There are currently approximately 200,000 construction job openings waiting to be filled, according to the National Association of Homebuilders. Millennials are the largest generation in the workforce. Recruiting them to fill construction job vacancies requires a new approach — one that leverages the promise of long-term job security, financial freedom and construction wireless headsets.

Hold on: construction wireless headsets? Give me a minute and I’ll get there.

The millennial generation, or Gen-Y, includes workers born in the 1980s, ’90s and early 2000s. Like workers of every generation, millennials care greatly about the quality of management, opportunities for advancement and overall compensation. But millennials also tend to be tech-savvy, lifelong learners who want to feel their job has a purpose.

According to The Balance article, “11 Tips for Managing Millennials,” focusing on technology, teamwork, multitasking, life-work balance and an employee-centered workplace may make a construction job site more appealing to millennial workers. Here are some ways that Sonetics construction wireless headsets can help.

Wireless headsets technology

Sonetics construction wireless headsets are both a tech gadget and an enabler of other technologies. Reliable team communication, active hearing protection and listen-through situational awareness represent industry-leading innovations designed to make a challenging work environment safer and more pleasant.

Bluetooth connectivity gives millennial workers hands-free access to their mobile devices. They can listen to music or podcasts (when doing so doesn’t compromise safety), make or receive phone calls and even dictate texts and interact with voice-enabled apps.

Enabling teamwork

According to The Balance article, “In contrast to the lone ranger attitude of earlier generations, millennials actually believe a team can accomplish more and better.” While it’s important to discuss the primary workload with millennial candidates (from equipment operators to flaggers to laborers) during interviews, make sure to also promote team wireless communication using wireless headsets.

Hands-free “mega” tasking

Megatasking is multitasking on steroids, and millennials have been living it their whole lives. Working on a construction job site requires a different type of megatasking, where workers have to consider their task, immediate environment, co-workers, the public and more amid high noise and a symphony of activity. Whereas a gen-Xer or baby boomer might consider that to be a challenge, millennials likely thrive on it. If they can engage while wearing construction wireless headsets, then their hands are free to do even more.

Balancing life and work

Millennials aren’t afraid of hard work. However, they are aware that they have a lifetime of work in front of them. Achieving a healthy balance between life at work and at home is a priority.

Construction wireless headsets protect their hearing in noisy work zones. Hearing protection is about much more than preserving hearing. It also reduces stress and other physical tolls that excessive noise takes on the body. Being so exhausted at the end of every shift that work is consistently outweighing life will result in the millennial worker jumping ship for a better opportunity.

An employee-centered workplace

The millennial generation is most definitely not isolated. These are savvy networkers who have been raised on social media platforms. If a millennial employee is interested in a construction career, chances are high that he or she has a large network of people with similar interests. So when a job posting goes up, millennial workers looks to their network to find out if a company truly puts its employees first. “Do they offer training on the job?” “Can I move up if I start at entry level?” “Do they really care about safety or is it just window dressing?”

Talking with their peers provides honest answers from people they trust, and they’ll put more weight in those answers than in any they receive during an official interview.

A hiring advantage

Maybe it comes down to this: The construction job market is booming. Construction companies need more millennials to enter the industry and remain there for the long term. Will the fact that a construction company outfits its teams with construction wireless headsets entice a millennial at the start of her career to consider a construction job? Probably not. But all things being equal — pay, benefits, hours and location, for example — if a millennial candidate has a choice of job offers, she may view the use of tools such as wireless headsets as the deciding factor. As competition stiffens for millennial candidates, you’ll want every recruitment advantage you can get.

Learn more about Sonetics wireless communication headsets here.