Again, universities are already doing this, so it's not new but consider interviewing parents and including their stories on your Facebook recruiting site (you do have one, don't you?). Or put them on your open house agenda and ask them to share their stories as an employee parent.
* INCLUDE PARENTS IN YOUR COMMUNICATION STRATEGY. Allow parents to subscribe to your newsletter or other communications that engage them in the company culture. All new Qualcomm employees are automatically registered to receive an online story each week for their first year. The stories start with the founding of the company and go all the way to present day, describing the history of the company's technology successes and failures, as well as the rationale behind key decisions, all while memorably conveying the company's culture. Parents might enjoy reading this as much as - or even more than - their children, and again they might use it while mentoring or advising their children.
None of these strategies are expensive and yet they can go a long way in attracting and retaining Millennials. Simply acknowledging the importance of moms and dads in their lives will help you stand out from other companies. Instead of shaking your head at this trend of increasing parent involvement in your employees' work lives, embrace it.Talent and the New World of Hiring
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Reference: mark-rayan-pua.blogspot.com
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