Red Brick Research

Study Results:

The 2015 Millennial Majority Workforce Commissioned by Elance-oDesk and Millennial Branding

For more detail go to: www.elance-odesk.com/millennial-majority-workforce

October 2014

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§  Two online surveys were conducted in the U.S. among:

§  Data collected September 1 – September 10, 2014 by independent research firm Red Brick Research

§  Millennial results were weighted to ensure demographic representation across sample, based on figures from the United States Census Bureau

§  In this study reference is made to “Generation X” or the “previous generation.” For the purposes of this study, the

birth year ranges for these groups are:"

§  Millennials: 1982-1993 §  Generation X/Previous Generation: 1959-1981

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Research Methodology

Millennials Hiring managers

§  Graduates with a bachelor’s "/ Master’s degree or other "postgraduate qualification

§  Age 21 - 32

§  Company owners or managers §  Age 33+ §  All with responsibility over recruitment or

HR strategy within their business

Sample n=1,039 Margin of Error: +/-3.2% Sample n=200 Margin of Error: +/-6.9%

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§  Understand millennials’ role in our workforce as we approach 2015 §  Examine disjoints: §  Millennials’ inability to find work vs. an inability to hire §  Millennials’ differing work priorities §  Varying generational perceptions

§  Look at how work is changing

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Study Objectives

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Millennials are integral to the future of business

§  Millennials will be the majority of the U.S. workforce by 2015. §  28% are management level already; 2/3 see themselves in management in

ten years. §  Hiring managers believe millennials bring unique skills, especially that they

are more technically adept than prior generations (82% agree). §  The majority (53%) of hiring managers report difficulty finding and retaining

millennial talent, more than 3x the number who say it is "easy."

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Key Findings (1)

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Key Findings (2)

Hard skills reign

§  The August Bureau of Labor Statistics report had 4.8 million job openings—the highest number of U.S. job openings since January 2001.

§  Hiring managers prioritize hard skills: 55% say they focus more on hard skills

when hiring, versus 21% who say they focus more on personality. §  45% expect to become even more skills focused in ten years, versus only

11% who expect to become more personality focused.

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Millennials need something different than traditional employers provide�

§  79% of millennials would consider quitting their regular job and working for themselves in the future.

§  Freelancing’s flexibility and control appeal to millennials. §  Millennials care more about the people they work with, exciting work and

good mentorship and less about money than hiring managers realize.

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Key Findings (3)

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Millennials are integral to the future of businesses

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Millennials have power in numbers: 2015 is the year they become the majority in the U.S. workforce

45%

38%

31%

23%

22%

21%

25%

36%

45%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%

2005

2010

2015

Millennials

Generation X

Baby Boomers

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Generations in the workplace

Source: Bureau of Labour Statistics Employment Projections

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5%

12%

15%

7%

15%

46%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Other

Freelancing / self-employed

Individual contributor (not managing others)

C-Level titles (e.g. CEO, CFO, CTO etc.)

Business owner

Senior/Middle management

Millennials expect to have power in rank: two-thirds see themselves in management in 10 years

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Q: Where do you see yourself in ten years’ time?

Millennials Survey, n = 1,039

69% Managerial

roles

28% of millennials are currently managers* *Millennials Survey - Composite - Q: Which of the following best describes your current employment; Q: Which option describes

your current job level?

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Hiring managers say millennials bring unique skills, especially as the 1st “native technologist”

generation

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Hiring Managers Survey – Q: To what extent to do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements about how millennial graduates (aged 21-32) compare to the previous generation (aged 33+)?: ‘Millennials possess certain skills the previous

generation doesn’t tend to have’, n = 200

Hiring Managers Survey – Q: To what extent to do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements about how millennial graduates (aged 21-32) compare to the previous generation (aged 33+)?: ‘Millennials are more technologically adept’, n

= 200

“Millennials possess certain skills the previous generation doesn’t

tend to have”

68% of hiring managers agree

“Millennials are more technologically adept”

82% of hiring managers agree

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Millennials are seen as having skills that can help drive innovation

“Millennials can learn new things more quickly”

74% of millennials agree*

60% of hiring managers agree**

** Hiring Managers Survey – Q (see slide 10) - Statement ‘Millennials can learn new things more quickly’, n = 200

“Millennials are more likely to come up with fresh ideas”

71% of millennials agree*

57% of hiring managers agree**

** Hiring Managers Survey – Q (see slide 10) - Statement ‘Millennials are more likely to come up with fresh ideas for the company’, n = 200

*Millennials Survey – Q (see above) - Statement ‘We are more likely to come up with fresh ideas for the company’, n = 1,039

*Millennials Survey - Q: To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements about how young graduates like you (aged 21-32) compare to the previous generation (aged 33+)?: ‘We

can learn new things more quickly’, N = 1,039

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Workplaces in search of be!er gender equality should benefit from millennials

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“Millennials have a more equal attitude towards genders in the

workplace”

66% of hiring managers agree

Hiring Managers Survey – Q (see slide 10) – Statement: ‘Millennials have a more equal attitude towards the genders in the workplace’, n = 200

21% of millennial women feel that work has been worse than expected (versus only 12% of millennial men)

Millennials Survey – Q: Overall how has work lived up to expectations?, asked of business owners, employees, freelancers and interns, n = 818

However:

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Managers say that finding and retaining millennial staff is difficult

4%

11%

33%

44%

9%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Very easy

Fairly easy

Neither difficult nor easy

Fairly difficult

Very difficult

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Q: How difficult is it to find and retain reliable staff in this age bracket (21-32)?

Hiring Managers Survey, n = 200

53% Difficult

15% Easy

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Work in the “millennial majority” world:

Tech innovation, rapid responses and hard skills

reign

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Hiring managers today focus on hard skills

21%

24%

55%

0% 20% 40% 60%

Focused more on ATTITUDE / PERSONALITY

Neutral

Focused more on SKILLS

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Q: Generally, when hiring full time employees, does your organization tend to focus more on their skills or their attitude / personality traits?

Hiring Managers Survey, n = 200

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Hiring managers expect to only increase this focus on skills

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11%

45%

45%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Become more ATTITUDE / PERSONALITY focused

No change

Become more SKILLS focused

Q: How do you feel this focus will change over the next 10 years?

Hiring Managers Survey, n = 200

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There were 4.8 million job openings in August, a record high in years, yet a gap persists

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Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Change in job openings vs. hires since June 2009 Seasonally adjusted

100%

75%

50%

25%

0 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

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Traditional hiring isn’t working for either side

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** Hiring Managers Survey – Q: How difficult is it to find and retain reliable staff in this age bracket (21-32)?, n = 200

*Millennials Survey - Q: Have you ever had a difficult time finding a traditional job?, n = 1,039

53% of hiring managers** have had difficulty recruiting

millennials…

15%

33%

53%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Easy

Neither

Difficult

How difficult is it to find and retain reliable millennial staff?

39% of millennials* have had difficulty finding a traditional job

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Many millennials report hot STEM skills

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15%

15%

18%

20%

20%

22%

24%

29%

34%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Aerial Imaging / Mapping

Data Visualization

Nanotechnology

Genetic Modification

Internet of Things

Driverless Cars

Wearable Technology

Cloud Computing

3D Printing

Emerging skills possessed by millennials*

*Millennials Survey - Q: Which of any of these emerging skills are you familiar with (not a complete list), n = 1,039

54% of hiring managers report a technological skills shortage. IT is the highest-ranked skill in terms of shortages.**

*Technological Skills defined as - IT/Web Security; IT Tech Support; Digital Marketing; Software development; Web design; Mobile App Development; Graphic Design/Photography/3D; Database/Server Administration; Creative Vision Skills; Media Production Skills; Data Science/Analysis

**Hiring Managers Survey - Q: Which skills do you feel your company suffers from a shortage of? n =

200

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Companies are turning to freelancers to find specific skills and tackle rapid change

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% of companies using freelancers

Can often start working immediately 45%

Ability to scale workload up and down quickly as needs change 35%

Access to specific / niche skills 34%

Lower cost of required infrastructure (office space, IT etc.) 30%

A more flexible team in general 29%

Q: What do you perceive to be the main benefits of using freelancers over hiring additional permanent employees?

Hiring Managers Survey, all users of freelancing, n = 132

41% of hiring managers

plan to increase their hiring of freelancers in

the next five years (only 5% expect a

decrease) Hiring Managers Survey – Q : In the next 5 years how do you anticipate your hiring activity will change with respect to freelancers, n = 200

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In this new workforce, millennials need something different than traditional employers provide

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27%

46%

50%

55%

60%

65%

66%

72%

80%

73%

54%

50%

45%

40%

35%

34%

28%

20%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Team player

Confident

Optimistic

Entrepreneurial attitude

Adaptable

Money driven

Creative

Open to change

Narcissistic

Gen X

Millennials

How do hiring managers see millennials vs the prior generation? More adaptable and creative

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Qualities each generation is seen as more likely to possess (according to hiring managers)

Hiring Managers Survey - Q: Please look at this list of personality attributes. Do you think Millennials (21-32)or the previous generation (aged 33-55) are more likely to possess each, n = 200

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Hiring managers agree with millennials that they are creative, open to change and narcissistic

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Qualities seen as more prevalent in millennials (% thinking millennials are more likely to possess)

Millennials Survey - Q: Please look at this list of personality attributes. Do you think young graduates like you (21-32) or the previous generation (aged 33+) are more likely to possess each, n = 1,039

Hiring Managers Survey - Q: Please look at this list of personality attributes. Do you think Millennials (21-32)or the previous generation (aged 33-55) are more likely to possess each, n = 200

52%

68%

69%

70%

73%

75%

86%

87%

90%

27%

46%

55%

50%

65%

80%

60%

66%

72%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Team player

Confident

Entrepreneurial

Optimistic

Money driven

Narcissistic

Adaptable

Creative

Open to change

Hiring managers' views Millennials' views

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To keep millennials, businesses should place greater focus on people, exciting work & mentors

25%

30%

39%

44%

16%

24%

12%

75%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

A good mentor / manager

Work is exciting

The people / team they’ll work with

Earnings potential

Hiring managers' views of Millennials' priorities

Millennials' actual priorities

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Areas where managers’ views of millennial priorities at work are different than millennials’ actual priorities

Millennials Survey - Q: What do you prioritize when choosing a place of work? Select 5 options, n = 1,039 Hiring Managers Survey – Q: What do you think are the top 5 things young graduates prioritize when choosing a place to work?, n = 200

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Millennials will instigate change

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Expect to stay in their job fewer than three years 58% of millennials*:

* Millennials Survey – Q: Approximately how much longer do you think you’ll stay with your current main employer?, Asked of employees, n = 759

Average number of jobs 29-32 year old workers have had 2.4 jobs***:

*** Millennials Survey – Q: How many full-time jobs have you had (including a current one) since you graduated?, Asked of those who have had any full-time jobs, mean average, n = 925

Corporate loyalty is outdated – pros are successful if they craft their own path 52% of millennials**:

** Millennials Survey– Q: Which of these statements do you agree with most? ‘Corporate loyalty is an out-dated concept. Professionals are most successful today if they focus on crafting their own career path’; or ‘Corporate loyalty is important. Professionals are most successful today if they focus on their career advancement within the same company as

long as possible’, N = 1,039

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Freelancing is a!ractive to millennials

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** Millennials Survey – Q: Do you think at some point in the future, you like to quit your "regular job" and work only for yourself?, Asked of employees, n =

759

Would choose to freelance if they could “find enough projects to earn

the salary they are worth”

*Millennials Survey - Q: If you knew you could find enough freelance projects to earn the salary you’re worth, would you choose to freelance?, Asked of

those who have never freelanced, n = 648

79% of millennials**:

Would consider “quitting their regular job and working for themselves” in the future

69% of millennials who have never freelanced:

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Millennials like the flexibility & control of independent work

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Q: Attractive characteristics of freelance work

43%

43%

44%

53%

56%

66%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Control over work load

No office politics

Control of my own destiny (Being own boss)

The ability to choose what I work on / interesting work

Flexible working place

Flexible working times

Millennials Survey - Q: What do you believe are the most attractive characteristics of freelance work?, n = 1,039

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Technology is requiring more of millennials and impacting the way they work

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“I can access info whenever and wherever I need it” 92% of millennials agree*

**Hiring Managers Survey – Q : Do you have any specific concerns or worries associated with hiring millennials (aged 21 - 32)?, n = 200

“I am expected to be contactable at all times” 73% of millennials agree*

“I am expected to keep up to date with emerging technology” 66% of millennials agree*

“Millennials are not used to a standard working environment” 38% of hiring managers**

Hiring managers are starting to think that…

*Millennials Survey – Q: How does technology impact your work life? To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements…, asked of business

owners, employees, freelancers and interns, n = 818

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Millennials believe it is easier to start a business than ever before

1%

6%

10%

46%

37%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%

Much harder

A little harder

No difference

A little easier

Much easier

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Q: Do you think technology is making it easier or harder for individuals to be their own boss?

Millennials Survey, n = 1,039

82% Easier

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Appendix

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Elance-oDesk is the world’s largest online workplace. More than 3.7 million businesses and 9.3 million freelancers tap into www.Elance.com and www.oDesk.com to work together via the Internet. As our increasingly connected and independent workforce goes online, talent—like software, shopping and communications before it—is shifting to the cloud. This shift is freeing professionals from set-time-and-place work, while also making it faster and easier for businesses to hire. Elance-oDesk is headquartered in Mountain View, California, with offices in San Francisco, California, and Oslo, Norway.

For more details, go to: www.elance-odesk.com/millennial-majority-workforce

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This study commissioned by: