The need of employers to hang onto valuable institutional knowledge in the form of older workers' experience, as well as to avoid violating the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, can conflict with their need to demonstrate to younger workers that there are opportunities for development, even if older workers aren't vacating the premises as soon as those younger workers would like. 

Older workers might be staying in the workplace to better their retirement savings position, or just to keep themselves active and mentally sharp, but that doesn't mean that their experience and depth of skills are not valuable to employers who would like to advance younger workers but lack the vacancies to do so. Instead, HRDive recommends, employers might want to consider horizontal career moves for millennials. 

While such moves aren't a move up the hierarchy, the report says, they can be a way to allow young workers to learn new skills and work experiences without leaving the organization. Such programs can be a way for employers to show that retention of millennial workers is important and that they fully support employees who take advantage of opportunities to grow, even when advancement may not be immediately possible.