How to Make Your Company More Attractive to Millennials

Diane K. Danielson

Part 2 of 2 BOSTON—As GlobeSt.com previously reported in part one of this two-part series, in November 2015, Sperry Van Ness International Corp. , the commercial real estate franchisor for the SVN brand, collected data from Millennials about their views on the commercial real estate industry. Authored by SVNIC COO, Diane K. Danielson , the findings were just recently published. The report surveyed more than 326 members of Gen Y in the US, Canada and South America about careers, specifically asking about commission-based jobs and what they are looking for in future employers. Sample takeaways for the CRE industry to attract millennial talent included: Expanding your commission-based recruiting pool; create a collaborative work environment through common goals, brainstorming and problem solving; and boost your entrepreneurial spirit by rewarding innovation—supporting risk taking and problem solving sessions. In part one of this Q&A, GlobeSt.com caught up with Danielson to discuss how accommodating companies are to this generation and why diversification is so important in commercial real estate. In part two below, Danielson touches on what surprised her about the findings and what this study says about the Millennial professional, among other things. GlobeSt.com: What surprised you about the findings? Diane K. Danielson: First, that our male respondents put gender and ethnic diversity as a very important factor in a work environment. Second, those same young men were as interested, or even more interested, than women in flexibility when it comes to work location and hours. For this generation, the flexibility topic is not a women’s or parental issue, it is everyone’s issue.  Flexibility to them doesn’t mean they work less than a full day, it means they don’t sit in rush hour if it’s more productive to work from home, a client site or a coffee shop. In our headquarters, we have “core hours” where we decide in advance when our leadership or entire office needs to collaborate and work together in person, then we let everyone decide how they can best get their work done to meet their goals. In CRE, you are judged by your results, not by being in the office 9-to-5 or by putting in enough years to get the gold watch. This is a very good thing and lends itself to flexibility. GlobeSt.com: What does this study say about the Millennial professional? Danielson: The Study introduced us to young professionals who want to work hard but who also want to work “smart.” They know that diversity is important and that their communities are too. They are entrepreneurial. They believe in conscious capitalism. They have new skill sets and technologies that they want to use to transform the work environment and client experience. Most of all they just want to be part of the conversation.  This is why the onus is on the CRE industry to go into the schools and other professions and educate potential talent about the advantages our industry has to offer. We don’t want to lose our future talent to other industries. GlobeSt.com: How should companies use these findings in their own business?  What are the next steps? Danielson: In the study we outline 10 takeaways and within those, small steps that any company can take to make their company more attractive to Millennials. Some are easy like adopting collaborative technology tools; others are more involved like developing mentoring programs and training systems or launching a sustainability initiative. However, as an industry, we need to first look at ourselves through their eyes. If we don’t have women or people of color at the leadership table, if we aren’t incorporating conscious capitalism into our business plans, if we are still doing business in 2016 the same way we did it in 1996, then we aren’t exactly rolling out the welcome mat to new talent. The time is now, before the majority of our aging industry hits retirement, to make the changes in our attitudes and business models to ensure that the next generation of CRE leaders are empowered, innovative and representative of the world they live in. Commercial real estate is becoming a global business even at the local level and we need to keep pace with the rest of the world.