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You’ve heard the complaints about younger workers: They’re entitled. They don’t want to work. They’ll leave in six months anyway.

The data says otherwise.

Workers under 25 are bringing highly engaged, optimistic energy to work. They want to drive change and have an overall positive outlook on their company’s future and their own. According to Qualtrics’ 2025 Employee Experience Trends research, young employees are the most optimistic of all age groups.

So why can’t you keep them?
Because there’s one critical metric where young workers fall behind: their intent to stay with an organization for three or more years.

They’re not disengaged. They’re unconvinced. Unconvinced that you see them. Unconvinced that they belong. Unconvinced that their work matters.

Meet the Generations You’re Trying to Recruit
Today’s candidates grew up on stories of ordinary people called to extraordinary purpose:

The Marvel Generation (Gen Z): Raised on heroes who struggle with identity and belonging while using their unique gifts to serve something larger than themselves.

The Harry Potter Generation (Millennials): Shaped by stories of chosen ones who find their true family among those who share their calling — and who matter not despite their differences, but because of them.

These aren’t just entertainment preferences. They’re psychological frameworks. And they tell us exactly what these generations are looking for in a career.

A majority of Gen Z (89%) and millennials (92%) consider a sense of purpose very or somewhat important for their job satisfaction and well-being. Research shows Gen Z values jobs that allow them to live comfortably (77%) and pursue their passions (70%) over becoming wealthy (31%) or managers (12%).

They don’t want to climb a ladder. They want to join a mission.

The Small Agency Advantage
Here’s what most rural and small agency leaders don’t realize: You have something big-city departments can never offer.

In small communities, your deputies aren’t anonymous badge numbers. They’re neighbors. The work isn’t bureaucratic processing. It’s protecting people they know by name. The culture isn’t corporate. It’s family.

But if your recruitment message leads with salary ranges, benefits packages, and job descriptions, you’ve already lost. You’re competing on terrain where you can’t win.

The research is clear about what drives young employee retention: Having growth and development opportunities is the top driver of making sure employees feel that they belong, and a significant driver of employee engagement and retention. And even though employees believe mentoring would help advance their careers, less than a third have joined a mentorship program at work.

Your candidates want:
~To be mentored, not managed
~To be invested in, not processed
~To be believed in, not evaluated
~To matter — to you, to your community, to the mission

And more than anything, they want to know your why — and whether it aligns with theirs.

The Missing Piece: Your Brand Message
Most small agencies have never articulated their why. They post job openings that read like every other agency in the country. They talk about duties and qualifications. They never explain why their agency exists, what their sheriff believes, or why this community — this mission — matters.

In small communities, especially, candidates want alignment. They want to be united with others who share their passions and beliefs. Your why creates that alignment experience — or its absence creates a void that no signing bonus can fill.

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