Attracting and Retaining Millennials in the lCT sector

“

Attracting andRetaining

Millennials in the

lCT sector

An analysis of company approaches

towards attracting and

retaining Millennials. With consideration to preferences among

Millennials that have entered or are entering the ICT sector.

PAPER WITHIN Business Administration NUMBER OF CREDITS 15 hp

PROGRAM OF STUDY: International Management & Marketing Management AUTHORS: Jonatan Selin, Moa Westermark, Shené Abdul

TUTOR: MaxMikael Wilde Björling

Acknowledgements

We would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude towards the people who have helped us during the writing process of this thesis.

We are truly thankful for the guidance of our tutor MaxMikael Wilde Björling during the course of writing this thesis. Thank you for dedicating the time to read our drafts, prepare feedback and give advice on how to further progress when we have been stuck. Extra appreciation for the good insights and stories you have shared with us, and lastly, for accommodating the meetings to our preferences despite your hectic schedule.

We give our appreciation to Hesho Serray, our inside-person, for the invaluable insight into the tech-world and hiring processes. Thank you for tirelessly answering our questions and giving feedback on our thoughts throughout this process.

We aim our gratitude to Dr. Mark Bussin for sharing his extensive knowledge of Millennials, and for cheering us on and encouraging us in the final steps of writing. Thank you for providing us with the archive of articles and previous research which have helped us very much.

A big thank you to all students and employees who filled in the survey and made this thesis possible. Thank you for taking the time and sharing valuable thoughts and feelings. Finally, another big thank you to the family and friends who we have forced to read this essay to give feedback on. We have truly appreciated the valuable input we have received. To everyone who has supported us during this journey.

Thank you!

Signatures

________________ ________________ ________________ Jonatan Selin Moa Westermark Shené Abdul

Bachelor Thesis in Business Administration

Title: Attraction and retention of Millennials in the ICT sector Authors: Jonatan Selin, Moa Westermark, Shené Abdul

Tutor: MaxMikael Wilde Björling Date: 2020-12-09

Key terms: Millennial, ICT, HRM, Attract, Retain, Rewards

Abstract

Background: Baby Boomers (birth year ‘46-’64) are currently leaving the workforce and are being replaced by Millennials (birth year ‘81-’99). For people and companies interested in working with Millennials, a good understanding of this generation

increases the chance of success. Since they show to have other priorities and switch jobs more often than previous generations. This tendency is affecting the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector to a great deal. Therefore, efficiently

attracting and retaining talent, especially millennial talent, is one of the most important strategic challenges to a company today. Despite this, there is a lack of research on the attraction and retention of Millennials in the ICT industry.

Purpose: To give ICT companies in Sweden insight and advice on how to manage their employees. In terms of attracting talent and retaining Millennials. By answering the research questions:

Research question 1: What HRM practices will attract Millennials to a company? Research question 2: What HRM practices will retain Millennials at a company? Method: An approach on the positivist side of the spectrum of research paradigms was used. For the methodology a survey was conducted to collect primary data from a sample of Millennials, the sample included both students and employees. A descriptive survey was used.

Findings: The samples surveyed place high importance on flexibility, work-life balance, base salary, and good work-environment. The study finds that career

development and challenging work tasks are a top priority for Swedish Millennials in the ICT sector. Furthermore, a modern and innovative company was found to be the most important factor when looking for a new job.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents ... 3

1

Introduction ... 1

1.1.3 The Information and Communication Technology Sector ... 4

1.1.4 Human Resources & the ICT sector ... 4

1.2 Problem Discussion ... 6 1.3 The Problem ... 7 1.4 Purpose ... 7 1.5 Delimitations ... 8 1.6 Definitions ... 8

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Frame of Reference ... 10

2.1 Skill scarcity & cost of employee turnover... 10

2.2 Employer branding ... 11

2.3 Competitive Advantage ... 12

2.4 Information and Communications Technology and the knowledge worker 13 2.5 The concept of total reward preferences... 14

2.5.1 The Total Rewards Model ... 14

2.5.2 Subsequent versions of the Total Rewards Model ... 15

2.5.3 Total Rewards Model in literature and research ... 17

2.5.4 Monetary reward ... 19

2.5.5 Non-monetary reward ... 19

2.6 Millennials and Total Rewards Model... 19

2.7 Perceived Organisational Support & Perceived Supervisor Support 20 2.8 Social Exchange Theory ... 22

2.9 Human Resource Management... 22

2.10 Frame of Reference concluded ... 23

3

Methodology and Method ... 24

3.1 Research Philosophy ... 24 3.2 Research Approach ... 25 3.2.1 Deduction ... 25 3.2.3 Quantitative research ... 25 3.2.3 Literature review ... 25 3.3 Research Design... 26 3.3.1 Cross-sectional study ... 27 3.4 Data collection ... 27 3.5 Sampling ... 27 3.6 Survey method ... 28 3.6.1 Self-completion questionnaire ... 28 3.6.2 Questionnaire design ... 28 3.7 Analysis of data ... 28

3.8 Reliability and validity... 29

3.8.2 Validity ... 29

4 Empirical Findings/ Results ... 31

4.1 Student survey ... 31

4.2 Employee survey... 36

5

Analysis ... 45

5.1 Student survey analysis ... 45

5.2 Employee survey analysis ... 48

5.3 Conclusion... 53

6

Discussion ... 55

6.1 Limitations ... 55

6.2 Further research... 55

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Introduction

In the introduction chapter, the background for the topic attraction and retention of Millennials will be presented by looking at generation theory, the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector and the role of Human Resource (HR) activities in this specific area. Following that, the problem and purpose of the study will be presented as well as the research questions. Lastly, definitions will be provided, and the delimitations of the study presented, to give the reader an understanding of what to expect from this thesis.

The focus of this study is to look at an industry that requires a high level of knowledge to perform tasks, in this thesis it is the ICT sector in Sweden. Where special interest is put on the generation of Millennials, people born 1981-1999 (Cassell, 2019), to analyse their thoughts and preferences in what they are finding attractive when applying for a job and what organisational support they need to stay motivated and happy at the workplace.

1.1 Background

1.1.1 Generation Theory

A generation is an “identifiable group that shares birth years, age location, and significant life events at critical developmental stages” (Kupperschmidt, 2000). Sharing historical, social and cultural experiences causes a generation to develop a character that also influences their feelings towards organisations and authorities. This generational character is thought to affect expectations on their employer as well (Pregnolato et al., 2017).

There are two components which create and define a generation. The first is birth years, which typically stretches over 15-20 years. The second component is the cultural influences that are experienced during the formative years. Examples of this are parenting styles, popular culture, music, dress, technology, and historical and political occurrences. These experiences are edged in the generation’s collective memory, creating a special bond between people within it. A worldview is thus established, with similar attitudes and

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values, which are differentiated from those of previous generations.). These consequences must be taken into consideration by society and businesses since this new group changes the norms and cultures of the world, including workplaces (Cassell, 2017).

The conventional assumption in the current western world of academia is that there are now mainly three generations in the workforce. These are Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials (also known as Generation Y) (Parry & Urwin, 2011). Cassell (2019) argues that there are slight variations in definitions of the birth years in academic research. Baby Boomers are born between 1946-1964, Generation X between 1965-1980, and Millennials between 1981-1999. Baby Boomers are currently leaving the workforce and are being replaced by Millennials. For people and companies interested in working with or employing Millennials, a good understanding of this generation increases the chances of success.

According to Barney (2016), a firm’s human capital resources consist of the training, experience, judgment, intelligence, relationships, and insight of the employees in a firm. Barney also argues that retaining employees is an important part of the strategy for a firm to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace and of the success of the business.

Cennamo and Gardner (2008) surveyed 504 employees in New Zealand and found differences between Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials in work values, job satisfaction, affective company commitment and intentions to leave. They also examined generational differences in the fit of person-organisation values. Their findings show that Generation X and Millennials value status and freedom higher than Baby Boomers. The study found that, across all three generations, if the individuals’ values and the organisational values did not match it led to lower job satisfaction, lower organisational commitment, and a higher turnover intention.

1.1.2 Millennials

To some, they are a generation of over-parented, spoiled and protected to the degree that they cannot even perform the simplest tasks without handholding (Hershatter & Epstein, 2010). To others, they are perceived to be a generation in need of direction, technically able, intensely informed and rather confident (Eisner, 2005). Research suggests that

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Millennials do not want a job for life and their expectations are high with regards to pay, work conditions, promotion and advancement (Oliver, 2006). They demand immediate rewards instead of long-term promises of fulfilment at work (Eisner, 2005). The combination of characteristics and values Millennials poses is a challenge for people in leadership positions. Managers describe the entering generation as demanding, require high maintenance and can be portrayed as “needy”. Millennials need reassurance and structure which some managers claim to be exhausting (Hershatter & Epstein, 2010).

However, Hershatter and Epstein (2010) view Millennials as a paradoxical generation. Millennials' values or belief system have not shown to be any different even though they can be attributed to unique characteristics compared to previous generations. They argue that Millennials are not more concerned about the welfare of others, neither more family-oriented nor more motivated to succeed than previous generations. The authors state that their unique behaviours mainly have to do with how technology has changed the way the generation interacts with the world. These behaviours are readily identifiable and many times predictable. They claim that managing and motivating Millennials is a skill that can be learnt (Hershatter & Epstein, 2010).

Luscombe et al. (2013) claim that Millennials are expecting to switch jobs more often than previous generations and some even view one year of employment as long term. At the same time, Millennials' demands on employers are greater than those of previous generations. This has to do with a preference for the immediacy of all things, feedback, rewards and communication (Luscombe et al., 2013). Other reasons are that work is no longer a big part of the identity of new employees and Millennials have a greater demand for flexibility to be able to pursue other areas of life (Eisner, 2005; Hershatter & Epstein, 2010; Oliver, 2006).

To tackle the challenge of Millennials in the workplace, companies are offering formal mentoring programs, digital training, the possibility to convert unused administrative leave into money and providing longer vacations. This applies even after being employed a shorter period at the company. The corporate culture is shifting towards a more open and transparent environment (Eisner, 2005).

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1.1.3 The Information and Communication Technology Sector

In this thesis, the term Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is used as opposed to Information Technology (IT) that people might be more familiar with. ICT refers to a broader area than IT, that is “technologies that provide access to information through telecommunications” (Zuppo, 2012, p.16). This is similar to IT but involves mainly communication technologies such as the internet, wireless networks and cell phones (Zuppo, 2012).

ICT is a knowledge-based sector where attracting and retaining human capital to gain an organisational advantage is a challenge (Gope et al., 2018). It is predicted that there will be a shortage of skill in the ICT sector in the next 15 years, it is therefore important to attract and retain talented knowledge workers (Bussin & Brigman, 2019).

The skills required for a job today have changed and technological development is one reason for this. According to Mishra (2014) skills can be divided into two categories: soft skills and hard skills. Mishra continues by stating that soft skills are related to productivity and that it includes communication skills, interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence and leadership qualities related to the productivity of the organisation. Hard skills refer to the type of skills that require a high level of knowledge such as programming skills. The practitioner must have reached a high level of competence in the area of knowledge before such skill can be performed (Chell & Athayde, 2011). Hard skills are cognitive and are influenced by a person's intelligence. As hard skills are more technical these types of skills are attractive in the ICT sector (Hendarman & Cantner, 2017). Mishra (2014) concludes that employers demand an interplay between both soft skills and hard skills.

1.1.4 Human Resources & the ICT sector

Human Resources (HR) or Human Resource Management (HRM) is an intricate topic that stretches over various disciplines within a business. HRM includes, but is not limited to; performance reviews, talent management, leadership development and employer branding. It also includes a company’s strategy regarding work flexibility, working hours and remuneration policies (Trost, 2019).

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Due to technological development, there is a change in how workers communicate with each other using digital technology, shifting the working environment towards a digital climate (Kietzmann et al., 2013). Workers are less bound to be in one specific area since communication happens using collaborative tools such as Skype, Zoom and Slack. This has led to a change in how companies are recruiting within the ICT sector (Dabirian, Berthon, et al., 2019). Online platforms such as LinkedIn are often implemented in the recruitment process to evaluate applicants, supporting the traditional procedure. By displaying what type of work, they are interested in, providing a picture and resume a person looking for work can present themselves to the recruiter (Zide, Elman & Shahani-Denning, 2014).

Looking for the right skills is a vital step when recruiting new talent. Attracting and retaining the best talent is a concern for firms within the ICT sector where there is a limited supply of high-quality individuals who can meet the knowledge required to perform advanced technological tasks (Dabirian, Berthon, et al., 2019). The decision to hire employees that meet the requirements and is a good fit to the company is crucial within ICT. Bad recruitments are where the company’s values and the employee’s do not match. This may result in higher rates of employee turnover, lower levels of productivity, customer dissatisfaction and negative impact on current employees (Dawn et al., 2013). The global economic environment has an impact on how businesses operate and organisations must also deal with continuous technological development. The result of this is that businesses must compete intensely in attracting and retaining talents within the ICT sector.

A company’s financial performance, as well as its overall strategic success, also hinges on finding proficient employees (Barney, 1991; Smit et al., 2015; Bussin et al., 2015). Attracting the right people is important because they are the ones who create value by making products and offering services. A company’s talent directly impacts business performance (Dawn et al., 2013). Recruiting and training is a costly process and losing employees to voluntary employee turnover is a poor use of a firm’s capital (Cassell, 2017; Bussin & Toerien, 2015).

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One way to form a strategy to attract new employees is by using the concept of employer branding. In a study by Bussin & Mouton (2019), it is stated that a strong employer brand could lead to lower salary expectations of employees, which would reduce the cost for the company. Furthermore, a strong employer brand will attract more candidates as the company is perceived to have better career choices (Tanwar & Prasad, 2017). The competition for talent is high in the ICT sector and companies are constantly looking for effective strategies to attract and retain highly skilled workers. A top employer needs to implement an effective strategy (Dabirian, Paschen, et al., 2019).

1.2 Problem Discussion

The initial millennial college graduates who joined the workforce did so in 2004 and they will continue to do so until around 2022 (Hershatter & Epstein, 2010). The Millennials are the largest generation ever to join the workforce and as they are about to start working, they expect their knowledge and skills to be valued (Luscombe et al., 2013). Employees whose expectations of a company are not met may develop a dissatisfaction that manifests itself in different ways. Examples include lower levels of identification with the company and job involvement, lower work satisfaction, lower commitment and an increased level of voluntary turnover. A difference between Millennials and earlier generations is the fundamental view they have of work. Work is no longer as important to the identity of a young person as it used to be (Taris et al., 2006). Millennials greatly value flexibility in order to focus on other things in life such as relationship, travel and leisure (Oliver, 2006).

ICT companies depend on a limited supply of highly talented individuals. In order to stay competitive, they need to cater to the employees they wish to attract and retain (Dabirian, Paschen, et al., 2019)

As the Baby Boomers retire, companies are looking for skilled labour, but the number of individuals who graduate with a computer science degree is decreasing. This has led to increased competition for talent for ICT firms (Dabirian, Paschen, et al., 2019)

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According to Davis et al. (2006), the employee turnover rate in the ICT sector has at times been the highest of any profession. Millennials have been shown to be harder to retain than earlier generations when it comes to this generation firm loyalty is down. There are studies which suggest that the millennial generation is the most professionally mobile to date (Cassell, 2017). The competition for talent is high in the ICT sector and firms are constantly looking for effective strategies to attract and retain highly skilled workers (Dabirian, Paschen, et al., 2019)

1.3 The Problem

Taking all this into consideration, as well as the importance of financial and strategic success, human capital is arguably one of the most important assets available to a business. Efficiently attracting and retaining talent, especially millennial talent, is one of the most important strategic challenges to an organisation today. Despite this, there is a lack of research on the attraction and retention of Millennials in the ICT sector. This is the gap this thesis aims to fill. This thesis tackles the challenge of attracting and retaining Millennials in the ICT sector with the use of HRM activities. HR practices lead to an increase in Perceived Organisational Support (POS) which, through certain identified mediators, eventually leads to a decrease in employee turnover (Allen et al., 2003). The author's interest lies in what HR practices are perceived as important to Millennials within the ICT sector and how companies can effectively use this to retain these elusive Millennials. In a saturated market where demand is high for people educated within ICT, companies are doing their best to be and look attractive to future employees. The war between what company provides the best benefits and what company supply is not meeting those demands; it is common that these people move around as they please. Amidst all, it is not only a problem since human capital is quite an organic function.

1.4 Purpose

The purpose of the research is to give Human Resources Managers in the ICT sector, whose responsibilities include the recruitment and motivation of their employees, insight and advice in what attracts and retains Millennials that are working in or are entering the

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industry. Nonetheless, this study will benefit co-workers, team leaders, executives and marketers within the industry also, to create a good environment where employees thrive and produce value. The purpose is an evaluative one, i.e., to give recommendations for decision making. Which is derived from the below-stated questions, the questions this study aims to provide an answer to is:

● Research question 1: What HRM practices will attract Millennials to a company? ● Research question 2: What HRM practices will retain Millennials at a company?

1.5 Delimitations

ICT is an area that exists globally, the research has been delimited to only consider individuals that are in Sweden, regardless of background. This is to better be able to give advice for a group that share the same political and social environment and have similar experiences. Therefore, this study has been limited to get a snapshot of the overview of the millennial perception amongst students and employees on what they find attracts them to companies and what makes them want to stay within the company based on their feelings and experience. It is, however, not to study the whole concept of attempts to be attractive for Millennials, neither is it complete or in-depth research of different company efforts to retain Millennials in the ICT sector. Moreover, the authors decided to investigate the topics with students and employees to get the view of the human capital of a company, as they are the dependent variable, to be able to aid the managers at companies in perhaps on future decision making and insight into how to approach working with Millennials.

1.6 Definitions

Concepts and central terms

Employee turnover: Turnover implies a potential loss of valuable social capital, i.e. capital and resources incorporated in social networks and relationships (De Winnie, 2019). Employee turnover implies a potential loss of valuable workforce.

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Information and Communication Technology, ICT: ICT is a term used to describe a broader version of what used to be Information Technology (IT). The areas of IT, internet, telecom and media platforms are all part of the ICT landscape (Ballon, 2011).

Human capital: Human capital is referred to the knowledge and learned skills, concerning intelligence, personality, and values, which increases with previous education, experience, and training (Becker, 1964).

Job applicant attraction: Refers to the organisational attractiveness that might increase the interest in the potential future employee to want to apply for a position at that organisation (Randy Evans, 2008). The use of attraction in this thesis refers to the job applicant attraction.

Millennials: People born 1981 to 1999. This generation is also referred to as Generation Y, this thesis will use the term Millennials. There are various definitions for what range of years is to define this generation, the authors have decided to go with the definition provided by Cassell (2017).

Perceived Organisational Support, POS:A theory that measures howemployees in an organisation form global beliefs concerning the extent to which the organisation values their contributions and cares about their well-being.

Perceived Supervisor Support, PSS: a theory that measures how employees in an organisation form global beliefs concerning the extent to which the supervisor values their contributions and cares about their well-being.

Retention: The ability to keep workers from leaving a company, this could be an outcome of motivation at the workplace (Bass et al., 2018).

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2

Frame of Reference

The second chapter aims to deliver a comprehensive, in-depth explanation of the main concepts of the study. To help the reader understand earlier research of the different components related to this study. First, it will outline the elements related to attraction and elements related to retention before it concludes with the relevance of these to Millennials.

Previous research and findings of attraction and retention of millennials in the ICT industry is presented in this section. The concept of employer branding is described in order to understand how firms attract employees. The total rewards model presents how employees prioritize to stay motivated and are thus more likely to retain with its current employee. Generation theory is used to better understand differences between the millennials and earlier generations. Social Exchange theory along with the concepts of Perceived Organisational Support and Perceived Supervisor Support describe the relationship between the employer and employee to find the connection to retention of millennials.

2.1 Skill scarcity & cost of employee turnover

Currently, firms around the world are facing an environment where skill scarcity is common, i.e., skilled labour is in high demand but short supply (Smit et al., 2015). Millennials are the future leaders of any organisation or company, in the coming years this generation will head the workplace. For managers today this means that the preferences and motivations of millennials is of major importance. Failing to cater to the millennials could even lead to an organisation's downfall (Smit et al., 2015). As such, practices that help retain millennials are important to practitioners and academics alike. There are also links between talent and a company’s bottom line. Finding proficient employees is vital for the financial performance and overall strategic success of the company or organisation (Barney, 1991; Smit et al., 2015; Bussin et al., 2015). Another reason for the importance of retaining employees is that there are costs associated with recruitment and training of the workforce. The company also faces a loss of productivity when talent leaves (Cassell, 2017; Bussin & Toerien, 2015). Certain employees who

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voluntarily leave the organisation take significant intellectual capital with them and might even disrupt the organisational processes or structure of a firm. These costs are perhaps harder to quantify but can be very high (Bussin & Toerien, 2015). One study estimated that the cost of replacing a worker within the ICT industry in the United States varied between 80 000 and 800 000 USD (Von Hagel & Miller, 2011).

In the ICT industry it is vital to have employees who possess a high level of knowledge and skills. It is crucial to attract, retain and motivate employees effectively for companies in the ICT industry. Employees who are knowledgeable in technology are at the forefront of the economy in the ICT sector thus it is important to learn what practices will retain those employees in the company (Sutherland & Jordan, 2004).

2.2 Employer branding

Firm employer brand is a result of three thoroughly considered steps: (1) developing the value proposition, (2) communicating the value proposition, and (3) internal branding (Dabirian, Paschen, et al., 2019). First, developing the value proposition means determining the values that the firm will offer to its employees. This might be created as a concept that can be included in the corporate strategy. Second, communicating the value proposition to external stakeholders, thus, creating an image of being an employer of choice to attract talent. Third, internal branding is about delivering on the brand as it is promised to new employees. Internal branding is used to emphasize that the company is a great place to work and it will help the company to retain its recently hired employees (Dabirian, Paschen, et al., 2019).

Benefits of a strong employer brand is that it might reduce recruitment costs as applications are easily received and retaining employees is cheaper than replacing them (Bussin & Mouton, 2019). A strong employer brand will attract more candidates as the organisation is perceived to have better career choices (Tanwar & Prasad 2017). The competition for talent is high in the ICT industry and firms are constantly looking for effective strategies to attract and retain highly skilled workers (Dabirian, Paschen, et al., 2019).

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As competition for talent is high in the ICT industry, employer branding is important to understand because there is little guidance on how to become a top employer of choice (Dabirian, Paschen, et al., 2019).

2.3 Competitive Advantage

Competitive advantage can come from production capacities, research laboratories, channels of distribution, economies of scale and financial resources. It can also come about by using strategies in cost leadership, quality enhancement, cost reduction and by improving technology. However, these alone are not sufficient for success in business today. A continuing theme in the literature is the importance of effective talent management for competitive advantage (Pahuja & Dalal, 2012). The employees of an organisation are part of the assets, they are human capital assets. Human resources and the knowledge they possess are fundamental to reach the goals of the organisation and to develop a competitive advantage (Gope et al., 2018; Barney, 1991). Furthermore, Human capital is an asset with potential to learn, grow and contribute.

Pahuja and Dalal (2012), claim that all other assets of a company are merely commodities, available for purchase at market prices on the world market. Further they state that in any company, the people are the most valuable asset. A motivated, committed and learnt workforce can be a source of competitive advantage (Pahuja & Dalal, 2012). I.e., competitive advantage can be developed from skilled employees and the knowledge possessed by them (Bussin & Toerien, 2015).

HRM practices help an organisation develop firm-specific competencies, complex social relations and organisational knowledge which sustains competitive advantage (Sing & Jain, 2014). According to Schuler and MacMillan (1984) human resource planning, staffing, recruitment, selection, socialization, appraising, compensation, training and development and union-management relationships are HRM practices that play a part in achieving a competitive advantage.

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2.4 Information and Communications Technology and the knowledge worker

There is currently a paradigm shift happening in how the workplace is structured and the driving force is technology. The world economy is moving from a product-based one into a knowledge-based market (John & Gratton, 2013). The literature also shows that the contemporary business environment is one suffused by skill scarcity (Smit et al., 2015). This is especially the case in the ICT-industry, where the competition for talent is high (Dabirian, Berthon, et al., 2019). It impacts how companies generate value and it impacts the employer-employee relationship, specifically regarding the psychological contract. This has to do with the perceived mutual obligations between them (Sutherland & Jordaan, 2004; Bussin & Toerien, 2015).

Intellectual property and other intangible assets are increasingly becoming some of the most valuable assets to companies today. Knowledge workers create these intangible assets with the help of technical skill and work in an ever-changing knowledge market where they need to constantly maintain and develop their expertise (Bussin & Toerien, 2015). Knowledge workers within ICT are professionally mobile, egocentric and prioritize development opportunities in their employer (Sutherland & Jordaan, 2004), and are at the cutting edge of the shifting workplace (John & Gratton, 2013). Organisations must adapt by developing effective attraction and retention strategies for these workers (Dabirian, Berthon, et al., 2019). It is, therefore, important for companies within ICT to meet these demands by creating an environment of development opportunities, knowledge sharing, and access to the latest technology. Hence, enabling a space of high flexibility for their workers in order to retain them (Medcof & Rumpel, 2007; John & Gratton, 2013).

According to Allen et al. (2003) job satisfaction is an antecedent to turnover. In their paper, which looked at certain supportive human resource practices in the turnover process, they surveyed two samples of employees. The first being 215 department store salespeople. The second sample consisted of 197 insurance agents. The research showed that job satisfaction negatively influenced turnover intentions. However, Sutherland and Jordaan (2004) argue that, when it comes to knowledge workers, job satisfaction does not accurately predict the intention to stay with the current employer. This is because personal

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development goals and other, more egocentric, factors are taken into consideration (Sutherland and Jordaan, 2004).

2.5 The concept of total reward preferences

The reward preferences of knowledge workers in an industry specific context are not well understood (Bussin & Toerien, 2015), as there are differences in reward preferences between industries (Medcof & Rumpel, 2007). This is supported by the extensive research done in this area. Bussin and Toerien (2015) conducted a study on reward preferences of ICT knowledge workers in South Africa, and how these preferences relate to attracting, retaining and motivating workers in their field and reaching the conclusion of Medcof & Rumpel (2007) that workers employed in high-technology industries prefer different rewards than those in conventional industries.

2.5.1 The Total Rewards Model

The Total Rewards Model describes how employers develop strategies to attract, motivate and retain employees. Total rewards are defined as “base pay, pay contingent on performance, competence or contribution, employee benefits and non-financial reward”

(Armstrong and Murlis, 2004, p. 11), therefore considers all aspects of rewards combined

as a coherent whole. Total rewards can be seen as a combination of different rewards including financial and non-financial rewards, intrinsic rewards and extrinsic rewards. These rewards are made accessible to the workers in exchange for value at work (Armstrong, 2006). The model developed by WorldatWork (2008) is seen as one of the most significant rewards models currently existing. However, there are different versions of the Total Reward Models emphasizing on similar categories, some of versions are presented below.

The Total Rewards Model by World at Work considers 5 categories:

(1) Compensation refers to compensation that is fixed, e.g., base pay. This can be the monthly salary, which is a compensation that it is not tied to performance. It also refers to compensation based on performance, e.g., variable pay. In this category long term and short-term incentives also fit in.

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(2) The second step is employee benefits. This is referred to additional benefits an employer uses to supplement the compensation. An example of benefits that fall under this category is retirement and medical benefits.

(3) Work Life balance has to do with the structures and the environment that workers are put in that has the function of supporting employees while they do their job. Work Life balance can be practices and policies that support the employee’s efforts to be successful. (4) Performance and recognition have to do with the perception that performance is being measured correctly and that it is aligned with the organisation's goals. The employee’s propensity to follow through their obligations and receiving acknowledgement for helping the firm will also fall under this category. It emphasizes employee actions, efforts, behaviour and performance.

(5) The fifth step and last step is development and career opportunities. This step describes actions taken to develop employee’s skills so that they can grow within the company. Career opportunities refer to career planning and the factors that contribute to an employee’s advancement within the organisation. These needs are relational as they bind the employee to the organisation because it satisfies the individuals needs such as personal fulfilment (WorldatWork, 2008).

2.5.2 Subsequent versions of the Total Rewards Model

Other versions of the total rewards model have been derived. Pregnolato (2010) was able to identify a sixth step in the model, learning. This step was split from the category development and career opportunities into learning and career advancement (Pregnolato, Bussin & Schlechter, 2017). The steps in this version of the model were ranked according to preference when trade-offs had to be made of what employees found most valuable for retaining in an organisation (Schlechter, Thompson & Bussin, 2015). The steps are:

1. Benefits

2. Performance and recognition 3. Compensation

4. Career Advancement 5. Learning

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As the workforce is changing and millennials are the new generation of employees that employers aim to attract, a further development of the total rewards model has been made to fit the millennials needs and wants (Bussin et al., 2019). In this version 7 steps were identified to better understand how to attract and retain the millennial workforce. The steps in this developed model are:

1. Leadership and environment: Among the factors that are included in this category is salary, learning, growth and opportunities and flexible work arrangements. Bussin et.al. (2019) argues that this category is rated the highest when it comes to attracting millennials. Millennials believe that an attractive salary is important and companies that pay market-related salaries will be most attractive. Although millennials want to be paid a market-related salary, they are not unrealistic about their earning potential and they are aware that qualifications and years of experience have an impact on their earnings potential (Bussin et al., 2019). It is also important for millennials that they work in an organisation where they can grow and develop their skills and competences. Furthermore, organisations that develop leadership and organisational culture will be in a stronger position in retaining employees (Boxall & Purcell, 2011).

1. Benefits: The most important benefit for millennials is retirement funds, medical aid and leave. As millennials value a work-life balance one of the rewards that was ranked the highest was the ability to take time off for further studies so they do not need to take annual leave (Bussin, Mohamed-Padayachee & Serumaga-Zake, 2019).

2. Performance Incentives: Millennials value both short term and long-term incentives in order to be motivated to perform at work.

3. Individual Development: This is an aspect that has found to be important for youths. Millennials value career and individual development, such as coaching and mentoring programmes. Millennials are willing and want to work in different organisations to gain experience but also maximise the career earnings potential (Bussin et al., 2019).

4. Safe and secure working environment: The factors for attracting millennials within this category is long-term job security and that they work in an

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environment where they feel safe and secure. Millennials rank long term job security, that is employment longer than 12 months, but they value pay higher (Bussin, Mohamed-Padayachee & Serumaga-Zake, 2019). They are also prone to sacrifice security for job satisfaction. The organisational culture that is very important to consider when attracting millennials as they want a supportive work environment (Bussin, Mohamed-Padayachee & Serumaga-Zake, 2019).

5. Work-life balance and resources: This includes employee discounts and other factors related to scheduled time reductions. Wellness offerings and flexible work arrangements have shown to be important for millennials (Bussin et al., 2019). 6. Performance Recognition: To be recognized and appreciated is something that is

found to be an important element for millennials. They have a need to be rewarded as it motivates millennials to perform. Both formal and informal recognition was found to be motivational but in different levels. It was found that millennials need feedback and if they do not receive it from their manager, they will demand it from them (Bussin et al., 2019).

The one-size-fits-all approach of the past is no longer viable for an organisation that wishes to attract top talent (Bussin et al., 2019).

According to Smit et al. (2015) earlier research claims there are differences regarding communication, equipment needs, professional growth preferences, remuneration, benefits, desired leadership and effective reward and recognition systems depending on which generation you are in.

2.5.3 Total Rewards Model in literature and research

Decades ago, managers and leaders in business needed simply to offer a market-related salary in order to attract key employees (Gross & Friedman, 2004). Today, when it comes to developing and utilizing an effective rewards strategy, or total rewards strategy, managers should take into account all available information of the employee that they can (Snelgar et al., 2013).

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To attract and retain talent within the ICT industry it is important for the organisation to understand what rewards are preferred by employees (Bussin & Toerien, 2015). Several studies have researched this question and found factors that can be more important than others when it comes to determining what kind of rewards are most important. In a study conducted by Nienaber, Bussin and Henn (2011), it was found that different personality types have different preference for certain types of reward categories. Demographic characteristics played a significant role in being a determinant of what kind of reward preferences employees have. The characteristics that were found to have a significant role in reward preferences are gender, age, race and marital status. The study concludes that rewards should expand beyond monetary rewards to also include non–financial rewards such as medical benefits. The rewards should also be designed to meet the needs of the individuals. Another conclusion of the study is that when reward offerings are differentiated then employees are more likely to contribute to higher levels of attraction, retention, engagement and motivation that influence organisational performance in a positive way (Nienaber, Bussin & Henn, 2011).

Snelgar et al. (2013) concludes that developing an effective total rewards strategy that attracts, retains, and motivates a skilled workforce demands an understanding of individual reward preferences. This could be what makes a company competitive in the labour market. Giving employees the option to vary their remuneration package to fit them specifically can give a boost to motivation. The authors further say that in an effective total rewards strategy, both non-pay and pay rewards should be combined, and takes into consideration key employee differences (Snelgar et al., 2013)

To be able to develop a diversified understanding of how reward preferences will help the companies within the ICT sector to better meet the needs of their employees that will lead to higher levels of attraction, retention, and motivation (Bussin & Toerien, 2015). The ICT industry is an industry that heavily demands its workers to have a high level of knowledge within their field. This makes it more important for managers in the ICT industry to thoroughly consider which reward preferences are most important to consider when forming HR strategies in how to manage talents. Leaders must know that the war for talent in this industry cannot be won using monetary means alone (Bussin & Toerien, 2015).

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2.5.4 Monetary reward

Different reward categories may be used when attracting, retaining and motivating employees. Base pay is found to be the main factor when attracting employees but when it comes to retention and motivation it is found that performance and career management is more important (Nienaber, Bussin & Henn, 2011). These findings are also confirmed in a study by Snelgar et al. (2013) where it is argued that base pay is the most important reward category while work-home integration is the least important. The authors continue by stating that base pay is one of the five most popular rewards offered to employees together with annual leave, paid sick leave and yearend bonuses. The study also found that a quality work environment was one of the least important factors when it comes to attracting, motivating and retaining employees. Another factor that is important when attracting employees is competitive compensation which means salary higher than market salary (Bussin & Toerien, 2015). Without competitive compensation employees are more likely to seek opportunities within other organisations.Base pay or competitive salary is only the base requirement, companies who wish to retain top talent need to formulate a carefully prepared total rewards strategy (Bussin & Toerien, 2015).

2.5.5 Non-monetary reward

It is discussed that there are other factors than monetary rewards that will keep employees within the organisation. It is found that firms who mainly use monetary compensation as a reward will have employees who are more prone to leave the organisation because these companies are only competing on price (Bussin & Toerien, 2015). Motivating employees seems to work a bit differently than attracting them. When motivating employees, it is more important to give employees the freedom of plan and schedule their work, to make them feel supported and give them credit when they have performed above the expected (Horwitz et al.2003).

2.6 Millennials and Total Rewards Model

It is discussed that age also has an impact on what type of reward preference employees have. According to Nienaber et al. (2011) reward preferences may differ depending on

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what life stage a person is in rather than which generation a person belongs to. The assumption is made that the reward category such as remuneration and benefits and working environment is more important to younger employees. These preferences tend to decrease as the person becomes older. This can be interpreted as generation may play a role in how employees prefer rewards as opposed to the findings by Nienaber et al. (2011). Cennamo and Gardner (2008) also states that millennials value freedom in their work life. Aspects that can be seen as important to them is having balance between their working life and private life but also that they want to have a more flexible lifestyle.

Smit et al. (2015) took the concepts of perceived organisational support (POS) and perceived supervisor support (PSS) and investigated their relationships to the concept of total rewards. The study also examined whether retention preferences vary between generations. Essentially, they researched if modifying traditional reward packages depending on which generation the employees belong to would have positive effects on the attraction, retention and motivation of talent via the concepts of POS and PSS.The study concluded that performance management together with remuneration were the most important retention factors but found that total reward preferences did differ between generations (Smit et al., 2015)

The literature clearly gives evidence to the notion of generational differences in values, total reward preferences and retention preferences. It has also been shown that generations favour different uses of general human resources practices such as equipment needs, professional growth preferences, remuneration, desired leadership, benefits and style of communication. The one-size-fits-all model is no longer effective in attracting and retaining talent (Cennamo & Gardner, 2008; Smit et al., 2015; Cassell, 2017; Bussin et al., 2019).

2.7 Perceived Organisational Support & Perceived Supervisor Support

In 1986 Eisenberger et al. surveyed 361 employees about perceived organisational support in two studies. This was the paper that coined the term perceived organisational support, or POS. They concluded that “employees in an organisation form global beliefs concerning the extent to which the organisation values their contributions and cares about their well-being”. Further, the authors show that POS reduces absenteeism, and that the

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correlation between POS and absenteeism is greater for employees that inhibit a strong exchange ideology compared to those with a weak one.

Kottke and Sharafinski (1988) presented a study where they argued that just as organisational commitment increases when employees feel that the organisation values their work effort, so to do employees who feel valued by their supervisors develop affective commitment towards them (Cassell, 2017). Eisenberger et al. (2002) explain that in the same way that employees develop global perceptions about how much the organisation values them and care about their well-being, they form beliefs about how much supervisors value them and care about their well-being. This is called perceived supervisor support, or PSS (Kottke & Sharafinski, 1988). The employees of an organisation view their supervisors’ approval or disapproval of them as an indication of the attitude of the organisation towards them (Eisenberger et al., 2002). The employees understand that the supervisors’ opinion of them is reported to their bosses and influence their views. There are a lot of studies that report a positive correlation between POS and PSS, according to Eisenberger et al. (2002) over a dozen studies have concluded a positive correlation.

In an article by Allen et al. (2003) the concept of perceived organisational support and its effect on employee voluntary turnover in two different organisations is examined. The study finds that POS is negatively correlated with turnover intentions which in turn is positively correlated with turnover. This relationship was found to be mediated by the concepts of job satisfaction and organisational commitment. Both concepts were positively correlated with POS. The study also looked at the antecedents of POS, meaning, what is influencing the development of these global beliefs in the employee's minds.

In the article, Allen et al. (2003) mentions five types of antecedents which have been shown to have an association with POS. These are (1) perceptions of the organisation, (2) job conditions, (3) supervisor support, (4) personality and (5) human resources (HR) practices. The connection between HR practices and POS was originally researched by Wayne et al. (1997). Allen et al. (2003) focused on HR practices as antecedents to POS and looked at how participation in decision making, fairness of rewards and growth

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opportunity correlated with POS. The study found that each was positively correlated with POS.

The level of POS of a member of an organisation increases the extent to which that member works to repay the company, this is seen in for example increased job performance and attendance. This dynamic is grounded in the norm of reciprocity and social exchange theory (Allen et al., 2003).

2.8 Social Exchange Theory

It is the norm that if you get help from someone else you will be dispositioned towards helping them in turn. Social exchange theory has been used as a guide in several studies that looked at the relationship between employer and employee (Allen et al., 2003; Dawley et al., 2008; DeConinck & Johnson, 2009; Du Plessis et al., 2015; Eisenberger et al., 1986; Eisenberger, Cummings, Armeli, & Lynch, 1997). Social exchange theory builds on the norm of reciprocity which Gouldner (1960) has written about. Looking at the employee/employer relationship using social exchange theory an employee who feels that the organisation does not value their contribution will have a negative perception and act accordingly while if they feel supported by it they will act positively.

Looking at the concepts of perceived organisational support (POS) and perceived supervisor support (PSS) via a social exchange theory lens an employee who feels supported by the organisation (POS) or a supervisor (PSS) will feel obliged to reciprocate and thus develops a higher organisational commitment. This organisational commitment is implemented by the employee by increasing the effort to which it works towards the company's or organisation’s goals (Cassell, 2017; Eisenberger et al., 1986; Eisenberger et al., 2001). Eisenberger et al. (1986) further argue that the employee expects to get rewarded for this increased work effort.

2.9 Human Resource Management

There have been several studies arguing that organisations should consider generational differences when recruiting, rewarding and managing the workforce. This is since they have varying attitudes, values and desires (Becton et al., 2014). The workforce is currently occupied by mainly three generations Baby boomers, Generation X and Millennials (Eisner, 2005). Not adjusting the organisation to the differing needs of its employees

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could lead to conflicts between generations, communication issues, bad working relationships, a reduction in productivity, a fall in employee well-being, low innovation and reduced organisational citizenship behaviour (Becton et al., 2014). This has spurred HRM specialists, managers, and researchers to find practices of managing and working within different generations (Cennamo & Gardner, 2008).

2.10 Frame of Reference concluded

Building on a lot of the earlier literature this thesis intends to investigate the context of the Swedish ICT consultancy business market. Referring to the influential research of Allen et al. (2003) it has been shown that multiple factors, or antecedents, relate to POS. These include (1) perceptions of the organisation, for example justice and politics, (2) job conditions, (3) supervisor support, (4) personality, and (5) HR practices. Allen et al. (2003) looked specifically at the antecedent HR practices and studied whether the three HR practices of participation in decision making fairness of rewards and growth opportunities lead to POS. It was shown that all three did in fact lead to increased POS. This thesis examines which HR practices that are important to millennials in order to attract and retain them.

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3

Methodology and Method

______________________________________________________________________

This chapter outlines the way of conducting this study. First, arguments for the research philosophy, research approach and strategy are given. Second, a detailed description of how the data was collected and analysed is presented. Lastly, it will look over the validity

and reliability, as well as the ethical consideration of the study.

______________________________________________________________________

3.1 Research Philosophy

The first step in describing the methodology in this thesis is identifying the research paradigm. A research paradigm is a philosophical framework that guides how research should be conducted that is based on philosophies about the world and the nature of knowledge

(Collis & Hussey, 2014). The two main paradigms are positivism and interpretivism (Collis & Hussey, 2014). This thesis leans toward the positivistic side of the paradigm spectrum as it will rely on quantitative data that is objectively analysed where conclusions will be drawn based on survey results and findings. The results of this thesis will focus on how reality looks like at the present point of time. Positivism is based on the belief that reality is independent of us and the goal is the discovery of theories based on empirical research where it is possible to provide logical or mathematical proof for every justifiable statement made (Collis & Hussey, 2014). This thesis uses ontological assumption, which is concerned with the nature of existence and reality while epistemological mean nature of knowledge (Collis & Hussey, 2014). Reality is seen as objective in this thesis and the findings aim to describe a representation of how reality looks like, thus the ontological viewpoint. The findings are such that they are observable in the environment and can be measured using methodological means, thereby the epistemological stance. Since the purpose of this thesis is to research what different factors attract and retain Millennials the ontological viewpoint will be relativism. The authors believe that there are several different viewpoints and answers on the topic of company attraction and retention in the ICT sector that are individual. Therefore, the idea of different truth existing and that truth is created based on the experience of each individual is adopted (Easterby-Smith et al., 2015).

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3.2 Research Approach

3.2.1 Deduction

The purpose of this thesis has a descriptive direction. The characteristics of descriptive research is that it aims to identify characteristics of a particular problem or issue (Collis & Hussey, 2014). This thesis has mainly had a quantitative research approach using a survey to gather empirical data from a sample of Millennial students and employees within the ICT industry. The survey does consist of a minority of open-ended questions which brings an element of qualitative approach to the thesis. These questions have not been the main focus of the analysis. Instead, the purely quantitative questions have been the focus. Survey research is characterized by describing the trend, attitude or opinion of a population quantitatively by investigating a sample of that population. A cross-sectional study and self-completion questionnaire are used for data collection. The aim is to generalize from a sample to a population (Fowler, 2008). This study uses a cross-sectional survey on a sample of Millennials within the ICT industry, using a questionnaire to find out what attracts and retains these individuals. The goal is to be able to generalize from this sample to the population of Millennials within ICT.

A deductive approach is used, where theory gathering is the first step and subsequent data collection is the second step, before analysing and finding a relationship between the two.

3.2.3 Quantitative research

This thesis takes on a mono-method of collecting quantitative data to examine the cause and effect of a situation, which is in line with the descriptive approach of the study.

3.2.3 Literature review

A systematic literature review aims to “comprehensively identify, appraise and synthesize all relevant studies on a given topic”, including peer-reviewed articles from academic databases (Easterby-Smith et al., 2015, p.15). This style was adopted in the process where peer-reviewed articles were looked for at the university database Primo, which is connected to other databases, Google Scholar, and IEEE Xplore. The authors looked for

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articles written in English that would adhere to the same theme. Different keywords were used to filter the adequate articles fitting to the study. The search was as follows: “HR” AND “Millennial” AND “Retention” OR “Attraction” OR “Tech”. Understanding that people are using different words, the authors had to be flexible as well and use other words too to fit the setting, these were “Generation Y” OR “Organisational commitment” OR “Work commitment” OR “Reward systems”. Initially, many results were found by this strategic search, which were reduced by only including areas of business and ICT. Further the selection process was carried out by reading the abstract, introduction, and conclusion to decide if the article was relevant to this study.

After choosing the relevant articles an Excel-sheet was constructed to collect them in one place and receive a better overview of the literature. This process can be used in the systematic literature review in order to structure and make sense of the findings (Easterby-Smith et al., 2015). The authors did so by colour coding the articles to better categorise the findings and some categories to be relevant to the research question and topic. These are the following: generation theory, human resources, employer branding, competitive advantage, rewards models, perceived organisational and supervisor support and social exchange theory. Categories that are comprehensively presented in this thesis.

3.3 Research Design

This study is designed as a quantitative study that allows for a survey-method of data collection to be used, which is also supported by the research question, what do ICT businesses attract and retain millennials, to highlight on the narrow knowledge within the research problem. A descriptive survey will be used, Collis and Hussey (2014) state that a descriptive survey's purpose is “to provide an accurate representation of phenomena at one point in time or at various times”. The descriptive survey will be an attitude survey investigating the views of millennials on HRM practices of importance to them in an employer within the ICT industry. The survey was designed in such a way that it was split into six parts. These were Job Background, Job Attraction, Retention Preferences, Perceived Organisational Support, Perceived Supervisor Support and Demographic Information.

27 3.3.1 Cross-sectional study

Cross- sectional study is characterized by collecting data in different contexts but over the same period, data collected is later compared to find similarities and differences

(Collis & Hussey, 2014). This study uses cross sectional methodology where a questionnaire was sent to employees within the ICT industry and students that are enrolled in a technological sciences program. This was done to be able to compare if there are any differences when attracting millennials when they are students compared to when they are already employed. Attraction and retention of millennials in the ICT industry is a subject that is suitable to conduct a longitudinal study. In a longitudinal study the researcher studies the variables over a long period of time to be able to examine dynamics of the research problem (Collis & Hussey, 2014). However, for this thesis it was not appropriate to conduct a longitudinal study since the authors do not have the ability to follow up these results within time.

3.4 Data collection

The results and analysis of this thesis is based on primary data. The data was collected quantitatively using a descriptive survey. Various other studies have also opted to follow a quantitative survey research design approach during their exploration of possible relationships between an employee’s POS and PSS (Chew & Wong, 2008; Dawley et al., 2008, DeConinck, 2010; Eisenberger et al., 2002; Jawahar & Hemmasi, 2006; Shanock & Eisenberger, 2006).

3.5 Sampling

3.5.1 Sample selection and convenience sampling

A sample is defined as a subset of a population which is chosen to be representative of the population it is drawn from (Collis & Hussey, 2014). In this study sample is 43 employees from ICT firms in Sweden and 15 science students from universities around Sweden. As this sample is relatively small, generalizations of the whole population is

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impossible, however, it is possible to interpret the results and discuss what they indicate regarding this study (Collis & Hussey, 2014).

The sampling method used is convenience sampling. The survey was distributed to tech companies through cold-calling and creating a relationship with the HR department or ICT-responsible before sending out the survey to the company. Further, students and class responsible were approached and encouraged to share the survey in their common program-specific channels.

3.6 Survey method

The survey was constructed via the use of ESmaker, a survey program provided by the university. The survey was composed of different themes that are in line with the research presented in the frame of reference and the questions were a mix of 6-step Likert scale and open-ended questions where the respondent could develop on the questions or add input.

3.6.1 Self-completion questionnaire

Self-reported validated measurements are often used in quantitative research to determine traits of participants such as personality, attitudes, values, behaviours and interest (Frey, 2018).

3.6.2 Questionnaire design

In this thesis, the measurement is a list of reward preferences that is believed to attract and retain Millennials. Statements were asked and the participants have been rating whether they agree or disagree with the believed statements. The grading scale used is a 6 graded Likert scale.

3.7 Analysis of data

When analysing the data, the ESmaker program has a feature that summarizes the statistical data and answers by the respondents, utilizing this feature aids the processing of the data that is to be analysed. This function enables a way for elements that are not

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relevant to this study to be cancelled out, such as replies from people who do not want to participate in the study or are outside of the interested target group, to ensure an honest and true snapshot of the results in the study. The next step entails summarising the statistics from ESmaker in Microsoft Excel to create easy-to-follow graphs and tables to create descriptive statistics of the sample method. This aids in summarizing the quantitative data to be able to describe and rationalize it. Which are presented in the chapters to follow below. All data that this study analyses is primary data collected by the researchers through surveys.

3.8 Reliability and validity

3.8.1 Reliability

Reliability is to which extent the data collection techniques and analysis procedures will give consistent results if it was to be repeated (Heale & Twycross, 2015). Although the measurement itself can uphold consistency some parts might not uphold relevancy if repeated and it is encouraged to modify it to be relevant to the time and place of the study. Careful consideration has been taken to ensure that the correct target sample replies to the survey.

The use of a 6-level Likert scale was also used to force the participants into giving a more biased and true opinion rather than a 5-step scale where it is common to just choose the middle level if feeling the slightest unbiased.

3.8.2 Validity

Validity is to what extent the concepts and research are relevant to the study (Heale & Twycross, 2015). The authors are interested in what factors and practices that appeal to Millennials in terms of company attractiveness, and what form of motivation and support that retains this generation in the ICT landscape in Sweden. This is what is asked for in the survey that is distributed with the appropriate target group.

3.9 Ethics

This paragraph concerns the basic ethical implications of the research and collection and processing of primary data. There are three areas taken into consideration.

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1. Informed consent: The participants are well-informed about the purpose and aim of the survey and its contribution to the research paper. This, by an introductory note in the email and posts on social platforms, i.e., LinkedIn, as well as attached to the beginning of the survey. They are at any time during the questionnaire allowed to stop and discontinue. Also, they are given the choice to not let their responses be used in the statistics, by allowing them to opt-out or not giving consent.

2. Right to privacy: The participants have a right to keep their private life private, hence, questions intruding on their private life are of the non-personal kind. Questions such as name and company they work for are abstained. The questions on the demographics part would give the researchers little to no insight on whether they are completing the survey or not. Using an online self-administered questionnaire, the intention is that the respondents would be able to fill in the survey at their own pace and comfort, with less stress and feeling of embarrassment by a potential third party influencing their responses while conducting the survey.

3. Correct justification of data: the evaluation and presentation of data is correct and authentic to, in the best ability, provide a truthful representation of the collected data. Showcase the variables and results in the right context and removing those responses that have not given consent.