New Study from KI Furniture and HOK Finds Employers Often Times Unprepared to Accommodate Recent Graduates
GREEN BAY, Wis., Oct. 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Ninety percent of companies are looking to hire students out of college, according to a new study. Yet 70 percent have no idea how these new grads prefer to work.
"Employers can't expect the next generation of workers to sit idly in their cubicles," said Jonathan Webb, Vice President of Business Markets at manufacturer KI Furniture and co-author of the study. "For four years in college, they've dictated how they'll work — day or night, alone in the library or in groups on the quad. That's what they expect in the workplace."
In their new report, KI and global design firm HOK conclude that companies need to think more critically about what types of workspace best suit their recently hired graduates.
New hires struggle during their first year to get acclimated to the antiquated work environments of today's offices. Eighty-two percent of companies employing recent graduates say that these young people become "lost in transition."
With 80 million Millennial set to join the American workforce, that must change. Recent college grads want work environments that adapt to a variety of styles, facilitate collaboration and give employees control. Yet only 16 percent of companies respond to these needs.
"It's no wonder that so many young workers struggle to adapt to their first professional environments — their employers don't understand how they like to work," said Webb. "In order to gain that knowledge, they should visit universities to see Millennials in action. Employers that do so will have a head start on attracting and retaining the workers of this generation — the most highly educated and tech-savvy in our nation's history."
For more information or to schedule an interview with Jonathan Webb, please contact Chris Grady at (202) 471-4228 or email.
About KI Furniture
KI manufactures innovative furniture and movable wall system solutions for education, healthcare, government and corporate markets. The employee-owned company is headquartered in Green Bay, Wis. and operates sales offices and manufacturing facilities in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe and Asia. KI tailors products and service solutions to the specific needs of each customer through its unique design and manufacturing philosophy. For more information, visit www.ki.com.