Walden University ScholarWorks Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection 2021 Strategies for Motivating and Retaining Millennial Workers Ana Cristina Barbosa Walden University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.edu/dissertations This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection at ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact ScholarWorks@waldenu. Walden University College of Management and Technology This is to certify that the doctoral study by Ana C.
Barbosa has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the review committee have been made. Review Committee Dr. Dina Samora, Committee Chairperson, Doctor of Business Administration Faculty Dr. David Moody, Committee Member, Doctor of Business Administration Faculty Dr.
Rocky Dwyer, University Reviewer, Doctor of Business Administration Faculty Chief Academic Officer and Provost Sue Subocz, Ph. Walden University 2021 Abstract Strategies for Motivating and Retaining Millennial Workers by Ana C. Barbosa MS, Nova Southeastern University, 2007 BS, Barry University, 2005 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration Walden University July 2021 Abstract As of 2020, millennials became the largest generation in the workforce, impacting the U. economy by $30 billion in turnover annually.
It has become increasingly challenging to attract and retain millennial generation employees. Business leaders face financial and operational decreases due to millennial employee turnover. Using transformational leadership and generational theories as the conceptual lens, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies organizational leaders use to motivate and retain talented millennial employees. The participants included six business leaders in the southeastern United States who implemented successful retention and motivational strategies.
Data were collected from semistructured interviews, a review of company public records, and the organizations’ websites. Yin’s 5-stage analysis was used to analyze the data, which enabled identifying three themes: competitive benefits, workplace values, and open communication and feedback. A key recommendation is for leaders to use transformational leadership tenets to recognize the millennial cohort’s distinctiveness to support retention strategies that foster increased employee engagement to enhanced employee commitment and willingness to participate in their organizations’ successes. The implications for positive social change include the potential for business leaders to implement transformational leadership strategies to improve the workplace environment, increase job satisfaction, and reduce turnover, thereby increasing organizational profitability and productivity and improving local economies.
Strategies for Motivating and Retaining Millennials Workers by Ana C. Barbosa MS, Nova Southeastern University, 2007 BS, Barry University, 2005 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration Walden University July 2021 Dedication I dedicate this doctoral study to my late mother, Maria D. Barbosa, who will always be my inspiration. I thank my kids, Mario, Jasmine, and Kyla, my daughter-in- law, Lauren, and my granddaughter, Niveya, who continue to be the driving force to be the best version of me.
You have brought me joy, taught me patience, and been my purpose for living life to the fullest. I love you all for who you are and know that you are all my favorites. Acknowledgments I want to thank God for giving me the strength and patience to go through this doctoral journey. I would also like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr.
You have been an incredible chair. I would not be here with your leadership, dedication, mentorship, and guidance. It took me a long time to find you, but I am glad I did. Thank you for helping me find my scholarly voice.
I also would like to acknowledge my committee members, Dr. David Moody and Dr. Rocky Dwyer, for their support, feedback, and devotion to the pursuit of education. Finally, my sincere appreciation to my family and friends.
My brothers, Sylvestre, Emanual, Joe, Luis, Eric, Virgilio, and Jorge, you are all my heart and soul; thank you for giving me your unconditional love. My love John, thank you for believing in me and being my cheerleader. My best friends: Justina (Juju), for being my lifelong sister and knowing no matter how far apart we are, we are always there for each other. Debbie, for the courage you gave me to start my educational journey; you believed in me before I believed in myself.
Elisabeth (Lis), you have been my rock, my confidant, and my champion. I could not have done this without your support. Karin, thank you for all of your encouragement. You are a kind, giving, and generous person that I have had the pleasure to have in my life.
Thank you to my military family, who challenged me to go further than I could have imagined. Many more people have seen me through this journey; your support means the world to me. Table of Contents List of Tables. iv Section 1: Foundation of the Study.1 Background of the Problem .2 Nature of the Study .4 Theoretical or Conceptual Framework .5 Definition of Terms.6 Assumptions, Limitations, and Delimitations.
8 Significance of the Study .9 Contribution to Business Practice. 9 Implications for Social Change. 9 A Review of the Professional and Academic Literature .9 Transformational Leadership Theory. 15 Millennials in the Workforce.
18 i Managing and Leading Millennials. 25 Motivation, Theories, and Millennials. 27 Retaining Millennial Employees. 32 Transition and Summary .35 Section 2: The Project .37 Role of the Researcher .40 Research Method and Design.
43 Population and Sampling. 47 Data Collection Technique. 48 Data Organization Techniques. 50 Data Analysis Technique .50 Reliability and Validity.
53 Transition and Summary .54 ii Section 3: Application to Professional Practice and Implications for Change .56 Presentation of the Findings.56 Theme 1: Competitive Benefits. 58 Theme 2: Workplace Values. 62 Theme 3: Millennials’ Need for Communication. 65 Applications to Professional Practice .69 Implications for Social Change .72 Recommendations for Action .73 Recommendations for Further Research .78 Appendix A: Interview Protocol .100 Appendix B: Interview Questions .101 iii List of Tables Table 1.
Calculation of Sources. 11 iv 1 Section 1: Foundation of the Study Approximately 75% of the workforce will be millennials by 2020, demanding relevant and meaningful work with strong coaching and leadership, personal development, flexible work schedule, and a sense of accomplishment as key job factors (Holmberg-Wright et al. Millennial generation employees may leave an organization when the work is not interesting or lack a supportive leader or environment (Guchait et al. High turnover from millennial generation employees creates operational instability for a leader (Brown et al.
Thus, organizational leaders may use innovative strategies for attracting and retaining millennial generation employees. Background of the Problem The purpose of this study was to explore organizational leaders’ attraction and retention of millennial generation employees. Organizational leaders face several challenges when trying to decrease turnover rates. The challenges include employees’ experience, knowledge, training, perception of the organization, and job satisfaction, all of which can affect companies’ ability to hire and retain quality and valuable employees (Najjar & Fares, 2017).
Organizational leaders need to understand more about millennial workers and how to attract them to an organization and retain them (Giambatista et al. Millennial generation workers’ motivation differs from prior generations (Gallup, 2016). Millennial employees have values and worldviews different from other generations (Kultalahti & Viitala, 2015). The practical implications of this study include providing 2 organizational leaders with innovative leadership strategies along with insight on attracting and retaining this generation in the workplace.
Problem Statement It has become increasingly challenging to attract and retain millennial generation employees (Wong et al. Outcomes from a national sample show the average employee between the ages of 25 and 34 stayed with an organization for 2.9 years from 2006 to 2016 (U. Department of Labor; Bureau of Labor and Statistics, 2016). The general business problem is that business leaders face financial and operational decreases due to millennial employee turnover (Frankel, 2016).
The specific business problem is that some organizational leaders lack the strategies to motivate and retain talented millennial employees. Purpose Statement The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies organizational leaders used to motivate and retain talented millennial employees. By identifying leadership practices, management will know how to manage expectations better and identify motivators and factors millennials perceive as supporting job retention and satisfaction. The target population was six managers who work for businesses in the southeast region of the United States with experience motivating and retaining employees.
The implications for positive social change include the potential to increase employees’ job satisfaction and to improve working conditions, which can benefit their relationships with managers, co-workers, families, and communities. 3 Nature of the Study There are three research methods: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method (Yin, 2018). I chose the qualitative multiple case study design for collecting in-depth data on the participants’ experiences. The qualitative method consists of a comprehensive approach to explore human experiences (Marshall & Rossman, 2016).
Marshall and Rossman (2016) revealed that the quantitative method involves analyzing statistical data while examining a theory that considers relationships or differences among variables. A quantitative method was not appropriate for this study because an understanding of the relationships or differences among variables would not address the specific business problem of strategies used to motivate millennial employees. Additionally, a quantitative approach had constraints because participants do not respond to open-ended questions, which results in limited variables (Yin, 2016). Patton (2015) stated that the mixed method approach requires combining both qualitative and quantitative methodologies.
Consequently, neither quantitative nor mixed methods were appropriate for this study because each method uses statistics to examine relationships and differences among variables. This study centered on strategies organizations use to motivate and retain talented millennial employees successfully. Key qualitative research designs include phenomenology, ethnography, narrative research, and case studies (Marshall & Rossman, 2016). Narrative researchers use participants’ illustrations, such as stories, to identify and explore phenomena (Morse, 2015).
However, reconstructing participants’ experiences into narratives was not the goal of my study. Phenomenological design involves how participants experience and 4 perceive a phenomenon (Ramani & Mann, 2016). Phenomenological design was not appropriate for this study due to the method to study human experience from a specific, definable phenomenon (Yin, 2016). Ethnography research involves a comprehensive illustration of cultural phenomena (Ramani & Mann, 2016).
Researchers use an ethnography design to study the culture of individuals and groups, which was not the purpose of this study (Ramani & Mann, 2016). The case study design was most appropriate to explore strategies to increase retention and motivate millennial workers. Research Question What strategies do organizational leaders use to motivate and retain talented millennial employees? The following interview questions address the central research question: 1. Which of your strategies are most effective in motivating and retaining millennial employees? 2.
How have you implemented these strategies for motivating and retaining millennial employees? 3. How do you assess the effectiveness of your strategies for motivating and retaining millennial employees? 4. What barriers have you encountered in implementing your strategies to motivate and retain millennial workers? 5. How did you address the barriers to implementing your motivation and retention strategies for the millennial workers? 5 6.
What additional aspects would you like to discuss regarding motivation and retention strategies affecting millennial workers? Theoretical or Conceptual Framework Transformational leadership theory and generational theory were the primary theoretical components of the conceptual framework for this study. Burns (1978) developed the concept of transformational leadership theory, which initially distinguished between transactional and transforming leaders. Bodenhausen and Curtis (2016) suggested that transformational leadership theory addresses the strategic issues managers face when transitioning a workforce from baby boomers to millennials. A useful organizational framework integrates engagement strategies and thoughtful research into the connections between development and efficacy to motivate and retain a workforce (Yanfei et al.