Working with the Millennials

Jacquelyn Ferguson presented a session on ideas to better motivate and manage millennial colleagues. Her main advice was to know the shared values of the generation...this dictates their behavior. This generation has a strong sense of entitlement as they have been "the stars of their own lives".

The millennials are defined as the wired generation, those born in 1982 and later. Their answer to questions or situations such as, "if you don't get the position you want, ask why until you get an answer, if you don't like your job, or if you don't like your boss, is to leave the job. They will most likely have several careers in their lifetime (note: not jobs, careers).

For their formative years, the millennials grew up with major world changes, soccer and helicopter parents, respect for authority, technology, terrorism and war, significant corruption. They are living an extended adolescence...living at home longer, job sampling, more interested in fun for now, postponing marriage (due to greater college debt, credit card debt, job insecurity, and plan to work for 80 years or more). They have been over parented and over supervised, so are less independent thinkers, risk-takers and creative.

At work, the millennials are comfortable with the older generations, optimistic with a team spirit, and enjoy collaborating. They want meaningful work now. They like variety and change. They have a strong sense of entitlement with unrealistic expectations. They need to be supervised, and need clear goals and structure. They want to be included in decision making. Technology distracts them. They may ignore the chain of command. They need lots of feedback and reinforcement. Need lots of attention. They are not loyal yet. They want a work/play balance. They will become competitive and career minded.

So what are the shared values of this generation? They have optimism, love their parents. They want to do work that has meaning and makes a contribution. They believe in civic duty and patriotism. They are focused on education. they want a stricter moral code. They value hard work. They are very competitive due to their huge numbers (80 million). They value diversity and have no gender or racial expectations. They value cutting-edge technology, inclusion and life-long learning.

So, what matters most to this generation?
A great boss; challenging, meaningful work that impacts the world; collaborative work with committed co-workers; and reaching their financial goals since they can't count on social security.

As managers of this generation, we need to show how their work is relevant and meaningful; tie it to bigger purpose/goal. Throw out gender role expectations. Use mentoring programs with older workers. don't be an overbearing parent/boss...don't be condescendingly correct or yell at them; give constant, specific feedback; criticize carefully; give them lots of attention. Provide them with strong orientation, confront and correct unrealistic expectations. Give structure and clear rules (including technology use and dress code). Engage them on their first day of the job. They may need protection (helicopter parents negotiating for them). Reward them with greater responsibility soon and frequently. Work with them to develop a clear career path. Recruit them where they are (MySpace).

Motivate them with meaningful work; providing them with other bright and talented people, treat them as adults, include them in decision making. Provide life-long training opportunities. Give them challenging work and creative outlets. Provide them with resume-building work, clarify how their job can add to a resume. Provide flexibility in outside interests. And connect their responsibilities to their personal and career goals.