TheMReport

34 | TH E M R EP O RT SPONSORED CONTENT M illennials are entering the workforce in droves; not only do they represent the largest single generation in the workforce today but in just four short years Millennials are projected to exceed 50 percent of the global workforce. Because of this newfound employment domi- nance, as consumers Millennials are wielding an estimated $1.3 trillion dollars of annual buying power. The message is clear for any business; to succeed you need to learn how to attract and retain Millennials as both employees and consumers. Embrace the change or risk extinction and irrelevance. The challenge for the financial service industry is that many of the principles and values Millennials hold are not in line with the industry in which we operate. Millennials want to innovate, they have an entrepreneurial spirt, they don't want to keep doing some - thing one way just because that's "the way it's always been done," they want to be flexible and dynamic, they want to work smart not hard, and they don't want to get stuck in the minutia of tasks they don't see as germane to their jobs. The financial services industry on the other hand is relatively static and bogged down by rules, regula - tions, processes, and oversight that, while serve a purpose, can limit the values that Millennials hold so dear. It's this chasm that makes it difficult for the financial industry to attract, retain, and market to this important segment of our society. At first glance it seems like there was never a better example of an unstoppable force coming into con- tact with an unmovable object. The good news is that it is hardly gloom and doom. History tells us that as every new generation has entered the workplace, there was gloom, doom, and panic com- ing from the older generation who was sure that the beginning of the end was in sight. Generation X was called lazy and lacking respect for authority by the baby boomers in the late 90s. And maybe they were but they were also the genera - tion that brought more technical innovation and advancements than any other generation before them. The world didn't come to an end. Instead the generational gap was bridged and business advanced in a way that many of us couldn't have predicted. The same can and will be said about Millennials. To start with we have to come to terms with an ugly truth—the financial services industry is never going to be able to attract and retain Millennials as well as many other industries. We are com - peting against the Googles and Apples of the world who aren't subjected to the same set of rules that we are. That being said, there is much that a millennial will find of value in the financial industry if we can change our approach to talent retention. Millennials are a transient bunch who on average spend just two years at a job. To combat the rela - tively quick turnover organizations must work harder than ever to ensure that employees are retained. The practice of employee reten- tion is now even more difficult and nebulosi as a workforce that is more focused on their ability to grow, innovate, and take risks, isn't easily retained by pulling the traditional levers of financial incentives we are used to pulling. We can't buy their loyalty. Rather, Millennials are retained by creating a collaborative and innovative work environment where they feel free to expand and grow. When you consider the $1.3 trillion dollars in spending power this generation has, enablement of innovation and creativity for this generation isn't just good for reten - tion, it can give your business the competitive edge and access to a vast pool of new consumers. No matter how much you at- tempt to retain talent, there will be turnover. Wise organizations will embrace turnover and will create strategies that deal with this newly exacerbated problem more directly than in the past. Treating turnover as a more significant business driver in this generation allows you to focus on pivoting your origination to find ways to get new staff up to operational speed faster and more cost effectively than ever before. When you embrace and have planned for the turnover Millennials bring, you can custom - ize your business processes to be more streamlined and automated so there is less minutia and busy work reducing the potential for errors and helping new employees focus on the part of their jobs that are important while reduced the overall training burden. Creating these digital sandboxes where new products and process - es can be implemented in minutes at low cost and low risk is one of the core principles of OrangeGrid. It's this flexible environment that has enables our customers to make changes ranging from simple updates to creation of new tools to support endeavors into emerging markets. We have seen firsthand the power and benefit to be harnessed from creativity, agility, and innovation. Millennials have a bad rap but if you look closely, you will see that the sky isn't falling. There is no doom or gloom and the future looks bright as long as we understand that this genera - tion, like every generation before them, is unique. By understand- ing this uniqueness and planning for it, our industry will continue to thrive and grow in ways we haven't imagined yet. DUSTIN SAUTER is the CIO, COO and Co-Founder of OrangeGrid where cutting edge, configurable and developer free business processes management solutions are implemented at a fraction of the cost and time of traditional solutions. Dustin has worked in Fintech for over 20 years for financial service institutions and providers such as Wells Fargo, Citi, and Equator and is the father of 4 Millennials. Inside the Mind of the Millennial For the financial services industry to flourish, understanding the psyche of this generation is key. By Dustin Sauter

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