There is a stereotype that women leave organizations due to difficulty balancing work, life, and motherhood, but new research from ICEDR shows that four of the five main reasons women leave organizations are the same as men.
A McKinsey study also showed that, contrary to popular belief, women are not opting out of the workforce – the vast majority of women are leaving their current jobs for different jobs. This means employers are losing valuable talent, not to mention the sunk costs of hiring and training these women.
Millennials will be roughly 75% of the workforce by 2025, and over 50% of them will be female. How can companies attract and retain the next generation of women leaders?
Lauren Noel from ICEDR and Christie Hunter Arscott suggest that existing efforts to support millennial women fall short, and they offer some unique research based solutions to target women earlier in their career development.
As it turns out, the primary reasons women around age 30 leave organizations are:
1. Pay
2. Access to learning and development opportunities
3. Access to meaningful work
ICEDR’s recent study shows there are five areas that millennial women desire:
1. Know Me.
Everyone has passions, interests, and pursuits outside of work. Women want theirs acknowledged, just like anyone else.
Solution: Engage with the whole person by offering ways to bring these outside interests to work or providing flexibility to engage in these passions outside of work. Get to know the person behind the work they are doing.
2. Challenge Me.
Millennial women want new experiences and opportunities, learning and growth, and stretch assignments.
Solution: Give women the opportunity to pursue learning and growth opportunities that they themselves identify as important. Offer clear, multiple, and creative paths to advancement. Give women stretch assignments and offer feedback as they move forward.
Fidelity, for example, has a two year rotational program aimed at grooming future managers called the General Management Apprenticeship (GMA) program. Said one woman from Fidelity; “This is a generation of experiential learners. We learn best by doing. Fidelity’s GMA program provides a platform for us to get broad experience across multiple business units.”
3. Connect Me.
Women desire an engaging and dynamic community.
Solution: Help these women create a supportive network of colleagues, advisors, and influencers. Ask them who they want in their network and encourage them to reach out directly or assist them in making the connection when needed.
Blackrock is challenging women to improve their negotiation skills with its “Art of the Ask” program, which also fosters connection amongst the women going through the program together. The firm is also improving access to informal networks through a “Managing Director Chats” program, which connects women directors with managing directors at the firm through two 90-minute small group sessions.
4. Inspire Me.
Women want purpose, meaningful work, and women role models. And everyone wants their contributions valued, recognized, and rewarded.
Solution: Have a higher purpose or mission to your organization and ask individuals to connect with their individual purpose by asking what their big “why” is and how they can pursue it through their work.
Take time to appreciate the work of those on your team and ensure they are valued and recognized – sometimes a few kind words can tide an employee over until the next promotion cycle.
HubSpot uses an app called 15Five to share wins and challenges every week.
5. Unleash Me.
Women want the ability to take risks, lead initiatives, experiment, and innovate.
Solution: Give women autonomy and ownership over projects or discrete aspects of a project. Encourage controlled risk taking and experimentation by allotting time for these projects.
Innovative companies such as Hubspot, which has 700 employees and 49% revenue growth, are designing their organization around millennials’ needs. At HubSpot, the mantra is “results matter more than the hours we work,” and this philosophy is really embedded in the culture. For example, a millennial woman has risen to HubSpot’s Management Team as VP of Operations and was promoted to the role while expecting her first child.
The ICEDR study also states, “At Hubspot, leaders highly encourage horizontal movement. HubSpot’s Chief Marketing Officer encourages people on his team to switch what they are doing every six months.”
Regardless of the size or stage of your company, it is clear that in the near future millennials will drive the workforce and consumer demand, and the most successful companies will be those that are able to meet the needs of these future leaders.
