REDEFINING THE PURPOSE OF WORK:MORALS OVER MATERIALISMWithin the culture money is not the driving factor. Millennial Entrepreneurs are building businesses on morality, striving to make a difference and contributing to societal improvement.

REDEFINING THE WORK/LIFE CONCEPT:LIVING FOR TODAY NOT FOR THE WEEKENDMillennial Entrepreneurs do not differentiate between work and life, instead work is a way of life. Despite long hours, start-ups are seen to offer better quality of life as they allow freedom, autonomy and work-life integration – meaning, happiness needn’t be postponed to the weekend.

REDEFINING JOB ROLES: MANY HATS, NOT JUST ONEMillennial start-ups offer fluid, cross-functional roles. This results in faster learning and diverse experiences vs. traditional corporate organisations.

REDEFINING WORKING HOURS: GOALS NOT HOURS Millennial Entrepreneurs see the 9-5 corporate structure as restrictive. Instead, their businesses are anti-dictatorship - employees are trusted to manage their time and work when they feel productive and inspired. The philosophy of making a difference means results, not hours, matter.

REDEFINING RECRUITMENT: PERSONALITY OVER ACADEMICSMillennial Entrepreneurs see 2:1s as a paid for commodities signalling learning stops upon graduation. Instead, their businesses prioritise cultural fit and traits such as passion, ambition, good-character and self-motivation. The goal is to have a team of entrepreneurs and their philosophy of ‘stay whilst you’re happy,’ means the focus is ‘attract and engage’, not ‘bind and retain’.

REDEFINING THE EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP: WORK WITH ME NOT FOR MEMillennial Entrepreneurs use equality, empowerment and responsibility to generate emotionally invested and driven employees. This in turn creates an environment of trust, transparency, support, inspiration and open communication vs. competitive, hierarchical corporate superficiality.

REDEFINING WORKING RELATIONSHIPS: COLLECTIVE OVER COMPETITIONThis culture favours collaboration over competitiveness. Millennial Entrepreneurs don’t ‘network’, they ‘meet-up’. They don’t compete, they share. They physically work alongside each other within co-working spaces. Resultantly, the sensitives and secrecy of the traditional corporate landscape are replaced with the forces of togetherness, authenticity and inspiration.

CONTEXTEntrepreneurship is the Millennial ambition. Record numbers of Millennials are starting their own business and governments around the world are accelerating this trend, supporting start-ups in the attempt to drive growth. Meanwhile, the talent acquisition game is only getting tougher, with 75% of organisations around the world struggling to attract and retain top talent.

OBJECTIVESBeing the most progressive and profound example of how Millennials approach the new world of business, Northstar’s Samantha Bond set out to explore the mentality and workings of Millennial startup culture and investigate how corporations can better tailor their structures to attract, engage and motivate Millennial talent.

How Millennial Entrepreneurs are Changing the Talent Acquisition Rules

LEARNINGSFindings revealed Millennial start-up culture to be a global movement, with Millennial Entrepreneurs building businesses with different values and processes vs traditional organisations. In the process, they are redefining the work/life paradigm, merging the two to align with their holistic Millennial vision of life. This research therefore laid bare a number of pertinent cultural shifts:

IMPLICATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONSNo longer willing to wait for organisations to catch-up, Millennial Entrepreneurs are fulfilling their own needs, expectations and vision of life. Passion, purpose, flexibility, transparency, collaboration, trust and autonomy are the new currencies employers must trade with.

Moreover, with Millennial businesses being built on Millennial values, it’s only natural that these start-ups are attracting ambitious Millennial employees - wanting to join their passion driven quest.

There is therefore mounting pressure for traditional organisations to adapt or else in time they will no longer have the top talent needed to compete and survive against the new Millennial players.

How Millennial Entrepreneurs are Changing the Talent Acquisition Rules

Prepared by:Samantha Bond

Inspired by Millennial start-up mentality, the following are recommendations to attract, engage, motivate and in turn, encourage loyalty amongst Millennial talent:

COMPANY MISSION:Companies cannot just be driven by making money and bolt-on CSR initiatives aren’t enough. At the heart of the business must be a mission that is social and inspiring. INSPIRATIONAL CEO: Company mission and values must be embodied by a passionate, inspiring yet accessible CEO. They must speak with authenticity and conviction, take risks to drive change, understand Millennial values, and engage with people at all levels.

CREATE A COMMUNITY:A company must aim to create a community, not simply a business. One that is full of passion, inspiration, collaboration and like-minded individuals. REVISE RECRUITMENT: To create a community, HR must be at the heart of organisational development. Cultural fit must be given precedence over academia; being the primary not secondary screening criteria. Additionally, bring current Millennial employees into the recruitment process to strengthen loyalty and authentically communicate reasons-to-join.

REWARD ACTIONS NOT AGE:Make it clear to employees and potential recruits that career progression is based on merit, not age. A ‘wine gets better with age’ philosophy stifles innovation and Millennial motivation.

CREATE CO-WORKING SPACE:In addition to motivating collaboration amongst colleagues and across departments, consider offering start-up co-working space. This will provide the opportunity to collaborate with innovative companies, increases progressive and inspirational credentials amongst employees and encouraging your teams to take risks and experiment.

CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT OF TRUST:Empower your people to take risks and make an impact. Trust them to be autonomous and choose their own working style. Shift internal mentality to a focus on results rather than hours. Break down traditional rules and structures to enable work-life integration. And be transparent, bringing all levels into the fold. By doing this, you will be rewarded with a team of emotionally invested, loyal, innovative and productive brand advocates. Think freedom and fluidity, not chains and restrictions. And most importantly, do not forget, you are offering a way of life – not work.