Guest Author Ben Rogers

Ben Rogers of the Filene Research Institute has plenty of irons in the fire. In addition to raising his kids (a full-time job on its own), he moderates for/contributes to/works with the Filene Institute to find out what's going on with credit unions and the movement at large. Ask the "CU Tomorrow" blog over at Filene, they'll say Ben is their "Driver" - ask us, we'll tell you he's a smart guy who has some interesting things to say about youth and credit unions.

Want to get in touch with Ben? Visit the Filene blogs at http://filene.org/home/blog.

 

Young adults like perks, good managers and the opportunity to innovate at work. What's surprising is the order in which they like them.

 

According to a survey Filene will publish next month, employees younger than 30 value (in descending order): 

6. Cash compensation (3.31) 
5. Credit union values (3.38) 
4. Paid vacation days (3.46) 
3. Attitudes of senior managers (3.58) 
2. Relationships with immediate supervisors (3.6) 

And ... 

1. Support from managers to innovate at work (3.63) 

The numbers on the right indicate the relative scale at which employees valued these things, but I'm amazed not at the content of the list but the order. 

Admittedly the differences in preference are occasionally small, but they're still interesting. Compensation is always going to be a factor in any employment decision, but the survey suggests that, assuming an adequate pay scale, young employees just want to be in a place where they can relate to good people, be managed fairly and have the freedom to champion new ideas. 

So for all you ROA-strapped employers trying to work around wage hikes, consider adding a few free days in lieu of this year's raises. Bonus, though, if you just give both.

Comments

[Ron Shevlin]

Excellent. I'm going to go find me a bunch of under-30 year olds to work for me, and give them all the support they need to innovate their way to making me more money.

Betcha $10 your respondents sing a different tune in 5 years when they have a mortgage, a kid or two, and are still paying out on their student loans and car loans.

[Jeffry Pilcher]

Perhaps they de-prioritize cash compensation as a reflection of this reality: They are new to the workforce and therefore expect to be paid less. Base pay isn't a huge variable for someone getting their first job. They are probably well aware of their pay range, so they concentrate on other variables -- the "perks," if you will.