How to manage millennials is a basic question in every business owner’s mind. To help them understand this problem this piece of article can help.
I have a complete guide to managing millennial employees. Hope it helps.
Let’s see some researches about the millennial. How they are different and how to manage them.
What Researches Say about the Millennial Generation?
Baby boomers are individual workers, millennials are team-players!
This generation is changing the way of working, completely different from baby boomers. When we talk about active workers, baby boomers are the largest generation today.
This generation can work for more hours existing in the large corporate system.
They are away from team-work based job responsibilities and a flat management structure.
Keeping it simple, baby boomers work single rather than as a team player!
Millennial Employees Work Differently
Gen-Y has a new way of doing the job. Reason being, they look at their tasks from a ‘fresh pair of eyes’.
They know how to use technology. Newbies are self-motivated, multi-tasking individuals who are full of energy.
For millennials, work-life balance matters a lot.
They have high expectations of themselves.
Gen-Y employees understand the importance of social interactions and this may be seen as weakness by older colleagues.
Forcing Employers to Re-think on Engagement Model
This age group has emerged by leaps and bounds. This has made employers from different parts of the globe to re-evaluate their engagement model.
It is lead to an increasing need for building new foolproof strategies to manage and keep valuable millennials for the business.
How Millennials are Different?
Millennials Master in Digital Communications
An important benefit of millennials is they are technically knowledgeable. Furthermore, social connections are among the highest priorities for them.
Their social mindset makes them valuable for businesses. For businesses, such active participation of millennials in social activities can help.
Gen-Y is Creative
Not only socially minded, millennials are exceptionally creative employees.
With internet technology and the easy availability of information, millennials have become a creative group.
Today, they are keen to solve the most troubling situations on their own. Millennials answer the most complicated answers that other generations can find impossible.
They seek for challenging situations and love to work on things that need creative solutions.
They Welcome Feedback
Acceptance of mistakes separates millennials from others. They want you to rate and review their performance so that they can improve.
Their performance is what they want to keep at the highest levels. They keep in mind the given feedback.
Tell them they have done a good job, help them when needed, appreciate their efforts, it motivates them.
In addition to timing and frequency, the way in which feedback is framed and delivered to millennial matters.
To make feedback easier, you can keep these important words in mind.
No matter whether the feedback is positive or negative, it must be clear without any misunderstanding. This will make your feedback useful.
They have Grown up in Fast-paced Information Age
The Internet has given almost everything at fingertips. Especially when we talk about information, they have it all.
All they need is a simple online search for the problems or situations given to them.
How to Manage and Connect Millennial Employees?
Understand their Motivation
Not every millennial has the same motivation. For them, higher salaries and other financial help don’t always work.
They need fulfilment from their job; they hate old ways and want to resolve issues fast.
If the ideas of millennials are neglected for long, or they find it going nowhere, it can frustrate them.
Their creativity and their ideas must be implemented; they must feel they are doing something for their organization.
This generation doesn’t believe in just entering the time in registers and work for a few hours.
Provide them Flexibility
When given flexibility, millennials feel more comfortable and motivated. When goals are clear, millennials make their own way to achieve it.
They don’t need a lot of monitoring and tracking, it can frustrate them. So, business owners need to be like a mentor, not a boss to managing millennials.
Millennials like flexibility as they love to socialize and spend time with friends and family.
Unlike baby boomers who have set 8-hour-a-day desk job trend, millennial employees do more in less time.
Be a Good Listener
Gen-Y employees need their bosses and/or managers to be a good listener. If their ideas are good, they prefer appreciation, if not, they need feedback in a certain way.
Listening is an important quality of managers, especially to manage millennials. With good listening, misunderstanding and issues can be avoided when managers are good listeners.
Even if you want to give them feedback, make sure it is clear and concise. don’t be aggressive.
Establish Fun Culture
Boring is not good, it has to be fun learning, exciting and most importantly, challenging environment. Don’t expect millennials to stay on desks for long.
Workplaces with boring and dull environment frustrate millennials. They need excitement. Millennials are capable of making real and measurable differences when they are work in a fun environment.
Allow them a few cups of coffee on the desk, probably with some snacks, it works.
As a manager, know how to manage millennials, result and proper output is all you need, don’t you?
Ensure Transparent Process
A completely different approach is must when you establish an engagement model for millennial.
Engagement model must include various aspects that are focused on millennials and their behaviours.
Don’t restrict the use of internet technology and especially social media. You have to do proper research before preparing the right strategy for millennial employees.
Create a process that is in line with the expectations and habits of millennials.
Key Findings
Let’s take a look at the learning you have with you after reading it.
Generation Gaps are There
With millennial generation, generation gaps will always be there. You as a manager need to understand the significance of this gap and tailor management skills accordingly.
It is time for managers to focus on effective leadership strategy.
You need more than a Strategy
Checking the results of research and millennial generation gap, new efficient strategies are a must. Understand those key things and see how millennials and boomers react.
Making adjustments in the strategy or model is important. Try the internet and check out some essential survey data to make better policies that work.
Performance Management Drives Engagement
You can never know when they can come up with some great ideas. The need for feedback has already available above.
Start focusing on key points and manage the performance of millennials in a certain way. Just to highlight the factors again, we have some key points.
- Communicate on time, without any delay.
- Communicate often, no large time gaps in communications.
- Keep feedback clear and specific.
- Don’t be a boss.
The decrease in Employer Reputation is a Problem
The millennial generation is very proud of the company they work for. They are emotionally attached to the job they do and the employer they do it for.
The decrease in employer reputation turns into a decrease in morale of millennials.
The same at a pace spread across the organization and affects other employees.
Hope this helps you in many ways and you will pass it to others.
