Are you struggling to recruit and retain a millennial workforce? I’ve recently completed a study of a manufacturing company that successfully built a culture to attract and retain younger workers. Here are four highlights from my new case on building your next generation workforce. Future posts will provide more details on each of these factors.

First, some background. When Tailored Label Products (TLP) acquired a small leading edge user of digital printing technologies, CEO Mike Erwin knew his firm could grow dramatically. But existing employees were attached to traditional industrial printing technologies and there was a very limited pool of experienced workers from which to recruit to support growth in their increasingly digital workplace.

This meant competing for young millennial talent in the Milwaukee area, where TLP’s largest operation is based. To meet this challenge, the firm’s leaders have built an organization that effectively recruits, develops and retains young workers. Here are four things TLP’s leadership team has found essential for creating a millennial-friendly culture.

1. Pursue talent in the pipeline

Public speaking. TLP doesn’t wait for job candidates to come to them. Over the last decade, Erwin has raised the company’s visibility by regularly speaking about its innovative culture at local technical colleges and business gatherings.  The company compliments this increased prominence by supporting scholarships in the printing program of a local college.

Use millennials to recruit. TLP also sends some of its most enthusiastic young employees into nearby high schools to educate students about diverse career opportunities in the fast-changing printing industry. Management recognizes that dispatching employees who are closer in age to the students is more effective for creating interest in the company.

2. Be an attractive employer

Like it or not, good millennial candidates are always comparing you to other employers. TLP has built a millennial-friendly culture by taking several steps to stand out in the battle for talent.

Promote progressive benefits. This small firm can’t always compete with nearby Fortune 500 companies on salaries, but it still stands out by offering other appealing benefits. For example, they provide aggressive medical cost sharing by reimbursing employees for a significant percentage of deductible expenses incurred on their health care plan.

TLP also refined its pension benefit to be more appealing to millennials, as an early adopter of what is called a Safe Harbor plan that automatically contributes a richer than normal match percentage to an employee’s 401K plan

Offer flexible work options. CEO Mike Erwin explains the company’s philosophy this way:

“We try to mix and match individuals and departments based on the type of work they’re doing. It depends on the job and the coverage needed. In the plant, many employees will work eight hours five days a week, or maybe they can do it in four days at 10 hours a day. Can you work noon to eight and still get the coverage you need on the machines? In the office, maybe you come in seven to three as a graphic designer, or maybe you work from home on Wednesdays. We encourage flexible schedules of all types where it works for all sides.”

3. Stimulate employee engagement

The link between retention and employee engagement has been widely documented. So TLP invests a lot of effort in practices that build the emotional commitment of their employees to the company and its goals. For example:

“2 of 10” employee development program. One of the most unusual things the firm does is conduct a small, customized training program to help employees get to know each other at a much deeper level.

The six-week program always includes a cross section of people from each department who meet weekly to work on topics such as teamwork, conflict resolution, and personal development. The central purpose of the sessions is to help employees become more aware of each other’s individual strengths and weaknesses. In the process, they get to know colleagues in other departments at a much deeper level, while also learning about the responsibilities and skills others have.

4. Promote career development

One sign that TLP takes talent management seriously is that the executive team meets every week to discuss recruiting and staffing issues, as well as development strategies for individual employees. Every manager comes to the meeting knowing they have to be accountable for the development and deployment of their talent. Erwin explains:

“You have to be transparent about what is going on with your crew. You may have a personality conflict between co-workers, for example, so the leadership team might brainstorm how to handle a chemistry issue.

“It’s well known in the organization that we meet once a week. That’s a millennial supporting behavior – the fact that it’s common knowledge that management is meeting about you … every week.”

The payoff

When TLP began courting young workers on the eve of the Great Recession, they were only 10% of the company’s workforce. Today millennials account for more than 50% of the firm, whose revenues have grown 400%. Other benefits of creating a culture that attracts and retains younger workers include attrition that is now less than five percent and a more agile workforce eager to take on the challenges posed by new printing technologies.

TLP’s CEO sums up this investment in building a company attractive to a younger workforce:

 “We would’ve seriously hurt our growth the last eight years if we’d relied on experienced talent to fill the gaps. Across every aspect of this place, we’ve had to bet the future on millennial talent and it’s paid off big time.”