TLE: Just who are the Millennials?

 

JL: Born born between the years of 1977 - 1997, the Millennials are the youngest generation to enter the workplace. Millennials grew up with school shootings, terrorist attacks, AIDS, the Exxon Valdez spill and the Internet which influenced their view of the world. As children, they experienced everyone getting awards for playing sports and went to school at a time when gold stars were handed out freely. As a result, Millennials want frequent feedback. Millennials grew up with Baby Boomer parents, many who are self-professed workaholics, and therefore desire more work/life balance than their parents had.

 

Millennials are resourceful and able to multi-task. They can Google, email and write a report at the same time; they can comfortably find information through the Internet. They work well in team environments and are comfortable speaking up. They also want to make an immediate impact in their jobs and move up quickly.       

 

TLE: What do they want?

 

JL: Millennials have a real desire to learn and grow, which is advantageous to organizations because as Baby Boomers and others retire from the workplace there will be a need for Millennials to take over leadership positions more quickly than generations before them. There's a perfect match between the Millennials' desire to make an immediate contribution, to be leaders, and to learn and grow in their organizations, and the need for them to quickly take over leadership roles. This means that frequent performance appraisals, mentoring programs, coaching and training will be essential for growing and sustaining leaders. A Millennial said, "I want to know when my manager is happy with the work that is done and if he is expecting more." Another commented, "I want the opportunity to shadow others and learn about areas outside my scope of responsibility."

 

Their attraction to fast-paced environments and their self-confidence allows them to handle multiple tasks without a problem. However, it is important to find a balance regarding workload. Too much of a workload could turn them off, not enough could reduce their enthusiasm. Also, workplace flexibility is a benefit that Millennials value. We heard comments like, "I usually work eleven hours a day but I am satisfied by the fact that my boss doesn't demand a strict 9 - 5 schedule."

 

TLE: What frustrates them?

 

JL: Something we heard over and over again in talking with the Millennials we interviewed is that they want to hear the truth from their bosses, they want feedback and they want it right away. One Millennial commented, "I want honesty, respect, open communication, to be informed constantly, and to learn my manager's expectations."

 

TLE: What helps them?

 

JL: The time to leverage the talents and welcome the Millennials into organizations is now. More experienced workers are rapidly nearing retirement age and their accumulated wisdom and expertise could soon be walking out the door. In addition, Millennials are actively asking for more training, coaching and mentoring opportunities. Bringing together older workers' experience and Millennials' creativity can lead to groundbreaking innovations. Here are a few ways to provide mentoring for Millennials:

• Create an open mentoring culture where people learn from each other in a wide variety of formal and informal relationships.
• Use technology to to help people sign up and get connected.

 

TLE: What gets in the way?

 

JL: Managers tell us that Millennials prefer communicating through e-mail; they do not like face to face meetings as much. Millennials tend to lose concentration easily because of technologies, spending time checking texts, e-mails, etc. One manager told us, "They are distracted by technologies and social media."

 

Millennials may choose the fastest path to the solution and think they deserve to be promoted quickly. The energy and enthusiasm they can generate can be considered a challenge by their managers. One manager said, "They are highly ambitious, but they have short term goals. They want to reach management quickly and need to be managed very carefully with career paths that keep them from jumping to other companies."

 

They are inexperienced at understanding the complexity of politics and process, underestimate them and focus on the short term. A manager said, "They need to understand company policies and work within them as opposed to making up their own rules." A Millennial said, "I want to understand and manage politics and learn effective project management strategies."

 

TLE:  As Millennials move into management and leadership positions, Judy and her colleagues predict that there will be an emphasis on asking others for their opinions as opposed to "it's my way or the highway". There will be respect for different points of view and different opinions. There will be greater teamwork, a lot of creativity and a lot of having fun as well as working hard.