Recruiting and Retaining Millennials in MINT-Occupations. Psychological Contract Expectations of MINT-Professionals in Switzerland

The shortage of workers in MINT professions in the wake of demographic change has begun to slow the pace of innovation and blunted some of its competitive edge – especially so in knowledge-intensive companies. A central research question with considerable relevance for HRM is therefore how the much sought-after MINT professionals can be recruited and retained effectively. The key to the sustainable recruitment and retention of young employees in MINT professions lies, in our point of view, in the systematic design of the social and psychological dimensions of the employer-employee relationship. Based on qualitative interviews and focus group discussions with MINT professionals (Generation Y and X), our paper explores the central expectations concerning their psychological contracts among MINT professionals of both age cohorts and outlines recommendations for the design of HRM practices (employer branding, recruitment, retention management).