As a generation, there hasn’t been an age group as disruptive as the Millennials since the Baby Boomers. They use completely new platforms to mobilise, communicate, and create. And they aren’t just creating trends, they are creating entire new industries.

For businesses and entrepreneurs looking to bring on the next generation of innovators, they will need to become more innovative to attract this new workforce.

Millennials grew up more connected to technology, are a more diverse group, have more education, and are also starting out their lives with higher average debt than generations before them.

But despite the stereotypes, Millennials actually stay with their employers longer than Generation X workers did at the same ages. All of these factors have massive implications on their expectations of work and the role that work plays in their lives.

Learn while they earn

Companies must embrace this shift in prioritisation and become learning organisations, providing constant training and space for personal development. Not only can this training make them more productive employees, but it can also teach them to better develop and support innovative ideas.

Leave the suit, office, and hours behind

Most Millennials expect to be their own boss, but there are office practices that can be more appealing, especially if you can help them become good bosses. Unlike past generations, they also actively resist the suit-and-tie culture and that dreary 9-to-5.

Millennials require flexibility in attire and working hours

Bring them into the process

Millennials want to be able to suggest new products to companies, and they should be given that kind of access with the proper nurturing. They want feedback, but they also want to be a contributing voice in the company’s future.

Understand new workplace demographics

Millennials are more critical of layers of management, operational structures, and a lack of diversity. Another major change is the role of women in the workforce: Millennial women have more education than men, and their rising professional aspirations have put their ambitions on par with their male peers.

As these changes in employee demographic become more pronounced, there is no more critical time to ensure that employers consciously address very real issues such as the gender pay gap and workforce diversity. IT you don’t fix it, the talent will continue to gravitate towards entrepreneurial companies such as Facebook and Netflix that do.

Learn from those that grew from entrepreneurs

Organisations grown by entrepreneurs often engineer themselves to be more flexible, creative, and collaborative and purposefully maintained that culture as they grew. Scale does not need to mean giving up the authentic roots on which the company was built.

Not surprisingly, Google is the top company Millennials want to work for, with their “20% time” policy. Employees get 20% of their time to spend on personal projects that align themselves with the objectives of the company.

Consider the journey

As with other aspects of their lives, Millennials are looking for experiences. So while cash bonuses and fiscal rewards have worked well as incentives in the past, Millennials are looking for a more creative set of incentives and perks from employers. They want their employers to also offer them experiences, learning opportunities, and fresh perspectives.

It's good to offer a few career paths

Technology for connecting better

Millennials have almost always had a way of being constantly connected to each other. Today, it’s any combination of SMS, Facebook Messenger, Snapchat, WhatsApp, Line, or Twitter. Constant streams of communication are a basic expectation for the way they live the rest of their lives.

This trend has now hit desks (and coffee shops and apartments) through new professional services that help streamline and enable remote workplace collaboration through digital, such as Slack, Glip, and Box. Across fields, the move towards more lean and agile is changing the ways Millennials prefer to work

Help your talent grow

Mentorship, education, and travel are some of the most sought after methods of personal growth, but the inherent quality in each of these methods is flexibility. The 9-to-5 job is a tired formula, particularly for future generations who expect to be constantly connected and able to communicate and collaborate freely.

To accommodate this need while still encouraging productivity, give Millennials concrete targets and clear timelines, but don’t stress about the tactics they employ. Provide them with collaboration tools and the means to work remotely, with global teams, and more effectively.

As workforce expert Nadira Hira advises: “make your Millennials feel like partners in that mission. There’s nothing we won't do — from putting in crazy hours to turning down great offers elsewhere — when we have a sense of ownership.”