Business should focus on people and purpose, not just products and profits in the 21st century, according to Deloitte Global’s fourth annual Millennial Survey released today.

Significant changes need to be made by business, particularly in developed market to attract and retain the future workforce, said the survey findings.

It surveyed leaders from 29 countries, on effective leadership, how business operates and impacts society.

Millennials overwhelmingly believed that businesses are focused on their own agenda rather than helping to improve society, it said.

Omar Fahoum, chairman and chief executive of Deloitte Middle East, said: “The message is clear: when looking at their career goals, today’s millennials are just as interested in how a business develops its people and how it contributes to society as they are in its products and profits.

“These findings should be well heeded by the business community, particularly in developed markets, that they need to change the way they engage Millennial talent or risk being left behind.”

Only 28 per ent of millennials feel their current organisation is making full use of their skills, the survey found.

More than 53 per cent aspire to become the leader or most senior executive within their current organisation, with a clear ambition gap between millennials in emerging markets and developed markets. About 65 per cent of emerging-market based millennials said they would like to achieve this goal, compared to only 38 per cent in developed markets, it said.

Additionally, the survey found large global businesses have less appeal for millennials in developed markets compared to emerging markets. Developed-market based millennials are also less inclined than those in emerging markets to start their own business.

For more than 60 per cent of millennials, a ‘sense of purpose’ is part of the reason they chose to work for their current employers. Among millennials who are relatively high users of social networking tools, 77 per cent reported that the company’s purpose was part of the reason they chose to work there, compared to just 46 per cent of those who are the ‘least connected.’

Technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT) have been ranked as the most sectors and the one to provide the most valuable skills according to millennials. Among broader sectors, leadership was perceived to be strongest in the TMT sector at 33 per cent, which was three times higher than second ranked food and beverages, followed by banking/financial services.

Millennial men were somewhat more likely to say they would like to secure the ‘top job’ within their organisation than women, while women were also less likely to rank their leadership skills at graduation as strong. However, when asked what they would emphasise as leaders women were more likely to say employee growth and development, an area that many millennials felt was lacking within their current organisations.

Meanwhile, millennials placed less value on visible, well-networked, and technically-skilled leaders. Instead, they define true leaders as strategic thinkers, inspirational, personable and visionary.

Rana Ghandour Salhab, talent and communication partner at Deloitte Middle East, said: “Millennials want more from business than might have been the case 50, 20, or even 10 years ago.

“They are sending a very strong signal to the world’s leaders that when doing business, they should do so with purpose. The pursuit of this different and better way of operating in the 21st century begins by redefining leadership.” - TradeArabia News Service