Last week, we introduced you to Epsilon, a global marketing-services company with a groundbreaking approach to creating a working culture where all of their employees thrive and their millennial associates, in particular.
Because our PreparedU survey data shows that there is still a major gap between the skills and perceptions of millennial workers, their parents, educators, hiring managers, and business leaders, we wanted to take a deeper look at what Epsilon is doing — and seeing — in their relationships, especially their recruitment and retention efforts with millennials, that other companies could incorporate into their own practices.
Why does Epsilon care so much about hiring Generation Y workers — and why do they in turn love working at Epsilon? We sat down with David Lucey, director of campus recruiting, to find out in part two of this feature on Epsilon:
Do you feel there’s a preparedness gap between millennial workers and the requirements of the workplace?
Generally speaking, no. There are generational differences in expectations, so it’s not so much that millennials are missing anything or they’re not prepared to step into the workforce. It’s that they learn differently, or their methods and communication and lifestyle are different and unique from other generations. So I think that it’s that many organizations aren’t prepared to provide the kind of environment in which they can be successful and thrive. I’m not saying we’ve perfected it by any means, but over the last few years of our college recruiting program, we’ve learned and put an emphasis on our training. Not just for new grads but also for managers: tips and things that they should be aware of to have a successful employee relationship. Millennials aren’t coming in with a lack of preparedness, but we’ve also had a pretty successful run and been pretty lucky. From a hiring perspective, as we’ve built out our team we look for people we want to be around — that’s the screening criterion. Even if they’re the best at their job, it’s not going to work if they don’t fit our culture.
How does your company help millennials with any perceived learning curve?
Our “new grad” training program goes beyond your typical corporate training, where it’s just job-specific to the skills you need to do your role. There is a technical or job-specific training, but we balance that with training on professional development skills, like how to write effective emails — which some of them roll their eyes at, because, “Like really? I’ve been writing emails since I was 7!” — but our training is on the tone and business context of email. We teach them how to do presentations. We expose them to a granular, in-depth training on Epsilon as a company so they can understand exactly what we do and learn the ins and outs of Epsilon, because it’s a pretty complex, multi-layered, and complicated place. We complement training with social interaction and round tables and other direct interaction with senior leaders, incorporated into their first 10 weeks and beyond. We’re currently hosting a one-year anniversary “reunion” happy hour for our new grads who started in 2013, who did this training but then went off into their respective teams. We pull them back together periodically to help maintain that “class mentality,” so everyone can stick together and come together for various things. Providing a social context for people on the job is important to us and to millennials.
Do you see any differences between female and male employees?
I haven’t, to be honest. I think that first coming in the door, it’s an equal standing. We provide equal opportunities for both males and females. I will note that, as we go through recruiting, we’re not focused on any quotas, but we do have a good balance of diversity. It wasn’t until our new grads started that I looked at a list and realized that we hired 70 percent female this year, especially here in Boston. Out of 25 new grads that started, 20 were female. That wasn’t intentional, but it happened as a result of us looking for the right “fit” for Epsilon.
Do you have any formal or informal mentorship programs in place?
Yes, we have both. We assign a formal mentor to each one of our new grad hires, and they sign a contract for their first six months but many keep in touch and keep up that relationship after that. The formal mentor is not someone who works in their group, but someone who may have done their job two or three years ago. The formal mentor is someone who they can ask absolutely anything to, from where to park their car to career advice. Each new grad hire also gets a “buddy” for specific work questions, someone on their team but older and more experienced.
Do you actively encourage or provide opportunities for your millennial employees/colleagues to network outside the company?
Many of them are in client-facing roles, so there is an inherent opportunity there. There is also an opportunity to get involved with The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and other industry organizations, networking events, and conferences. Outside of the company, we encourage them to stay involved with their universities, whether that’s by helping us with actual on-campus recruiting or speaking to classes, or through their alumni organizations. I impress upon them that it sets the foundation for their professional careers, that the relationships they build inside the company will extend beyond their employment with Epsilon if they’re solid ones. In some of our bigger offices, we also have a group called The Network, which is sort of a young professionals networking organization within the company and where they can get together on a quarterly basis.
Do you actively encourage or provide opportunities for your millennial employees to further their education or acquire new soft and hard skills through classes, conferences, or other opportunities?
Two things I would mention is that we offer a formal tuition reimbursement program, so someone who wants to be involved in an advanced degree program can submit for reimbursement for the classes that they take, and a good percentage of people who take advantage of that are early in their career, going to school in the evenings. We also have Epsilon University, which provides in-house opportunities for training around specific skills, with thousands of online courses available to any employee, and in-person courses that are open to all associates. The challenge that everybody has, and we see it with our new grads even in their 10-week training, is there’s a curve and by the sixth week they’re getting filled up with their actual work and the balance is difficult to keep up, which is a lifelong struggle — how do you fit it all in? As part of Epsilon University, we can also offer industry certification through trade organizations we’re a part of, like the DMA certification and exam, for which there’s a fee and cost if done on your own, so it’s a nice benefit.
Melissa Massello is a freelance writer, former startup executive, and serial entrepreneur who is passionate about supporting women’s leadership and gender equality, both in business and at home.