Part 3: How to Become a Powerhouse Workplace for Millennials

The Millennials mystery is finally about to be solved.

Part 1 revealed the differentiating qualities of today’s working generations. Part 2 dissected the reasons you need Millennials working at your company and covered two of the five key drivers of Millennial engagement: autonomy and social connectivity.

So let’s dive right back into it.

Here are the three remaining drivers for becoming a powerhouse workplace for Millennials today.

3.  Growth Opportunities

Definition: opportunities that expand the production capacity of the employee in a way that benefits the millennial and the company.

A 2012 survey by Adecco showed that 68% of recent graduates considered career growth a professional priority. Tenure is seen as a thing of the past; Millennials believe that if they work hard enough, they can start moving up the corporate ladder immediately.

Motivating Millennials with professional development opportunities can lead to:

• Faster learning, as long as there is a mutual understanding of growth requirements

• A results-oriented culture that promotes a much faster growth of skills than was possible for previous generations

• Increased ambition, as Millennials don’t “wait around” for their turns

But this can backfire. Avoid promoting a culture of entitlement. You don’t want Millennials to believe everyone deserves to advance because they are special. Set challenging goals for your employees and stress positive results as the driver of professional advancement.  

4.   Lifestyle Conveniences

Definition: conveniences an employer provides that demonstrates the company cares about the employees as an individual.

Millennials are driven by work they believe in. When Millennials feel valued by their employers, they work harder. At best, they will become an employer brand champion. Offering Millennials meaningful, everyday lifestyle conveniences will:

• Make employees’ everyday lives much easier, and make them see the employer as key to that ease

• Encourage Millennials to spend more time at work because she/he won’t have to do as many mundane tasks

One thing to keep in mind: do not to pamper to spoil your employees. Providing lifestyle conveniences is about demonstrating that you value employees, not fostering a sense of entitlement.

5. Purposeful Work

Definition: work that clearly relates to the ultimate output of the company and matters to the individual.

Millennials want to believe in its company’s mission. Not only does a company have to make it’s corporate vision known to the team, but it must communicate how each employee is helping attain it. By offering Millennials purposeful work:

• Employees will know exactly how their work relates to larger business outcomes

• Employees unite around a clear, powerful company vision

• Company core values are seen as exciting, not boilerplate

Be careful not to encourage the “It’s All About Me” syndrome. This is when employees think their personal interests override business goals. When this happens, employees aren’t committed to the company’s long-term goals and likely will make decisions that make themselves feel better but trump sound business decisions.

Want to know more about how to map out growth opportunities, offer strong lifestyle conveniences, and create purposeful work for your employees? Watch our full webinar: Demystifying Millennials: High ROI, Low-Cost Ways to Become a Powerhouse Workplace for Millennials.

Part 2: Why You Need Them

In Part 1, we broke down today’s working generations: the unique characteristics and needs of Baby Boomers, Gen X-ers, and Millennials.

Millennials are stereotyped as the entitled generation. They are portrayed as being obsessed with themselves, proven by their passion for taking selfies and being self-employed. So why would companies want such needy, self-obsessed, tech-savvy, career-driven, creative, knowledge-hungry Millennials working for them? Well, it’s pretty self-explanatory.

Four basic reasons you want Millennials working for you:

• Millennials are going to be a majority in the American workforce.

• Millennials will soon be your primary buyers.

• Millennials are hard-working. They work on different terms, but if they are engaged properly they can be incredibly productive - up to 69% of employees between the ages 25 and 34 bring work home with them and 42% check in with work while on vacation.

• Millennials are creative. They grew up being told to express themselves and are therefore good at conceiving new ideas. This partially accounts for their entrepreneurial drive.

They also like to ask the question, “Why?”

Yes, it can be irritating. But answering that question every so often leads to clarity of vision and a streamlined workflow for the whole team. Millennials grew up with information and communication at their fingertips. As a result, they want to know the value upfront of the projects they are working on and the vision of the companies they work for. They won’t waste time on things they don’t believe in, and won’t give up on the things that they do.

So engaging Millennials is key. But how? Let’s look at the five drivers of engagement for Millennials in the workplace.

1. Autonomy

Definition: the ability to achieve one’s own way, as long as the goal is reached.

Millennials want independence. They want the ability to work from home and manage their own time. When done well, offering Millennials autonomy can result in:

• Higher output due to motivation from responsibility
• Truly creative problem-solving
• Lower turnover over time from higher engagement with projects
• Stronger employer-employee relationships

A couple things to be aware of: be careful to avoid promoting a lack of quality control and freedom without direction. Make sure you hold Millennials accountable for their actions and work to make sure quality doesn’t suffer.

2. Social Connectivity

Definition: an environment where Millennials connect with each other in such a way that fosters greater business results.

Remember, Millennials don’t see a line separating work relationships with personal ones. Offering Millennials social connectivity in the workplace can lead to:

• Enhanced collaboration derived from stronger relationships
• Greater tenure due to personal investment in company
• Higher levels of peer accountability

A couple things to keep in mind: make sure the work environment doesn’t become a social environment first and a business environment second. The company’s bottom line should always come first.

Stay tuned for the last three drivers of Millennial engagement in our next blog post!

Want to know more about how to deliver healthy autonomy and the right levels of social connectivity? Watch our full webinar: Demystifying Millennials: High ROI, Low-Cost Ways to Become a Powerhouse Workplace for Millennials.

Part 1: An Overview of Current Working Generations

Let’s start off breaking down the 3 generations that currently make up the American workforce. They are:

• Baby Boomers (age 52 to 72)

• Gen X (age 32 to 52)

• Gen Y / Millennials (age 13 to 32)

To better understand your employees as a whole, you have to put them into context. How are Millennials different from Baby Boomers? What do they expect from their jobs that Gen X-ers don’t? Regardless of their reputation of being the “entitled” generation, Millennials will soon be running America’s businesses and become our primary buyers; it’s worth paying attention to how they are revolutionizing the workplace. In fact - dare we say - Millennials just might end up being the most hard-working generation of all.

So here’s the 411 on today’s working generations.

1. Baby Boomers

Baby Boomers are generally between the ages of 52 and 72. They make up 31% of the workplace today and are slowly beginning to exit the workforce. 

Defining traits of Baby Boomers are:

• Optimistic

• Hard-Working

• Consensus-Oriented

• Focused on Long-Term Goals

Baby boomers want to build a big tent with those who share similar values and beliefs with them. They are focused on long-term goals, which explains most of our current legacy planning frameworks. They tend to focus on 1 to 3 year goals (to put this in perspective, the average time an individual stays at a company today is 4.4 years). Baby Boomers are team players, whose most important corporate “perks” are benefits such as healthcare and retirement.

2. Gen X

Gen X-ers are between the ages of 32 and 52. They make up 33% of the workplace today.

Defining Traits of Gen X-ers are:

• Skeptical but Pragmatic

• Work-Life Balance

• Competence-Oriented

• Titles Unimportant

Gen X-ers possess less raw optimism than Baby Boomers and tend to be more pragmatic. Rather than prioritize the ability to form strong consensus, they look to the person with the great skillset to lead. As a result, they are known to have great managerial skills and see job titles as less important. In terms of perks, Gen X-ers value flexible work hours as part of their commitment to achieving work-life balance.

3. Gen Y / Millennials

Millennials are between the ages of 13 and 32. They currently make up 24% of the workforce and that percentage is growing.

Defining Traits of Millennials are:

• Entrepreneurial

• No Work-Life Distinction

• TeamWork-Oriented

• Committed to Making a Difference

Millennials are the most tech-savvy generation. They question the status quo and continually strive to make a difference. One common misconception is that Millennials look to befriend coworkers. In reality, Millennials see no work-life distinction and wonder why people even talk about a difference between work and one’s personal life in the first place.

While the average time an employee stays with one company is 4.4 years, Millennials average about half that time. They prioritize professional growth as an essential part of working at a company. As a result of a lack of work-life distinction, Millennials expect their employers to support their lifestyles both inside and outside of the office; from encouraging healthy living to sponsoring pet care.

Watch our full webinar, De-Mystifying the Millennial Worker: High ROI, Low-Cost Ways to Become a Powerhouse Workplace for Millennials. 

*Adapted from Nancy Ahlrichs’ “Retaining Four Generations of Workers.”

Visit AnyPerk to learn more about engaging your millennial workforce. 

Interested in joining team?We’re alway hiring. 

So it’s been 2.5 years since AnyPerk made its beginnings in a Taco Bell parking lot.

AnyPerk graduated from the Y Combinator program in March 2012 and was the first Japanese company to ever do so. When some of us joined the company a year ago, it was a team of five hustling from a cramped office in Union Square. Today, we’re pushing fifty employees and not planning on stepping on the brakes.

So who are we today?

About six months ago, we presented the first version of our mission, which was “to delight your employees.” We’ve grown quickly since then, and wanted to revisit our mission statement to ensure it continues to reflect what are we trying to achieve. We didn’t want to re-write it per se—a mission statement should be a solid foundation—but we felt it was time to build on it as we entered a new phase of rapid growth.

Ultimately, creating a positive working culture begins with the company. It stems from a company’s ability to communicate its vision to its employees and support employees in achieving their goals, whether that means professional development or mental and physical wellness. At AnyPerk, we can’t promise to single-handedly transform your company’s corporate culture to that of Google and Facebook. But, we can help you get there.

So AnyPerk’s new mission statement is: “to empower companies to delight their employees.”

The reason why is just as critical. Why is our mission important? Does it really matter? We concluded: because happy employees are vital to the health and success of every organization.

Employees are brand champions who represent the company outside of the office. They are the ones with the innovative ideas and the drive to make those ideas real.  Even at AnyPerk, we constantly strive to understand what innately makes our employees tick.

But we also recognized the need for guiding principles in support of our mission statement. For about a month, all members of the AnyPerk team provided input on what unique values ties us together. That input, combined with our founders’ reflections on what kind of company they want to build, led us to our core values.

We identified three values that tie us together as a team.

AnyPerk’s Values

1. Be better than yesterday. We want to walk the path of continual improvement. When we achieve something, we celebrate, and always look for the next level or professional growth.

2. Build trust like a family. We believe that to succeed we have to build and maintain trust like a family.

3. Always be delighting. It’s what we do, so we strive to delight our customers, partners, and each other.

We aim to make every company a pleasure to work at. Our team has learned first-hand what it takes to maintain a rewarding culture during rapid growth. We believe we’re now in a stronger position to create a world of happier workforces.

If you believe in our mission, join our team! Be at the forefront of delighting employees nationwide.

If you want us to help empower you to delight your employees, learn more about offering AnyPerk to your workforce.

Suffice to say, finding the perfect PM for our team was not easy. But we’re proud to announce that we’ve finally found her - please welcome Vanessa, AnyPerk’s new Product Manager!

Prior to AnyPerk, Vanessa served as a Product Manager at the online legal services company, Rocket Lawyer.  A native of Marin County, California, Vanessa is joining AnyPerk’s team in San Francisco to help us develop new and exciting features for our product!

Want to learn more? Read about Vanessa’s future aspirations and how she first learned of AnyPerk, below:

Q: How did you first hear of AnyPerk?

A: I first found out about AnyPerk when talking to a member of my HR team at my last company. Then, after a conversation with Drew about the product manager opportunity and plans for future development, I knew right away that AnyPerk would be a perfect fit. It doesn’t get any better than making a product that makes others happy. 

Q: What do you hope to accomplish at AnyPerk?

A: I aspire to support AnyPerk through it’s nascent stages of development and help create a product that becomes an integral part of hiring and retaining employees. Also, I fully intend to practice what we preach and have a fantastic time while working hard with a team of talented people. 

Q: What activities fill your weekends?

A: Generally I rock climb, hike, run, take voice lessons, brunch or go on adventures with friends. 

Q: Where will you be in 5 years?

A:  In 5 years AnyPerk will be an industry leader world wide, coveted by employees and sought after by the most prestigious companies. Having played an integral role in product development, I will be continuing with AnyPerk by shaping the product, growing the team and leading us towards greater heights. 

Q: What is your favorite perk?

A: I am torn - my most recent Perk is the discount on Ray Ban sunglasses but I fully intend for the next to be a membership with a local gym, either Club One or LA Fitness. On one hand I love the glasses but on the other a membership to a gym near work is the gift that keeps on giving! 

It’s a pleasure to have you on board, Vanessa!

Interested in joining the AnyPerk team? Visit our Careers page or email us at support@anyperk.com.

Visit AnyPerk and start offering your employees top perks today!

We live in a world of images.

It’s never been so easy to snap a photo and share it with the world. Photos are immediately emotional and social, and allude to stories that don’t have to be written. They take but a moment to understand—a treasured quality for today’s multitaskers.

We’ve come a long way since personal cameras in any professional setting represented a PR nightmare. Photography has proven itself to be a powerful tool for companies not only for its use in commercial advertising, but more recently for the ease with which third-party individuals are able to market – as well as interact with - brands through social media.

Digital photography and the Internet have made the corporate cultures of most companies pretty transparent - both to its own employees and to the world. So let’s go over the steps your company can take to leverage photography to engage current employees and the public.

1. Create a Hashtag for Your Employees to Use

So the line between personal and professional life has officially blurred. Use it to your advantage.

Show the world you trust your employees to share photos relating to the company on their social media networks. Not only that, show your employees you trust them.  They might in turn reward you with positive and honest endorsements of your company that will strengthen your employer brand.

Remember: it’s more believable when an employee promotes a company’s culture than when a company does so themselves.

2. Make a Company Instagram

Filter the socks off of your team photos. Put faces to your company’s name. With their permission, post images of employees working together, whether it’s when they’re volunteering after work hours or celebrating an exciting milestone at the company.

Also, are you planning on recruiting any millennials for your team?

Keep in mind that 34% of US teens and millennials (ages 14-34) are on Instagram. Sixty-six percent of millennials use Facebook. And, 44% of people report they they are more likely to engage with a brand if they post photos on social media.

If you haven’t started leveraging social media to market your employer brand, it’s time to start!

3.  Document What Goes On Backstage

Create a Dropbox or Flickr Account for internal use. Then let your employees have fun with it.

This is where all the photos of office shenanigans go that didn’t quite make it onto social media. Photos from a happy hour. Pictures of a colleague whose family visited the office and befriended other employees.  Even baby pictures of teammates.

Plus, we’ve already discussed the importance of keeping remote employees feeling in the loop. Sharing photos internally allows remote workers not only to feel connected to their on-site colleagues, but allows them to share aspects of their work life with the on-site team as well.

4. Create a Photo Board in the Office

Before dismissing this as grossly mundane and old-fashioned (who prints photos anymore, right?), think of why we still display photos of our families and best friends in our homes and on office desks.

Isn’t it because we’re proud of them and want to feel close to them?

So be a proud parent and show off your team.

There is no doubt that employees will feel more connected and committed to a team when they see themselves standing among their teammates in photos displayed in the office. Be sure to include every employee on the team in at least one displayed photo so no one feels left out. Try to update it as often as possible.

5. Document the Growth of Your Team Regularly

These don’t have to be professional photos, and can be done on someone’s phone. Taking team photos every couple months can be a powerful way to visualize the growth of a company and see how everyone’s hard work is paying off – especially for smaller to mid-sized companies during their growth spurts.  

Team photos can also be repurposed for content marketing or future PR opportunities. Not to mention, it’s a wonderful way to make new employees feel like they’re officially part of the team.  

Interested in offering your employees awesome perks? Visit AnyPerk to get started.

Looking for a delightful place to work? We’re always hiring. 

It’s impossible to find office snacks that please the entire company.

We humans, with our various dietary restrictions, allergies, and preferences for food, have managed to make it really difficult for others to feed us. And yet, sure as rain, a couple hours after a meal your employees get up from their desks and wander to the kitchen in search of the perfect snack.

So what is it about sitting at our desks typing that makes snacking so enticing anyway?

Sometimes our bodies are low in blood sugar. When our glucose levels drop, we feel lethargic, exhausted, and starved of brainpower. This is when the protein bar in your bag comes in handy. 

But the sad truth is that most of the time we’re just restless, not hungry. Even more reason to make sure the food people consume in the office carry some benefits to the consumer. 

Provide Snacks with Physical and Mental Health Benefits

Consuming certain types of food – like snacks that are high in protein, amino acids, and antioxidants – can actually help the brain work better.

Some easy healthy snack options to stock the office kitchen are:

• Nuts: especially walnuts, almonds, cashews, pecans, brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, and peanuts
• Fruit: especially blueberries, apples, bananas, strawberries, and oranges
• Low-fat cheeses
• Veggies and hummus
• Yogurt (sidenote: an interesting comparison between Greek and regular yogurt)
• Hard-boiled eggs

We’ve also done research on some great healthy snack brands that you can test out for your office:

12 Healthy Snack Delivery Options to Stock Your Office Kitchen

• 2 Degrees Food*: Vegan. Gluten-free. Kosher. Fruit and nut bars ~ $17.95 per box of 9 bars

• AbesMarket*: Nuts, tortilla chips, protein bars, cheesy bites, gluten-free chocolate quinoa clusters, truffle almonds, dried fruit, chia bars… ~ Prices Vary

• Bakery on Main: Granola bars, gluten-free bars, oatmeal ~ $5.49 per box or bag

• Brad’s Raw Chips: Kale chips. Veggie chips. Raw leafy kale ~ $81.50 per case of 12 packs

• Crunchies Food: Vegan. gluten-free. Dried fruit, dried veggies, and organic options ~ $20.28 per Munch Pak of 12 bags

• Dang Foods: Gluten-free. Vegan. Coconut chips ~ $38.41 per pack of 12 bags

• Field Trip Jerky*: All natural ingredients. Dried. Lean cuts of Top Round beef ~ $6 per bag

• Kind Snacks: All-natural. Whole nuts, fruits, and whole grain bars ~ $107.50 per case of 72 bars

• Popchips: No oil. Zero trans fat. All natural. Popped instead of fried ~ $16.48 Popchips Variety box

• Purely Elizabeth: Sugar-free. Vegan. Gluten-free. Dairy free. Granola minis. ~ $22 per box of 8 bags

• Snack Healthy: Dried fruit. Nut bars. Fruit and nut snacks ~ Call for pricing

• Somersault Snack: Nut-free. Sunflower and sesame seed nugget snacks ~ $12.49 per box of 12 snack packs

*AnyPerk members receive discounted rates on these healthy-snack items.

Interested in offering your employees awesome perks? Visit AnyPerk to get started.

Looking for a delightful place to work? We’re always hiring. 

We’re so proud to announce that Allison has joined AnyPerk as our new Designer!

Allison is joining us from Groupon, where she worked as a Product Designer for two and a half years. Originally from Chicago, she studied Graphic Design at Columbia College Chicago and now has joined the AnyPerk team in San Francisco. 

Interested in learning more about Allison? Read below! 

Q: How did you first hear of AnyPerk?

A: My former company uses AnyPerk and I thought it was a great product and wanted to find out more. I was excited to see that they were hiring a Designer, especially because the design already appealed to me. 

Q: What do you hope to accomplish at AnyPerk?

A: I’m excited to help fine-tune the product wherever needed so that we can be sure we’re offering the best experience to our users–employees and HR alike. Working closely with marketing and engineering, I hope to help reinvent the wheel in terms of how companies reward their employees and make them feel appreciated. 

Q: What activities fill your weekends?

A: On the weekends you can usually find me on long bike rides with my friends or at a music festival. Coming from the midwest, I’m starting to have my first introductions to camping and so far I love it. California’s nature is pretty unbelievable. 

Q: Where will you be in 5 years?

A:  Living abroad and working with a nonprofit. I love to travel and I want to spend a large chunk of time traveling and giving back to the countries that I visit. 

Q: What is your favorite perk?

A: Right now it’s for Raging Waters Waterpark in San Jose. My friends and I are all going this weekend and I was surprised [and delighted!] to find out that AnyPerk offers discounted admission. 

Welcome to the family, Allison!

Interested in joining the AnyPerk team? Visit our Careers page or email us at support@anyperk.com.

Visit AnyPerk and start offering your employees top perks today!

Michelle is joining our team as our new Account and Operations Manager! 

Michelle will be working closely with AnyPerks partners and managing all the perks on our platform. Previously, she worked as a Sales Operations Manager at the content delivery network, EdgeCast Networks.

With a Communications degree from California State University San Marcos and a solid operations background, we’re confident in her ability to foster strong relationships with our partners and continually improve AnyPerk’s platform! Want to learn more about Michelle? Read below:

Q: How did you first hear of AnyPerk?

A: I primarily used AngeList when looking for the next gig, my search lead me to AnyPerk. I thought to myself - a company that focuses on employee satisfaction? I want to go to there! I knew that any business dedicated to happiness in and out of work was something I wanted to be a part of.

Q: What do you hope to accomplish at AnyPerk?

A: Sometime in the future I aspire to be an entrepreneur. I hope to be a sponge and learn all there is to learn about creating and building a business. I aspire to become more technical, to become a great leader, and to grow personally and professionally. 

Q: What activities fill your weekends?

A: I love to be outside as much as possible! Hikes, biking, live music, exploring the bay area. I hope to pick up some new hobbies along the way.

Q: Where will you be in 5 years?

A: Hmm - I don’t even know where I see myself in 5 days! Truthfully I try as much as possible to live each day in the moment - I only hope to be happy, healthy, and satisfied personally and professionally. 

Q: What is your favorite perk?

A: I can’t possibly choose! I love the fact that at any time an idea can pop into my head for something to purchase and AnyPerk provides me with tons of options. Gotta have options! 

Stoked to have you as part of the team, Michelle!

Interested in joining the AnyPerk team? Visit our Careers page or email us at support@anyperk.com.

Visit AnyPerk and start offering your employees top perks today!

Can you spot yours?

They are the employees who show up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to work every morning. They attend most company events and are often brimming with ideas for the company, whether for social events, marketing campaigns, specific industry speakers, or kitchen snacks.

It is the person you are always comfortable introducing job candidates to during interviews. They’re the person you prefer to represent the company outside the office, because they believe in the company’s vision and understand it like the back of their hand.

Still having trouble identifying your internal brand champions? Here are some tips:

Attributes of Your Best Internal Employer Brand Champions

• Committed, shares everything company-related on social media
• Always at/organizes company events
• Knows exactly what the company’s goals, values, and mission are
• Aligns their work to achieve the above
• Positive disposition, brings the team together
• Takes and uploads many pictures (and circulates them internally)
• They bridge the gap between different teams
• Organizes events, speakers, and always has several suggestions
• The person you’d ask to go talk to an unhappy employee
• She/he teaches others about the culture and product
• Is a great communicator (internally and to customers/public)
• Probably doesn’t realize he or she is doing all the above-mentioned things

Employer brand champions help your company grow, not only literally - as brand champions also make for fabulous recruiters - but their feedback on new product features, new hires, new partnerships, and company culture is incredibly valuable.

Brand champions are paying attention to the company; in fact, they are probably your toughest audience because their expectations are highest. So leverage their feedback and suggestions and keep them informed on exciting company updates as they are likely to share the information with their wider networks.

Interested in offering your employees awesome perks? Visit AnyPerk to get started.

Looking for a delightful place to work? We’re always hiring.