Jonathan Fitchew

The millennials. The newest breed to transform the face of business. With projections that by 2020 more than 46% of the global workforce will comprise these technology-orientated individuals, the millennials are set to become the key demographic for businesses to engage.

Growing up with a technology-orientated lifestyle has made these individuals more confident in collaborating and purchasing remotely. They’re the ultimate short attention span multi-taskers who value accessible content and e-communication over and above face-to-face contact. Never mind the seven-second cv scan: these merciless would-be hires are giving our job ads the same treatment.

Recruitment is slowly adapting. We’ve risen to the challenge of exclusively digitalised hiring processes, obliged with realms of accessible content, and flooded social media with supporting evidence that will sell candidates into our cultures, CSR policies and modern-looking offices. However, these millennials present a uniquely complex dilemma in today’s market. If they’re happier not only job searching but also purchasing from behind a computer screen, how does this affect the way businesses operate?

Of course, globalisation and digitalisation have already taken hold: no company is complete without its supporting website, app and e-marketing strategy. But we’re also seeing inside sales teams growing three times faster than their field equivalents, answering the call for remote selling. The future of business growth is outside home territory, but from an internal capacity.

It’s time to retire the ‘golden triangle’ for recruitment: job titles, salary and location are no longer the deal-breakers. In fact, it’s time to delete the location altogether. Competition for top talent is already fierce, and certain skill sets are rapidly becoming gold dust on the job market. Forget hiring for set office locations, and let’s cast a wider net. It’s time to go global.

Admittedly it may not yet be feasible for all companies to have Canadians selling to clients in Singapore. However, thanks to the likes of GoToMeeting and Skype, that age is a step closer. The rewards exceed the challenges, with opportunities for new markets, greater efficiency, lower costs: and to keep our millennials happy, it even helps reduce the carbon footprint.