Managing Millennials: Engaging New-Generation Employees

Adam Voyton

Background

Who are Millennials?• It is estimated that there are 78 million Millennials in the United States

alone.

• For Millennials, there is no life before computers or the Internet.

Age Segments Profiled

While members of the Millennial Generation share similar characteristics, as with all groups, there are distinctions among various life stages. These changes are important to keep in mind, as they profoundly shape how each person experiences the world.

Millennial Stereotypes vs. Reality

Stereotypes Reality

Expect instant promotion Educated and quick learners

Expect respect immediately Mutual respect

Fragile Diverse and ambitious

Job hoppers Poor economic conditions

Lazy and selfish Value professional development

Expect instant positive feedback Expect consistent feedback

Taking time off Time is money

Imbalanced Well balanced work and social life

Lacking experience Ability to multi task

It’s a mixed bag

• “There are many arrogant, egotistical, and entitled youth in the work force. But there are just as many hard-working, humble, Millennial workers out there who have earned their badge of honor.”

• Generally Millennials are very motivated and willing to work hard.

Distinctions between Boomers, Gen Xers and Millennials.

Data from the 2006 Cone Millennial Cause Study

• Online survey conducted among a national sample of 1,800 respondents comprised of 895 males and 905 females, between the ages of 13 and 25 years old. This survey was completed by 1,800 during May 16, 2006 and May 27, 2006. The margin of error is +/- 2.31 percentage points

Source: http://www.centerforgiving.org/Portals/0/2006%20Cone%20Millennial%20Cause%20Study.pdf

What’s different about Millennials?Attitude

• “It is also a generation that has been shaped by tragic world events such as 9/11 and natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina. The result is a group that has developed a strong social conscience amplified by technology. “

• Civic-minded and active participants in today’s world, it is up to them to assume the responsibility of making a lasting, positive impact on the future.

• A culture of speed, technology and choice, and interest in the global community

Work Expectations

Work-life Balance

• High expectations for their job to allow them to maintain a reasonable work life balance and flexibility.

Social Commitment

• Millennials want to feel that through their jobs they are contributing in some way to making the world a better place. This is an important issue for employees, as 69% of Millennials surveyed said that they are aware of their company’s commitment to social causes.

Top 10 attributes of a Millennials ideal job

Pro-social: Millennials possess a strong desire to positively affect change.

• Pro-Social behavior refers to the actions of individuals who engage in activities intended to help or benefit others.

• Majority of Millennials (78%) believe that companies have a responsibility to support social and/or environmental causes

• Millennials are very motivated by the idea of making a difference really from day one at their jobs.

Pro-Social activities Millennials have participated in during 2006

Implications of Action Take on a New Meaning• How Millennials define the term community

• Global viewpoint of society

They’ll make up 75 percent of the American workforce by 2025

• According to the 2013 U.S. Census Bureau, there were more 22-year-olds in the United States than any other age. Millennials have overtaken the baby boomers and are positioned to dominate the global economy. Business schools must evolve to fit the needs of this dynamic generation to prepare them for their rising prominence.

• More than 53% of recent college grads are unemployed or underemployed

Engaging New-Generation Employees: Management Education for the Millennials

• Management Education for the Millennials

• How will companies appeal to the talent and potential of Millennials?

• How will industry attract the brightest employees and graduates to management professions?

• How will businesses cultivate them as next-generation leaders?

Coping with More Work

• Few developed countries demand as much from their workers as the United States.

• Americans spend more time at the office than citizens of most other developed nations.

• Annually, we work 408 hours more than the Dutch, 374 hours more than the Germans and 311 hours more than the French. We even work 59 hours more than the Japanese.

• Though women make up half of the American workforce, the United States is the only country in the developed world without guaranteed paid maternity leave.

All this hard work is done for less and less reward

• Workers in the US put in substantially longer hours and get substantially reduced vacation time.

• Wages are flat and people are going backwards economically.

• Economy makes it very challenging, despite hard work and education.

How to Manage Millennials & Prepare for the next Generations

What do businesses need to change about the way they operate to make both more attractive to people entering the workforce?

A Culture of Collaboration• Organisations need to recognise the importance of incorporating the voice

of the employee as part of the decision-making process. Considerable research has been done on the topic of 'Open Strategy' within corporations and the value/power this transparency brings to the corporation, by both infusing more ideas into the process, but also building a greater sense of commitment (buy-in) to the results/ outcome.- Corporate/business strategy, Liam Cleaver

• “Synergy is the creation of a whole that is greater than the simple sum of its parts.” - Ray French

Mentorship

• Reverse mentorship opportunities offer interesting learning experiences/knowledge exchange for both groups.

• Diversity of thought creates a culture of innovative synergy.

• “The recently graduated can bring some of the fresher perspectives and knowledge gained from their university and internship experiences that those over 50, for example, may have forgotten, or who likely had very different experiences. While those with a significantly longer professional career tenure can share the wisdom and knowledge that only many years of experience can develop.” – Hanna McLeod

New Management Practices

• Judge productivity by outputs, not location!

• Radical-sounding perks such as unlimited paid vacation — assuming you’ve finished your pressing projects — are more common among companies concerned with attracting and retaining young talent. (Results Only Work Environment)

• By 2010, 1 percent of U.S. companies had adopted this previously unheard-of policy, largely in response to the demands of Generation Y (Millennials)

Paid Time Off Programs Under a PTO model, all vacation, sick, and personal days are integrated into one pool, so in theory, employees can take days off at their discretion when and as they need them without having to classify a reason.

UBS Gap Year (graduate deferral program)

This program allows select newly hired employees that recently graduated from college to be officially hired by the company, but then have the first year off so the employee can instead focus on pursuing interests or volunteering

The idea is to promise the job to the employee after a gap year. The employee is paid half of the accepted position’s salary during that gap year. This unique program fosters loyalty between employee and employer, as well as caters to the need of Gen Y employees to focus on their personal development.

Different Work Styles

• Preferences for mobility, collaborative and virtual work structures and new opportunities

• Millennials are eager to find a balance between family and work; unlike previous generations they’re not willing to give up one in favor of the other.

Recognition and Incentive programsWHY?

• Millennials have grown up surrounded by collaboration and constant feedback on their performance.

• Having an understanding of how the smaller parts contributed to the larger success, helps motivate millennial employees contribute greater to the whole.

HOW?

• Mention accomplishments at staff meetings. Make Millennials feel like their efforts are making a difference.

• Also leaders should communicate the impact of their work

Daily Huddle

• Employees discuss what they accomplished the previous day, identifying any challenges that they faced, and would recognize colleagues if they helped them accomplish a task.

• The person recognized would then, blindly, select from a hat a small prize, ranging from a candy bar to wearing jeans for a day, to even the chance to leave work a half hour early.

• This type of recognition system help build team camaraderie and puts everyone in a good mood at the beginning of each day.

• Reward systems offer just enough incentive to give that much more effort into your daily work--in that you know that going "above and beyond" will be recognized in a positive light.

Pictured below: Engaged and united workforce

Focus on Skill Development / Continuing Education Program

• Offer Professional Development , Personal Development, and focus on soft skills

• Don’t just offer technical workshops

• Ethics, virtues, critical thinking, and communication skills

• Learning agility - Identifying options and choosing and adapting

“The pace of technology change and knowledge generation is so rapid that perhaps as much as 50% of what we teach is out of date within 5 years of graduation. We need to engage our students for life with continuous learning opportunities (online and in class) to help them achieve their goals and insure productive and successful careers. ” – Ken Freeman

Lifelong learning is becoming a reality and a must and not an option

• If skills and knowledge has a shorter than ever shelf life, should business graduates go back to school every few years for a refresher? Get reeducated about the dynamics in the markets

• People need to know the organization is committed to their growth and development.

• A doctor has to renew his license by earning credits every two years, even in Business Education there may be a need to see how this can be achieved without really going into the class room again. So technology aided training, courses that are delivered through the internet may become the norm.

• Helping professionals to adapt, transition, and create value over at different stages in their lifetimes

Employee Retention and Values:Millennials want employer that values community,

sustainability, and ethical leadership.

• Employees transitioning jobs at more rapid intervals

• If job mobility is going to increase, what should organizations do to manage this?

• If the employee has the potential, get them into leadership roles and experiences before they become disengaged and/or leave the company.

• 56% said they would refuse to work for a company that they found to be unfriendly to social and environmental causes. Millennials’ commitment to their beliefs is so strong that t hey refuse to become affiliated or attached to companies known for unfair or nonsocial practices.

Corporate Social Responsibility Programs

Corporate Social Responsibility allows employees to take a set number of hours off per fiscal year to volunteer at a local non-profit organizations

How Employers Can Use the Cause Engagement Paradigm

• Passive engagement includes communications that leverage existing vehicles like intranet, newsletters and messages from senior leadership.

• Active Engagement: More active engagement includes participation in structured volunteer events. These experiences are life changing for participants and have great impact on morale, pride and loyalty.

Whirlpool

• As part of its global partnership with Habitat for Humanity, Whirlpool Brand provides a range and an ENERGY STAR refrigerator to every Habitat house built in North America.

How do generations work together to set reasonable goals and expectations?

• The reality of entering the workforce at the base of the organizational ladder can be both a rude shock, and an embittering pill to swallow for a young graduate.

5 Tips for Millennials Working with Boomers

1. Do it Their Way Before you fix it.

2. Ask for the unsaid specifics.

3. “Draft” doesn't actually mean “Draft.”

4. A little old style respect goes a long way.

5. Find a Boomer mentor who can help you translate.

Perks for working at Google

On site doctors, free healthy food and haircuts, and NAP TIME!

Final Take Aways: Best way to manage the Millennials is by:

• More employee engagement to create a synergistic culture: organizations need to create a culture of collaboration

• Recognition and incentive programs

• Mentorship programs

• Communicate the impact of the programs

• Results only work environment or Paid Time Off program

• Offer new hires a gap year or sabbatical

• Creating job opportunities for continuous development

• Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives

Employers that align their values with the shared values of Millennials will recruit and retain the most talented workers. Organizations must change the way they operate for Millennials to be loyal to their employer and motivated to perform their job as best as possible. Employers should implement new programs and policies to appeal to Millennials including the following:

References

• 5 Tips for Millennials Working with Boomers

• 53% of Recent College Grads Are Jobless or Underemployed—How?

• 2006 Cone Millennial Cause Study

• Engaging New-Generation Students & Employees: Management Education for the Millennials

• How those Spoiled Millennials Will Make the Workplace Better for Everyone