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What's Inside A Workplace Designed For Millennial Employees?

This article is more than 7 years old.

Power Design is located in St. Petersburg FL. (Photo courtesy of Melissa Hastings)

In the last ten years, millions of millennials have entered the traditional workspace of musty cube walls and burnt coffee. Many of these employees have been quick to realize they hit a quarter-life crisis, where they question and doubt the decisions they made that brought them to that point in their adult life.

Millennials are told as they grow up to work hard and go to school so they can get a good job. What they are finding when they enter the workforce is not what they had in mind.

Compounding the frustration and disappointment with their adult reality is their transition from college to career. Colleges have made changes long ago to accommodate transitioning students to ensure they feel comfortable, welcomed, entertained, and fulfilled.

Fitness centers, on-campus groups, flexible class schedules, and options for online only classes have set up students for their quarter-life crisis when they enter their first job and find exactly the opposite of what they had in college. Many millennials find rigid work schedules, ‘butt-in-seat’ culture, and inflexible environments when they land their first job.

Some companies have picked up on the mass exodus of millennials from traditional work environments and have made changes to their buildings and culture to welcome the younger workforce.

Companies such as Power Design, Inc., a national electrical contracting and engineering company, are proving that there is light at the end of the tunnel. They are paving a new way forward for the workforce that has previously only been seen by cutting edge Silicon Valley tech firms.

Power Design, Inc. (PDI) is headquartered in humble St. Petersburg, FL and does not fit the typical mold for the type of company that would make radical changes to accommodate younger employees. Even still, they’ve experienced explosive employee growth of nearly 49% over the last year and retain employees at a rate of 85%.

PDI also made Fortune’s 2015 Top 100 List of Best Workplaces For Millennials, coming in at #43. What can other non-Silicon Valley companies learn from their success with millennials? Dana Permuy, Chief Financial Officer at PDI, offered four keys to their success with employee talent.

1. Listen and learn from what millennials have to say

In Deloitte’s 2016 Millennial Survey, respondents had to compare features of a workplace to determine which they preferred for a place they work. The survey found compensation at the top of the list, but not exclusively. Selection of a workplace also depended upon values like good work-life balance and professional development training programs, which were near the top of the list.

PDI has listened to their younger audience as they expand their campus by adding amenities such as a 24/7 fitness center, on-site grooming services, a car wash, dry-cleaning pickup, healthier snacks, on-campus café and a jogging track.

Further, Jena Perian, Employee Communications Manager at PDI, shared that they offer flexible schedules for employees wishing to advance their education and take courses or pursue an advanced degree.

Employee perks are fluid, so companies that listen to what their youngest employees value are more likely to hit the sweet spot on retaining that talent.

The fitness center at Power Design. (Photo courtesy of Melissa Hastings)

2. Understand that with today’s advanced technology, you don’t have to be at the office all day to be productive

Workplace flexibility has emerged as a preferred workplace offering for many employees. A recent Millennial Career Study released by the National Society of High School Scholars ranked work-life balance and flexible hours or work schedule among the highest desired perks. With the demands of life putting pressure on employees who must be at their workplace from 8 A.M. to 5 P.M. each day, millennials are favoring employers who can accommodate those demands on their time.

Perian, a millennial employee at PDI, spoke to this location flexibility in her comments on the company. “The new fitness center is amazing! I can work out in the morning, take a yoga class on my lunch break, and watch an inter-department volleyball game after work – it’s awesome. Plus, I really like that I can work from home when I need to. That’s a perk that I never had before.”

3. Flexible work schedules are important

Companies that understand the differing needs of their employees can attract the brightest employees. One employee may prefer to get a yoga session in midday, while another may want to the ability have some of their errands completed at work, such as washing their car, dropping off dry-cleaning, or grabbing healthy snacks on site.

Flexible work schedules have been made viable by advances in technology that allow employees to be connected through their phone. Many systems such as email, instant messaging, Webex, and conference calls can all happen on the go, to ensure business is not interrupted by the need to be mobile.

4. Recognition programs are valued.

A common complaint from traditional workplace advocates is that millennials need frequent recognition for their work. Sure, their upbringing may have made them this way, but how difficult is it for a company to celebrate their employee’s success? PDI has embraced the recognition and reward culture by hosting a year-end celebration where they gave away more than $100,000 in prizes to nearly 50 employees.

“It may be somewhat overused, but I truly think PDI is a great example of the ‘Work Hard – Play Hard’ motto,” stated Valerie Klima, Field Training Specialist and a millennial employee. “We are given expectations and when these goals are met, we are rewarded beyond expectations. We all have different roles and responsibilities but we are the puzzle pieces that fit together to make us one. There is not enough that I could say about how the company really invests in each of us as individuals.”

Some may think that this modification of workplace and culture must have an impact on older employees that resist change. In fact, at PDI, they’ve seen older employees embrace the culture as wholeheartedly as millennials do.