海角大神

They are the so-called 鈥渢rophy generation,鈥� those young, budding leaders who, the conventional wisdom goes, want it all with a pat on the back and a promotion every two years. In the most competitive industries, the perks tailored to them 鈥� the ping pong tables and free food, to name a couple 鈥� have become as par-for-the-course as health insurance and a retirement plan.

Still, independent-minded Millennials, broadly defined as those between 20 and 36 years old, have a somewhat uneasy coexistence with their employers. That looms large especially now, as many begin to inherit a new title: boss.

As companies plan for that future, they鈥檙e focused on figuring out the priorities of workers like Jessica Schaeffer, who has stuck with Chicago-based LaSalle Network, a professional staffing firm, for the past six years since graduating from college. Ms. Schaeffer has gone from handling some of the firm鈥檚 marketing responsibilities to a chief of staff role that has her in charge of the growing company鈥檚 internal and external communications, including pinch-hitting for LaSalle chief executive Tom Gimbel at public speaking events.

The ability of companies to nurture employees like Schaeffer up toward the C-suite will be critical to their future success. Millennials make up one-third of the current workforce, headed toward as more Baby Boomers retire. In order to attract and develop Millennial talent, companies are making big changes, from boosting professional-development opportunities to moving their headquarters to cities like Chicago where young adults prefer to live.

Most fundamentally, many firms are responding with a values shift 鈥� by aiming to embody the sense of higher purpose that appeals to Millennials as workers and, by extension, as consumers too.

鈥淵oung people are calling the shots and they don鈥檛 even know it,鈥� says Josh Bersin, a Deloitte consultant who studies trends in company culture.

Actually, some young managers are helping to lead the change, even as they learn the practical limits of policies like flexible scheduling.

鈥楳oney is ... not everything鈥�

Schaeffer remembers entering the work world as something of a 鈥渟hock to the system,鈥� handling long commutes, early mornings and 鈥� as an English and Spanish double major with no business experience 鈥� learning the job and the business world on the fly. Mr. Gimbel and the company鈥檚 open approach gave her something she says many younger workers want 鈥� the ability to learn from older mentors and company executives directly.

鈥淚 reported to a CEO that鈥檚 running a $30 million company, I learned how to do an RFP [business proposal], how to create social media 鈥� I listened to people, I watched people,鈥� Schaeffer says of her first months at LaSalle. 鈥淚 made friends with accounting and HR. I got really unique perspective, and I got to build those relationships and have that exposure.鈥� 聽

Gimbel, her boss, emphasizes the importance of investing in employees like Schaeffer. In April, his company sprung for an all-expense-paid trip to Nashville for its 150 employees, and LaSalle has won dozens of awards for its office culture.

鈥淢oney is important and it pays the bills 鈥� but it鈥檚 not everything,鈥� says Gimbel, 45, whose firm now has three Chicago-area offices and one in San Francisco. The firm鈥檚 effort has paid off in worker retention.

鈥淓verybody鈥檚 staying. Our voluntary turnover rate is one of the lowest in the industry. We鈥檙e the destination of choice,鈥� he says.

Making worker values company values

Not all companies have been as successful on this front as LaSalle. A 2016 Gallup poll found that 1 in 5 Millennials had changed jobs in the past year, job hopping at three times the pace of older workers.

Executives seem to know that keeping young talent happy and on the payroll is an issue, even if they鈥檙e not quite sure how to address it. A recent by Deloitte points to the struggles: It found that while 8 in 10 executives put a high priority on the employee experience, only 23 percent rate their own solutions on work-life balance as excellent. And a from the consulting firm found that some 70 percent of Millennials eventually want to start their own businesses. And very few 鈥� just 20 percent 鈥� are happy in a job for which they don鈥檛 perceive a broader mission or purpose.

A company with an ethos that reflects and amplifies the values of its employees is one that will have staying power through the decades, says Deloitte鈥檚 Mr. Bersin. He cites the book 鈥淔irms of Endearment,鈥� which makes the case that passion and purpose beyond the bottom line also leads to profits and long-term success.

鈥淚 won't mention any names,鈥� he says, 鈥渂ut if you look at companies that have fraud, huge government liabilities, ... all of a sudden they kind of wake up and say 鈥榦ur culture was kind of screwed up, wasn鈥檛 it?鈥� 鈥�

Bersin argues that Starbucks started the trend of leadership on corporate culture when it began to offer part-time employees health insurance. It was an expensive proposition that most corporate bean counters deemed unnecessary, but the move sent a signal to both its employees and the public that it wasn鈥檛 going to be a large corporation in the traditional mold.

Some large corporations, facing the task of a culture reboot, are moving their headquarters from rural areas and suburbs toward livelier environs downtown.

Last year, McDonald鈥檚 announced it will be leaving its suburban Chicago complex in 2018 and moving corporate headquarters into a smaller building in one of the most desirable neighborhoods downtown 鈥� near where Google has recently placed its Chicago office. Caterpillar鈥檚 company executives are exiting Peoria, Ill., for a locale closer to Chicago. General Electric is in the process of moving from its longtime home in suburban Connecticut to a new campus along Boston鈥檚 seaport.

If catering to Millennials is vital for the corporate future, it鈥檚 because they鈥檙e the rising generation of consumers as well as workers. (Pertinent for McDonald鈥檚, for instance: The younger generation values healthy eating.)

Flexibility 鈥� to a point

The transition to the next American workplace isn鈥檛 always smooth, but Millennials themselves are helping to carve the path. At LaSalle, Schaeffer says the company constantly views its Millennial-friendly culture as a work in progress.

鈥淲e want to instill fun, but we want to instill accountability as well,鈥� she says. It鈥檚 also not just about the perks. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 copy what Google and Netflix and Facebook do.鈥� She points to the trend of offering employees 鈥渦nlimited鈥� time off as an example. 鈥淚 think a lot of companies think it鈥檚 a quick fix. It doesn鈥檛 work.鈥�

Instead, she says, 鈥渋t's figuring out 鈥榳hat does my company stand for, who owns the culture 鈥� how are we scaling it as we grow?鈥� 鈥�

That requires constant vigilance toward questions of company culture. A few years ago, for example, the company experimented with flexible work schedules 鈥� something much of its workforce preferred. But LaSalle鈥檚 clients weren鈥檛 able to reach its employees easily enough, and the company abandoned the practice.

鈥淎s a professional services firm we need to be available for when our clients need us,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e want people who want to be [in the office].鈥�

In other words, the corporate world is the Millennials鈥� proverbial oyster 鈥� to a point.