Are Millennials Really Wanted?

An Organizational Development Diagnostic Report on

the Perceptions and Experiences of Millennials Within a
Lean Nonprofit Organization

Brandon Johnson
12-9-2019

MGMT 602: Theory & Techniques of Organizational Development

Master of Science, Human Resources & Organizational Development
Eastern Michigan University: Gary M. Owen College of Business
Executive Summary
Three graduate students: Brandon Johnson, Jonathan Okey, and Justin Casab formed an
Organizational Development consulting team, designed to gather graduate-level findings of an
apparent organizational problem through the collection of data for a diagnostic analysis and
report. The initial subject of the project was based on finding the reason why the organization
has issues recruiting and retaining millennial talent within a feasible, easily-accessible
organization that would allow them to perform an analysis, diagnosis and present their findings
to the organization’s leadership team and the Management 602 audience at Eastern Michigan
University’s College of Business.
The organization where the consulting group conducted research is Detroit Employment
Solutions Corporation (DESC). After DESC saw an opportunity to discover why there were
issues with recruiting and retaining Millennials, negotiations took place and a proposal was
created for our team to use our subject matter expertise to help find out why the issue is
occurring. The three graduate students hypothesized that the reason for not being able to recruit
and retain millennials, as desired was due to a flawed recruitment and onboarding strategy. The
team sought to find a few trends and themes to inform them of the issue presented to their team,
but what they discovered was a lot deeper than the recruitment and onboarding strategy. Data
was collected via a focus group, an interview with a member of HR, and a company-wide
survey.
Millennials are the lifeblood of the organization. Without new, modern, tech-driven
talent, DESC would show little signs of growth and become stagnant, focusing energy on
mundane and traditional activities that may not be beneficial to the direction and vision of the
organization. As a workforce development agency, existing at the height of the digital age with
access to unlimited amounts of information, it is believed that millennials can provide tech-
savvy, socially conscious, optimistic, progressive and compassionate attributes that are not as
apparent with previous generations to any organization or institution. In order for you to properly
hold the organizations you partner with accountable for evolving to greater heights by openly
hiring and finding unique ways to keep millennials, DESC must adapt to those changes as well.
Key findings:
 The recruitment strategy is weak
 Little to no formal development and training for new hires
 Pay for skills and abilities is low
 Top-down communication is non-existent
 Not much opportunity for flexibility exists within the organization
 Employees don’t feel like their insights and opinions matter
 Seasoned/experienced employees are stagnant in their roles
 There is little to no growth for upward mobility
 Displaced employees feel resentment about how the organization has evolved
 Managers/leaders do not make millennials feel valued for their service
 Too high expectations for little to no reward

Body
1
 While there are many definitions of organizational development, the one that stood out to
me the most is Richard Beckhard’s definition, where he defines organizational development as
an effort that is “planned, organization-wide, and managed from the top, to increase organization
effectiveness and health through planned interventions in the organization’s processes using
behavioral science knowledge.”
The planned change model used is the Action Research Model. Action research focuses
on putting information to action and includes three stages. It is a cyclical approach where we first
identified an issue, gathered research, and developed an action plan. The first stage is series of
planning actions initiated by the client and the change agent working together. During this stage,
the client and change agent begin initial research of the problem(s) and theorize perspectives.
Stage two is the action or transformation phase. This stage requires collaboration and
involvement of all active participants. The last stage is the output or results phase. This final
stage produces findings, analysis, conclusions and reflections.
Efficiency is generally a measurable concept, quantified by the ratio of useful output to
total input. It is the ability to produce something with a minimum amount of effort. Effectiveness
is the degree to which something is successful in producing a desired result; success.
Effectiveness is far more important than efficiency because effectiveness describes getting to an
outcome. A group can be efficient, but if they are not effective, it may not allow the team to
arrive at what they set out to accomplish. When approaching OD change, effectiveness becomes
a systematic approach for enhancing the performance of an organization and its employees
through planned interventions. Such interventions may focus on team performance, employee
development, operational efficiency, organization structure, and productivity.
The organization where the consulting group conducted research is Detroit Employment
Solutions Corporation (DESC). DESC was founded and became the City of Detroit’s workforce
agency in 2012. DESC is fiduciary and is part of the Michigan Works! Association, and is one of
16 Michigan Works! Agencies located around the state. DESC is also the lead agency and power
behind ‘Detroit at Work’, which provides job placement, search, training, career advisement,
youth programming, and other supportive services to tens of thousands of Detroiters every year.
DESC is the fiscal and administrative agent of and reports to the Mayor’s Workforce
Development Board, which was established by the Mayor of Detroit. The MWDB is accountable
to the Mayor’s office for the successful delivery of workforce programs across the city of
Detroit.
DESC currently has 102 employees. The average age of the organization is 48. DESC
operates 8 career centers conveniently located in different parts of the city of Detroit, where
practitioners are ready to train and ready Detroiters for work opportunities. DESC contracts
apprenticeship programs through the state of Michigan and has opportunities for Detroiters to
become apprentices via training at Randolph and Breithaupt. DESC also organizes and operates
direct service youth programming, like Jobs for America’s Graduates, YouthBuild and Grow
Detroit’s Young Talent. The organization believes employees should possess honesty and
integrity, customer focus, communication excellence, a drive for results, and functional /
technical / business acumen.
DESC saw an opportunity to recruit and retain more millennials, based on the lack of
millennials within the organization and the alarming rate millennials were leaving the
organization. Millennials are the lifeblood of the organization. Without new, modern, tech-driven
talent, DESC would show little signs of growth and become stagnant, focusing energy on
mundane and traditional activities that may not be beneficial to the direction and vision of the

2
organization. As a workforce development agency, existing at the height of the digital age with
access to unlimited amounts of information, it is believed that millennials can provide tech-
savvy, socially conscious, optimistic, progressive and compassionate attributes that are not as
apparent with previous generations to any organization or institution.
According to a study by Morrell and Abston “millennials currently comprise 38% of the
total U.S. workforce and will grow to 75% by 2025.” Studies have show that millennials view
work differently, in comparison with other generations and organizations will need to change
their attitudes around compensation and benefits to keep millennials motivated and engaged. A
recent study by Gallup examined workplace engagement and found that only 29% of Millennial
workers reported being engaged at work, 55% reported not being engaged, while another 16%
reported being actively disengaged. Gallup defines engagement as the extent to which employees
have an emotional connection and are exhibiting behaviors consistent with good job
performance. They also found that half of all Millennials surveyed plan to leave their current
jobs within a year. DESC not only wants to get ahead of the curve when it comes to millennials,
they want to be sure to engage millennials in the right way and lower turnover across the
organization.
The purpose of engaging in the diagnostic process was to perform individual and group-
level diagnoses of the employees of DESC, while obtaining their perceptions about the potential
problem of millennials in the workplace. The anticipated outcome of engaging in the OD process
was to find out whether leadership had the same perspectives as stakeholders in the organization
and to see where they could improve.
Our proposal process was to list organizations we thought were feasible and ranked them
based on ease of access, on a scale of 1 to 3 where was easiest to access and 3 was hardest to
access. My group leveraged me as an inside connection, where first-hand knowledge aided us in
proposal completion. Based on trust and rapport I garnered with the organization and
presentation of my expertise, I was able to convince the head of HR and the CEO of my
organization of the value the research would render. Negotiations occurred after receiving the
buy-in of the organization’s leadership and we then were able to get the contract sign and engage
the rest of the organization accordingly.

Methodology
When entering the organization, we did not want to alarm anyone. Veterans in the
organization tend to think they are going to get fired for providing information to consultants on
why we should recruit younger, bright people. So, naturally, our approach was to not frame the
issue as a problem and make it seem like an opportunity to grow and for veterans to share
knowledge with more impressionable minds.
The methodology used during the diagnostic process was the Action Research Model,
based on a correlational design study. We identified an issue, gathered research data to see if
there was a relationship between data we received from stakeholders and the problem(s) the
organization is facing. We were able to gather data from a focus group, self-reported
questionnaire, interview, and personal narratives. We developed the self-reported questionnaire
aimed at focusing on a broad evaluation of employee satisfaction, activity of job searching, and
likelihood of recommending DESC as an employer. For example, we asked participants to rate
their level of satisfaction working at DESC. Participants were asked both closed and open-ended
questions.

3
 The focus group was designed to focus on the perception of millennials in the
organization. During the focus group, participants were asked their opinion on why it was hard
for DESC to attract and retain millennials. Additionally, we asked if they believe it is important
to have millennials and how DESC could attract and retain them. The focus group was conducted
on site and in person, lasting over an hour and a half. Trailing their responses were follow-up
questions obtaining additional information. Since the topic of our research is focused on
millennials in the workplace, we didn’t want to create any potential issues with other
generations. Therefore, we only invited millennials into the focus group, while the self-reported
questionnaire was sent to all employees of the organization. I then recalled personal narratives
from exit interviews I conducted and collected final information from a depth interview.
After obtaining the data, we conducted a content analysis to construct and identify themes
that would lead to a diagnosis of the problem. A content analysis is a technique for assessing
qualitative data and attempts to summarize the comments from the focus-groups into meaningful
categories. Responses from the focus group and personal narratives were separated into
categories and then grouped to match the categorical responses from the self-reported
questionnaire, allowing us to rate the responses from the focus group and personal narratives on
a quantitative scale. While completing the content analysis, multiple themes arose.

Findings
The survey results show us that there are recurring common themes among the responses
from the two questions regarding what attracted the respondents to DESC and what keeps them
at DESC. Respondents mentioned being attracted to DESC’s mission of helping the city of
Detroit, the opportunity to work with local businesses and the community, and job security and
salary. Respondents also listed factors such as DESC’s vision and growth opportunities,
enjoyment of the work and the environment, feeling valued, financial security, benefits and job
flexibility as reasons for remaining with the organization.
It was found that the response to, “Why do you think it is hard for DESC to attract
millennials” produced frequent responses that were focused on a nonexistent reputation,
compensation, and lack of career development. Similar themes arose when asked about the
retention of millennials. Furthermore, it was reiterated in both questions that the training and
support of new hires was not paramount to DESC. Lastly, the final theme that was discovered
was around internal communication. Each of the participants described this as a inadequacy
within the company. There was lacking communication between departments and management
on task criteria and deadlines.
After surveying the millennial respondents as part of the focus group, it is apparent that
there is a different view of DESC’s culture. Millennials state that there is a lot of concern about
not feeling welcomed during the onboarding and orientation process to work at DESC; a lack of
inclusion; not feeling that their work is valued, and a lack of internal communication. Millennials
reported that their respective onboarding and orientation processes generally lacked information
and training about their specific jobs which left them feeling confused and unsupported. Some
respondents had also noted that there weren’t any initial socializing opportunities for them to get
acquainted with leadership or even their own teams. Furthermore, the respondents mentioned
that they feel left out of decision-making processes regarding their own jobs and that they only
found out about certain decisions once they were announced.  This lack of inclusion has made
the millennial respondents feel that the leadership did not value their concerns about their jobs or
about the vision of the organization.

4
 Moreover, the millennial respondents feel that, while they themselves can see the
intrinsic value of their own work and the importance of that work to DESC, middle management
and leadership do not see or, at least, do not acknowledge the value of their work.  This point is a
vital point for DESC to consider as many millennials tend to desire not only to be paid what
they’re worth, but also to have career growth opportunities. Lastly, there seems to be a lack of
communication and resources throughout various levels of the organization. This has led to many
of the millennials feeling stressed out by their respective workloads as jobs are frequently handed
off with seemingly unrealistic deadlines which, in turn, results in an inability to perform their
jobs strategically.

Recommendations
For DESC to address the issue of not having social activities to formally initiate
interaction with leadership and individual teams, the issue with the lack of inclusion, and the
issue where new hires do not feel welcome, DESC can engage in team building across the
organization at the meso level to help work groups and leaders of those work groups become
more effective in accomplishing tasks.
DESC can adopt a Total Quality Management approach from the macro level of the
organization to orient all of the organization’s activities around the concept of quality. If
implemented properly, member participation in the change process increases the likelihood of
sustaining the results, will allow employees to feel included in the decision-making process, will
provide extensive training, and subsequently address the issue of career and talent development,
and will tie rewards to performance.
If DESC implements a robust reward system at the macro level, it will address the areas
where employees do not feel appreciated and where they think their work is not valued. This will
improve employee satisfaction and performance. This is seen through innovative approaches via
compensation, promotions, and fringe benefits.
Lastly, DESC will need to implement a robust training model to train new hires on their
specific roles and address new-hires not feeling up to snuff for their roles. If training does not
become priority, it will be difficult for the organization to utilize their talent where needed.

Conclusion
While DESC’s culture, mission and goals are supported by all staff within the
organization, the feedback and data provided by survey respondents should be acknowledged
and addressed by leadership and management in a tactful and strategic way for the organization
to properly move forward. It cannot be overstated how integral both extensive internal
communication and inclusion are to employee satisfaction and, ultimately, a well-functioning
organization. Not only can exploring opportunities to enhance these attributes at all levels help
motivate and contribute toward getting the best performance from each employee, but they can
also help the organization strive toward fulfilling its ultimate potential and realizing its vision.
Furthermore, it’s also imperative that an organization consider the possible negative outcomes
which often result from inadequate communication and inclusion practices. Alienation of
employees, out-group formation and groupthink are but a few symptoms of insufficient
communication and inclusion policies.

5
6
DIGNOSTIC REPORT
GROUP 1
Jonathan Okey
Justin Casab
Brandon Johnson

7
 Table of Contents

Executive Summary
Graduate students: Brandon Johnson, Jonathan Okey, and Justin Casab formed an
Organizational Development consulting team, designed to gather graduate-level findings of an
apparent organizational problem through the collection of data for a diagnostic analysis and
report. The initial subject of the project was based on finding the reason why the organization
has issues recruiting and retaining millennial talent within a feasible, easily-accessible
organization that would allow them to perform an analysis, diagnosis and present their findings
to the organization’s leadership team and the Management 602 audience at Eastern Michigan
University’s College of Business.
The organization where the consulting group conducted research is Detroit Employment
Solutions Corporation (DESC). After DESC saw an opportunity to discover why there were
issues with recruiting and retaining Millennials, negotiations took place and a proposal was
created for our team to use our subject matter expertise to help find out why the issue is
occurring. The three graduate students hypothesized that the reason for not being able to recruit

8
and retain millennials, as desired was due to a flawed recruitment and onboarding strategy. The
team sought to find a few trends and themes to inform them of the issue presented to their team,
but what they discovered was a lot deeper than the recruitment and onboarding strategy. Data
was collected via a focus group, an interview with a member of HR, and a company-wide
survey.
Millennials are the lifeblood of the organization. Without new, modern, tech-driven
talent, DESC would show little signs of growth and become stagnant, focusing energy on
mundane and traditional activities that may not be beneficial to the direction and vision of the
organization. As a workforce development agency, existing at the height of the digital age with
access to unlimited amounts of information, it is believed that millennials can provide tech-
savvy, socially conscious, optimistic, progressive and compassionate attributes that are not as
apparent with previous generations to any organization or institution. In order for you to properly
hold the organizations you partner with accountable for evolving to greater heights by openly
hiring and finding unique ways to keep millennials, DESC must adapt to those changes as well.
Key findings:
 The recruitment strategy is weak
 Little to no formal development and training for new hires
 Pay for skills and abilities is low
 Top-down communication is non-existent
 Not much opportunity for flexibility exists within the organization
 Employees don’t feel like their insights and opinions matter
 Seasoned/experienced employees are stagnant in their roles
 There is little to no growth for upward mobility
 Displaced employees feel resentment about how the organization has evolved
 Managers/leaders do not make millennials feel valued for their service
 Too high expectations for little to no reward
While DESC’s culture, mission and goals are supported by all staff within the
organization, the feedback and data provided by survey respondents should be acknowledged
and addressed by leadership and management in a tactful and strategic way for the organization
to properly move forward.
Organizational Overview
DESC was founded and became the City of Detroit’s workforce agency in 2012. DESC is
fiduciary and is part of the Michigan Works! Association, and is one of 16 Michigan Works!
Agencies located around the state. DESC is also the lead agency and power behind ‘Detroit at
Work’, which provides job placement, search, training, career advisement, youth programming,
and other supportive services to tens of thousands of Detroiters every year.
DESC is the fiscal and administrative agent of and reports to the Mayor’s Workforce
Development Board, which was established by the Mayor of Detroit. The MWDB is accountable

9
to the Mayor’s office for the successful delivery of workforce programs across the city of
Detroit.
DESC currently has 102 employees. The average age of the organization is 48. DESC
operates 8 career centers conveniently located in different parts of the city of Detroit, where
practitioners are ready to train and ready Detroiters for work opportunities. DESC contracts
apprenticeship programs through the state of Michigan and has opportunities for Detroiters to
become apprentices via training at Randolph and Breithaupt. DESC also organizes and operates
direct service youth programming, like Jobs for America’s Graduates, YouthBuild and Grow
Detroit’s Young Talent.
The culture of the organization is casual among employees working in the administrative
office, however formal when it comes to contracting work out, deploying employees in the field
and delivering on their goals as an organization. The organization believes employees should
possess honesty and integrity, customer focus, communication excellence, a drive for results, and
functional / technical / business acumen.
DESC consists of 14 departments, including: Executive Administration, Information
Technology, Data, Human Resources, Finance, Strategic Operations, Program & Service
Innovation, Grow Detroit’s Young Talent, Jobs for Michigan’s Graduates, Planning & Resource
Development, Contract Compliance, Facilities, Communications and the Mayor’s Office of
Workforce Development.
Methodology
The methodology we used in our diagnostic process was the Action Research Model.
This is a cyclical approach in which we are identifying an issue, gathering research, and
developing an action plan. A member from our team working in the Human Resources
department, allowed us to have a smooth contracting phase. From there, we were able to
collaborate with DESC stakeholders and decide whether we would be conducting further
investigation into their proposed issue. Before we decided to work with DESC, we debated on
whether we were interested in exploring the possibility of a generational issue as it related to
attraction and retention. Eventually, we had come to a consensus, which solidified the decision to
investigate the issue and proceed in the diagnostic process. Next, gathering data would come
from focus groups and self-reported questionnaires. We developed the self-reported
questionnaires to focus on a broad evaluation of employee satisfaction. For example, we asked
participants to rate their level of satisfaction working at DESC. However, the focus group was
designed to focus on their perception of millennials in the organization. During the focus group,
participants were asked their opinion on why it was hard for DESC to attract and retain
millennials. Trailing their responses were follow-up questions obtaining additional information.
After obtaining qualitative and quantitative data we conducted a data analysis to construct
themes that would lead our preliminary diagnoses. Following these analyses, we were able to
conduct an action plan that would be introduced to DESC. Below are some possible propositions
that encompasses common trends found through data collection.
• The organization will attempt to upgrade internal communication abilities to foster
functional work planning that values effectiveness and efficiency when servicing customers.

10
 • The organization will construct clear professional pathways that aim to provide
developmental growth within the organization. The organization will use this to motivate their
top-tier talent to remain with the organization and attract millennials from within the labor
market.
• The organization will provide consistent support following the onboarding process.
Providing a step-by-step progression will allow new-hires to develop confidence and trust for the
organization.
Goal of the diagnostic process
The goal of the diagnostic process was to perform individual and group-level diagnoses
of the employees of DESC, while obtaining their perceptions about the potential problem of
millennials in the workplace. Our consulting group decided to focus on job satisfaction and
organizational functions as the primary interest for our diagnosis. The goal was to collect
employees directly reported perceptions on how satisfied they were in DESC. Additionally, to
obtain perceptions on DESC’s effectiveness for organizational efforts such as the attraction and
retention of millennials. We wanted to discover if DESC’s lack of millennials was even
perceived as an issue. Furthermore, what aspects were the leading factors in why they were
struggling to attract and retain millennials from the labor market.
Types of Data Collected
Our consulting group captured qualitative and quantitative data during the diagnosis
process. The best way to collect the quantitative data was to distribute self-reported
questionnaires that contained scaled questions based on a 10-point scale. Our quantitative
questions were aimed at recording employee satisfaction, activity of job searching, and
likelihood of recommending DESC. To obtain qualitative data we included open-response
questions in the self-reported questionnaire. Furthermore, we developed a focus-group of
millennials that was composed of DESC millennials. During the focus-group employees were
asked to explore their thoughts on why they believe DESC lacks millennials. Additionally, we
asked if they believe it is important to have millennials and how we could attract and retain them.
The focus group was conducted on site and in person, lasting over an hour and a half. We had
different intentions for both the focus group and self-reported questionnaires. Since the topic of
our research is focused on millennials in the workplace, we didn’t want to create any potential
issues with other generations. Therefore, we invited only millennials into the focus group to
concentrate on specific millennial questions, while the self-reported questionnaire sent to all
employees collected general data.
Analyzing Data
After all self-reported questionnaires were completed, we ran descriptive statistic
procedures identifying means and standard deviations. Descriptive statistics can be found in
Table 1 and Figure 1 below. Once the focus groups were completed and the data was gathered, a
content analysis was performed by the consulting group. A content analysis is a technique for
assessing qualitative data and attempts to summarize the comments from the focus-groups into
meaningful categories. While completing the content analysis, multiple themes arose. Content
analysis starts by reviewing the responses to the questions and evaluates whether similar
responses occurred frequently. It was found that the response to, “Why do you think it is hard for

11
DESC to attract millennials” produced frequent responses that were focused on a nonexistent
reputation, compensation, and lack of career development. Similar themes arose when asked
about the retention of millennials. Furthermore, it was reiterated in both questions that the
training and support of new-hires was not paramount to DESC. Lastly, the final theme that was
discovered was around internal communication. Each of the participants described this as a
inadequacy within the company. There was lacking communication between departments and
management on task criteria and deadlines. All participants agreed that an implementation of an
effective internal communication system would be beneficial in the attempt to increase
millennial retention rates. Each of the participants provided similar responses to different
questions in which they were all correlated.

Table 1

Self-reported questionnaire data

Mean (SD) High/Low

Satisfaction working at DESC 7.74 (1.68) 10,4

Recruit/onboard satisfaction 6.82 (2.53) 10,1

Likelihood of recommending 7.63 (2.11) 10,1

Actively searching for work 2.06 (1.14) 9,0

Figure 1

Graphic of self-reported questionnaire data

12
 12

10

6
Rating

0
Satisfaction working at Satisfaction with Likelihood of Actively searching for
DESC DESC's recruiting & recommending DESC work
onboarding

Survey Questions

Interpretation 

    We can see from the survey results that there are recurring common themes among the
responses from the two questions regarding what attracted the respondents to DESC and,
subsequently, what keeps them at DESC.  Respondents mentioned being attracted by DESC’s
mission of helping the city of Detroit, the opportunity to work with local businesses and the
community, and job security and salary. Rather congruently, respondents then listed factors such
as DESC’s vision and growth opportunities, enjoyment of the work and the environment, feeling
valued, financial security, benefits and job flexibility as reasons for remaining with the
organization.   
However, after surveying the millennial respondents individually as part of the focus
group, we begin to see a rather different dimension of the culture of DESC.  From the
perspective of the millennials there is a lot of concern about not feeling welcomed during the
onboarding and orientation process to work at DESC; a lack of inclusion; not feeling that their
work is valued, and a lack of internal communication.  
Millennials reported that their respective onboarding and orientation processes generally
lacked information and training about their specific jobs which left them feeling confused and
unsupported.  Some respondents had also noted that there weren’t any initial socializing
opportunities for them to get acquainted with leadership or even their own teams. Furthermore,
the respondents mentioned that they feel left out of decision-making processes regarding their
own jobs and that they only found out about certain decisions once they were announced.  This
lack of inclusion has made the millennial respondents feel that the leadership did not value their
concerns about their jobs or about the vision of the organization. Moreover, the millennial
respondents feel that, while they themselves can see the intrinsic value of their own work and the
importance of that work to DESC, middle management and leadership do not see or, at least, do

13
not acknowledge the value of their work.  This point is a vital point for DESC to consider as
many millennials tend to desire not only to be paid what they’re worth, but also to have career
growth opportunities. Lastly, there seems to be a lack of communication and resources
throughout various levels of the organization. This has led to many of the millennials feeling
stressed out by their respective workloads as jobs are frequently handed off with seemingly
unrealistic deadlines which, in turn, results in an inability to perform their jobs strategically.
There is also the matter of DESC’s branding and, subsequently, its reputation.  The
millennial respondents expressed surprise that DESC does not have a strong presence in any of
the local community building networks.  Many of them noted that DESC did not come up at all
during their respective job searches and networking efforts. This is also an area of concern in that
DESC’s does not register for anyone who may require their services.  Enhancing their branding
may help DESC expand their reach which could also allow staff to feel more effective and
empowered in their work and role in the local community.

Conclusion

It cannot be overstated how integral both extensive internal communication and inclusion
are to employee satisfaction and, ultimately, a well-functioning organization.  Not only can
exploring opportunities to enhance these attributes at all levels help motivate and contribute
toward getting the best performance from each employee, but they can also help the organization
strive toward fulfilling its ultimate potential and realizing its vision.  Furthermore, it’s also
imperative that an organization consider the possible negative outcomes which often result from
inadequate communication and inclusion practices. Alienation of employees, out-group
formation and groupthink are but a few symptoms of insufficient communication and inclusion
policies.  More specific recommendations will follow in a subsequent report.  

Limitations of the Evaluation

One of the limitations of our evaluation is that only half of the millennials who work at
DESC participated in the focus group.  Not only were the respondents who had participated in
our focus group very willing and vocal about their concerns for attracting and retaining
millennials, they were also considerably constructive in their critique of DESC’s attraction and
retention practices and of their work culture.  It was clear that the focus group participants saw
potential in the organization’s ability to make improvements and that they also wanted to be
involved in that improvement process. It would certainly be beneficial to us to hear from those
who didn’t participate in order to get their opinions as well.  Would they have the same concerns
or perhaps other different concerns? It’s possible that their lack of participation, in and of itself,
could be indicative of certain other issues.        
It should be said that one of the interviewers works in DESC’s human resources
department.  At first glance, it may seem that this could potentially be a limitation by way of any
personal biases that the interviewer may have about any of the participants affecting any of their
responses.  However, it was quite helpful to have someone with whom the participants were
familiar in that it may have allowed them to speak more freely and honestly about their concerns
without feeling the need to regularly provide background information.  
Finally, we had the focus group participants read and sign consent forms which explained
the purpose of our study; let them know that their participation was voluntary; that there would

14
be neither penalties nor benefits or any direct compensation for their participation; and that their
responses would be entirely confidential. 

APPENDIX

A.

15
 Organizational Development Bios

Jonathan Okey
Jonathan Okey received his bachelor’s degree in Linguistics from the University of Michigan.  After
working in language assessment for a few years Jonathan began working for the interlibrary loan
department at U of M where he primarily oversaw the lending service for a statewide resource sharing
program. Jonathan is currently enrolled in the Organizational Development program through Eastern
Michigan University’s College of Business. He is interested in collaboration as a key to success in
organizational change.  

Brandon Johnson
Brandon Johnson received his bachelor’s degree in Individualized Studies from Eastern Michigan
University with a focus on Human Resources Improvement, Corporate Communications, and Gendered
studies. Brandon has served as consultant at a Big 4 accounting firm, Executive Team Leader for HR at
Target, and is currently a HR Generalist and business partner at Detroit Employment Solutions
Corporate. Brandon’s decided to return to EMU to study Human Resources and Organizational
Development, to further his lifelong mission of serving misrepresented populations in urban
communities. Brandon hopes to learn more about incorporating technology into HR to improve large
and small organizations.

Justin Casab
Justin Casab, is a recent Psychology graduate of Michigan State University. During his undergraduate
education, he participated in various Industrial-Organizational psychology initiatives. Justin has worked
in the private sector, public sector, and academic research arenas. These experiences have instilled in
him a strong knowledge of foundational theories and practices around organizational change and
development. Joining the MSHROD program was a perfect fit in Justin’s pursuit of becoming an
Organizational Development consultant. Furthermore, Justin is optimistic that his experiences will help
promote positive change in your organization’s future endeavors.

B.

Organizational Development Proposal

16
Objectives
 We are seeking to discover ways to attract and retain millennials at a lean non-profit
organization.

Process / Action Plan

 First, we will gather information about why the issue is present, we will then research
best practices and lastly, we will find a recommendation, based on feedback and research.

Roles and Responsibilities

 The role of the OD practitioner / contact person will be to allow our group to schedule
interviews and sessions with stakeholders to gather information and to give us data on the
organization’s demographics and any other information we seek.
 Our role as Change Agents will be to facilitate meetings and interviews in a fair and
reasonable manner that does not create a burden or distraction for the organization.

Recommended Methods
 Self-reported questionnaires
 Focus sessions
 Stakeholder interviews

Fees, Terms, and Conditions

 We will provide a service to the organization on behalf of the Eastern Michigan
University College of Business, pro-bono. As a condition of our services, we ask that we
are able to service the organization via recommended interventions for 4-8 hours across a
four-week timeline. All information and recommendations found will be provided in a
confidential summary to the organization’s leadership team.

C.

Focus Group Individual Questions

17
A. How did you feel during your recruitment/onboarding process and where could
we improve?
B. Do you feel valued here? Why or why not?
C. If you weren’t working here, where would you want to work?
D. Did you feel welcomed after your onboarding? How so?
E. Did you feel motivated to do your job? Why or why not?

F. Do you find your work meaningful? Why or why not?

G. Do you see a future within the organization or are you considering leaving the
organization within the next 6 months or year? If you are considering leaving,
please describe why you want to leave.

Focus Group Open-Response Questions

A. Can someone explain why it is important for DESC to recruit and retain young
talent like you?

B. Why do you think it is hard for DESC to attract millennials?

C. Why do you think it is hard for DESC to retain millennials?
D. As an HR professional, when going through the recruitment process, some
managers are apprehensive about hiring millennials. Why do you think that is?
E. What can DESC do to attract more millennials?
F. What do we as an organization need to do to keep you?

Self-Reported Questionnaire Survey Questions

A. Please select your age group: (20-27), (28-35), (36-43), (44-51), (52-59), (60
and above)
B. On a scale of 1-10, rate your level of satisfaction working at DESC (where 1 is
‘not at all satisfied’ and 10 is ‘very satisfied’
C. On a scale of 1-10, rate your level of satisfaction in relation to your experience
with DESC’s recruitment process (where 1 is ‘not at all satisfied’ and 10 is
‘very satisfied’

18
D. On a scale of 1-10, select how likely you are to recommend DESC as a great
place to work (where 1 is ‘not at all likely’ and 10 is ‘very likely’)

E. On a scale of 1-10, select how actively are you searching for work at another
employer (where is 1 is ‘I am not searching’ and 10 is ‘I am searching very
actively’

F. What attracted you to DESC?

G. What keeps you at DESC?

19