Talented but tricky? The generation known as ‘millennials’ have a lot to offer if they find meaning and value in their work. Alison McGavin from Real+ shares some tips for ensuring you can engage and retain your top young talent.
The millennial portion of your office, already likely to make up a substantial percentage which will just get larger as time goes by, has quite a different work style to colleagues from other generations. To allow these strong-minded individuals to thrive in your organisation, there are a few rules to abide by – the first being try not to have too many rules!
Millennials are dependent on devices in all aspects of their life, so provide them with the best access you can afford. They may want to spend some time working from home, or from the coffee stop down the road, so be prepared to approach this request with flexibility – they don’t have the expectation that they need to be in the office to be ‘at work’.
To give them the freedom they want, they need of course to reward your trust with results – and they are very results-oriented.
Millennials are not happy to be drilled, but rather are driven by real leadership.
They like to be part of the job from start to end, to know how they can contribute and ‘Why are we doing this anyway?’
This generation has a thirst for knowledge and experience gained along the journey, not necessarily from formal education alone. It’s important to millennials that they are part of a team, both socially and at work. They have been used to a group collaborative approach to projects from college through to tertiary education, and they like it. Your job as their supervisor is to inspire them to take the journey with you. And when inspired, your millennial will respond positively.
With millennials, it’s more effective to give constructive feedback that points out what they’re doing right ahead of what they’re doing wrong. They want feedback, but not criticism. This aligns with the style of schooling they have become accustomed to. As a leader, set up expectations from the beginning, and offer compliments before giving negative feedback.
More than ever, millennials view their boss and colleagues as their ‘work-family’. Gone are the days where employees would address their boss as Mr or Mrs; they want a boss who is warm and inviting, and someone they can have a real relationship with. Build on this by holding regular team building and mentorship.
This advice is based on a generalised view, of course, and there will always be exceptions. However, if you want to keep those talented, wilful millennials in your business and allow them to thrive, some unconventional thinking will help you do that.
