It's graduation season and once again we see an influx of candidates in the marketplace. More recently a new breed of worker is gaining momentum and making waves in the workplace. They are called, among other things, "Millennials." There are about 80 million of them, born between 1980 and 1995, and they're rapidly taking over from the baby boomers that are now pushing 60.
Raised by doting parents, teachers and coaches, they’ve been told they are special and can achieve anything they want at any age. Versed in various sports, extra curricular, a desire for straight ‘A’ grades and a drive to become CEO by 25; these Millennials were born believing they are already winners. They display a great deal of self-confidence to the point of appearing cocky.
In the workplace Millennials pose a challenge to their baby boomer employers. This group needs to know where their career is going and what they need to do to get there. Millennials are always looking for the next step and challenge to take on: the bigger the opportunity the better. Millennials are natural networkers and will use this to their advantage to seek and seize other opportunities to achieve that next challenge. Given their advanced ability in tech and gadgets, they can multitask unlike any other generation before, even in their personal life. Activities such as teams, friends, and philanthropic activities, Millennials can and want to do it all and so will require this flexibility in their workplace.
Millennial Management
So how do you translate what you’ve read so far into your workplace? What do today’s young employees want? What kind of work environments attract, retain, and motivate Millennial coworkers?
Here are some ideas:
Be a Leader – Millennials have grown up with structure and supervision, with parents who were role models. They want to be leaders themselves but desperately seek a leader first who will help mould and nurture their future ability.
Challenge - Millennials want learning opportunities. They want to be assigned to projects they can learn from. They’re looking for growth, development, a career path. At a moment’s notice or boredom a millennial may walk away from one job and jump into another for a new challenge.
Friendships - Millennials like being friends with coworkers. Employers who provide for the social aspects of work will find those efforts well rewarded by this newest cohort. Some companies even interview and hire based on personal referrals and immediate peer groups.
Have Fun - A little humor, a bit of silliness, even a little irreverence will make your work environment more attractive.
Respect – Millennials that were born thinking they were winners will come to work with a “can-do” attitude. They will be most successful and happy when they see that their ideas are heard with respect and that they are treated with respect. Discounting their ideas for lack of experience will have a devastating affect on the employee.
Be Flexible - The busiest generation ever isn’t going to give up its activities just because of jobs. A rigid schedule is a sure-fire way to lose your Millennial employees.
There is no avoiding the reality that Millennial workers are taking over the workplace. You might wonder whether the economic uncertainty will mean Millennials will stop being so demanding. Wrong. More than ever, we will need Millennials and we will have to make them happy; because of the Baby Boomers. The reality hits home; the average age of a nurse is 47, 50% of certified school teachers will retire in the next five years, 60% of Federal employees will retire in the next five years and the statistics go on.
There’s no getting around it, Millennials are here to stay and will shake up the workplace like no other generation before.