Employers need to adopt a specific retention strategy toward their younger workers and graduates as they are the most difficult to hold on to, according to new research.

Search organisation MRINetwork has pointed out that younger workers will be more likely to stay with a company if they are engaged by a set of strategies, reports Onrec.

According to the group, many HR managers refer to younger employees as 'hummingbirds' in reference to the likelihood of them moving jobs.

Michael Jalbert, president of MRINetwork, said companies need to understand the motivations of such groups and that younger staff tend to respond best when they receive one-to-one feedback regarding their performance.

"The hummingbirds gain mentors who can be invaluable in fostering career development," Mr Jalbert explained.

Paul Drew, marketing manager at Pareto, said:"graduates and the younger work force have totally different desires and motivations to the older workforce.  Understanding these motivations is essential to successfully keeping staff. We find that a training is essential to ensuring staff development and progression is seen throughout a business.  A training needs analysis (TNA) is a great way to understand the staff requirements throughout a business.

Elsewhere, global volunteering charity Latitude recently suggested that graduates can improve their CV by taking a well-planned gap year that includes work experience.

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