HR Millennial report: 'We want transparency, honesty, and opportunity'

We often hear discussions about Millennials in the workplace. This generation, consisting of people born roughly between 1980 and 2000, will play an increasingly important role in the knowledge economy. The image shows how large the Millennial group is in comparison to other generations.

To learn more about how Millennials view the work environment, I invited two successful Millennials to a conversation on the CXOTalk video show.

Lauren Brousell is a senior writer for cio.com and served as guest co-host on this episode of CXOTalk. Together, she and I interviewed Dan Schawbel, a Millennial entrepreneur and author.

One of the most important topics we discussed was Dan's perspective on how companies can create an attractive work environment for Millennials. It is a question with significant consequence for every organization.

In summary, the key is creating a transparent environment that gives Millennial employees visibility into decision-making and offers them the opportunity to contribute in a meaningful way.

You can view our entire conversation embedded below and read the whole transcript at the cxotalk.com site.

The transcript that follows addresses these points and is edited for length and clarity.

How can employers create an attractive workplace for millennials?

Number one is figure out how you're serving your world and your local community, and then explain how the millennial is part of that overall mission. Communicate that to them, show them, "Hey, you know these tasks that you are doing help the team. This is how it helps the manager. This is how it helps the organization. This is how it helps the customers, and this is how it helps the world." Creating those connections is important.

A flexible workplace is essential and allowing them to work from home. Being flexible in terms of their hours, making it more about results than hours worked or time spent at work or where work is being done.

Another thing is letting them get involved with discussions. Just because you have a 50,000-person organization, why not let the Millennials see what's going on in the boardroom. Why not have a flat organization, in terms of how people are communicating and spreading information.

Millennials want their voice to be heard and I don't blame them. They want a very transparent workplace with honest leaders. The number one leadership trait they are looking for is honest leadership. Honesty is very important, and vision, and then transparency.

The most important thing is setting out expectations. During the job interview, explain to the Millennial this is what the next three to five years is going to look like, and if that not what you want your career journey to be then don't take the job.