Companies today are disappointing younger workers. Many have tried in superficial ways to make themselves attractive to millennials, for instance by offering more flexible work environments or in-office food and drink perks. But they haven’t changed the fundamentals of how they structure jobs and careers. Most notably, they follow outdated talent strategies that bear little relation to how Gen Y thinks about work.

Most companies emphasise retention above all else; they organise hiring, compensation, development, and so on with the goal of keeping top performers for as long as possible.

But millennials don’t care about the length of their tenure nearly as much as they do the intensity of on-the-job learning and growth. They want to shoulder increasing amounts of responsibility and to progress quickly, with leaders and colleagues that can push them onward and help them grow. And they want an inspiring vision that helps motivate them to work hard and excel.