Generations change, and whether leaders like it or not they have to think about adapting their companies to younger workforces.

With the millennial generation now entering Australian business in full force, it's time to start adapting. So what can companies do to fully take advantage of a younger generation with new ideas and expectations? It starts with a better understanding – and appropriate training.

Tomorrow's leaders

Companies will need to make significant changes to both attract and retain the future workforce, according to a new study from Deloitte. The fourth annual Millennial Survey, released earlier this year, surveyed 7,800 future leaders from 29 countries.

A substantial 75 per cent of these millennials believe businesses are focused on their own agendas, rather than helping to improve society. In addition to this, just 28 per cent believe their current place of employment is making full use of their skills. Meanwhile, a significant 53 per cent stated they want to become leaders or senior executives at their current place of employment.

What does this say about millennials? For one, businesses will need to do far more to keep them engaged and satisfied – something that seems unnecessary after dealing with other generations.

"The message is clear: when looking at their career goals, today's millennials are just as interested in how a business develops its people and its contribution to society as they are in its products and profits," said CEO of Deloitte Global Barry Salzberg.

What can companies do?

Firstly, a culture adjustment may be in order. As Deloitte explained, millennials place far more emphasis on the impact a business has on society – rather than furthering the the goals of the company itself.

For organisations to bring millennials on board, it's going to be necessary to further outreach programs and demonstrate this to candidates. Of course, this isn't the only course of action that can prove useful. Given that this younger generation desires leadership, businesses can offer training programs to prepare staff for more important roles.

PRINCE2 training, for example, is a great way of giving staff a strong project management tool set. With this course they'll learn best practices in project management – how to ensure every event from internal marketing initiatives to major seminars go according to plan.

Overall, it's clear that a rethink is in order – regardless of how big the company is. With millennials now entering the workforce, failing to appropriately cater for the new generation could leave companies without an influx of new staff.

Businesses need to understand how to cater for a younger workforce.