Talent Retention: Retaining Young Employees in a Large and Established Organization with an Aging Workforce - A case study within Volvo Group Digital & IT

Abstract: Talent retention has become an increasingly important issue in recent years, especially when young people are entering the job market. Those young employees are more likely to switch jobs and at the same time place higher expectations on their employers. Previous research within talent retention has mainly been concerned with talent retention practices and has been conducted from a generalized generational point of view. There is, thus, a lack of research understanding the beliefs and expectations of young employees. To address this gap, this thesis draws on a case study within a large and established organization with an aging workforce. The findings show that to retain young talents, companies need to look beyond generations and their expectations in taking the individual expectations of the young employees into account. Furthermore, the findings indicate that the creation of new challenges and changes for young employees is desired. Lastly, managers who are willing to listen and understand their employees can help to create a sense of belonging which can result in retaining young employees for a longer period of time.