I spent the weekend in Las Vegas with my younger brother, celebrating his 21st birthday. While there, I noticed a couple things that Vegas understands about young people. As someone employing young people, you should understand these principles, too:

1. Young people like to gather.

In Vegas, this means nightclubs to attract a young crowd of like-minded people. (You know what they’re thinking about…) And while that kind of a charged atmosphere might be tough to translate into the workplace if you’re not running a nightclub, one thing is easy to translate: finding a bunch of young people with similar interests.

I don’t think I can over-stress the importance of this. I applied at one restaurant because I had two friends working there. After they peaced out, I, too, was out the door. On the other side of the equation, I stayed with one company far longer than I ever would have because I so enjoyed the people I worked with.

This doesn’t mean you have to hire only certain types of people. Don’t shy away from having a couple computer geeks on your staff right next to the football team’s O-line. Instead, focus on finding people with similar personalities. I suggest looking for people who smile a lot. As long as people who smile a lot are working together, they’ll find some common ground.

BOTTOM LINE BONUS FACT FOR TOUGH TIMES:

People quitting less often means less turnover, which means more money in your pocket. Best of all, this kind of selection process only costs you the time required to think about exactly what kind of culture you want to establish for your young employees.

2. Free goodies can translate into big commitments

Cocktail waitresses prowl casino floors, giving free drinks to players. Why? Partly because little freebies can translate into a much bigger commitment later. Just ask anyone who has dropped more at the table than he would have spent on drinks. (AKA, anyone.) The idea here as an employer is that your employee will commit to gambling more on you: more time, more effort, more energy.

Now it should be noted that getting your employees sloshed likely isn’t a very good strategy for accomplishing your day’s work. You’ll need to find other possibilities. Two thoughts there: We heard rumors that some of the casino employees get to eat free at the buffets for their lunches. Jealousy was the reaction of every person at the table. One of my favorites perks for a downtown business is a bus pass. It’s a pretty low cost to you, but it hooks the employee up with something valuable, especially if parking costs a lot near your office. I’ve talked to a couple friends recently who say that their bus pass is their favorite perk.

BOTTOM LINE BONUS FACT FOR TOUGH TIMES:

With times tough, some employees are just happy to land work. Why still bother with this kind of thing? Well, how about this: if you can increase your applicant pool simply by being known as an employer that offers good perks (again, think Google) you will be able to find more productive employees. Better productivity translates into better profits.