How to engage the next generation of talent

Younger employees crave meaning – but will you deliver?

BY Chris Jones 11 May 2021

As we foray further into 2021, engaging the next generation of talent is more important than ever. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has upended our previous plans, changing our expectations around work and careers. Younger employers, those just entering the workforce, are looking for meaningful work in sectors they really care about.

In HRD Canada’s latest HRD Talk, we spoke with Judene Pretti, director of the Work Learn Institute, and Maanasa Rajaguru, English rhetoric media and professional communications co-op student, on engaging the next generation of talent. How should employers act now to draw in that top tier talent? What strategies can HR leaders implement to embrace younger, new hires? And, most importantly, what will keep these talented employees happy in your organization?

“The biggest thing that can be done on the part of the employer is to listen,” explained Rajaguru. “Often people are already going to have ideas that’re a little bit outside the box or have something in mind that they’d be interested in developing,” said Rajaguru.

This, in essence, is a lesson that Pretti and her team have taken to heart. Currently, at the Work Learn Institute, they’re constantly looking for new ways to engage workers though the exchanging of ideas.

“Feeling connected to people is part of being engaged at work,” she explained. “It’s all about feeling like you’re one of the team. While this is true for each of us, it’s particularly true for co-op students who’re part of the workplace for a shorter period of time.”

Pretti noted that co-op students described that engagement as “feeling like they were a regular employee” – rather than being treated like an after-thought.