Have No Fear the, Millennials Are Here!
If the title of this article alone doesn’t have your head spinning, I’m certain after reading the article itself, it will be. I spend most of my time engaging in strategic conversations around how to attract and retain talent in a talent shortage like the one we are in. Without question, often when someone tosses out a comment about the “millennial generation” it’s as if they are the equivalent of a workforce plague. This is why I decided to take on this hot topic for this month’s article and set the story straight. Millennials are NOT the demise of your company; in fact, they could be your saving grace!
By 2020, 46% of our workforce will be comprised of millennials. This fact should be incentive enough to learn to understand what drives them and influences their motivations. For those who believe the common misperception that this generation is lazy, unmotivated, self-centered, lacking loyalty, and entitled, the flooding of our workforce of “them” could be pretty unsettling. The interesting thing is that statistics are telling us differently. In fact, according to the Human Resources Management Center, “91% of millennials are registered to vote, 68% participate in community service, and 53% consider themselves politically active”. This is evidence that challenges the idea that they are “self-centered and/or lazy”. It tells us this is a passionate group of change-makers who are embracing technology and social presence to create lives they want to live, instead of adapting to a life someone else mapped out for them. This is a very positive thing.
But what does this mean for the workplace? Specifically your workplace? As recently cited in the Deloitte 2016 Millennial Survey, millennials do tend to have some common behaviors and shared expectations (desiring a good income, a great place to work that is willing to make an investment in continuing education and training, wanting a company’s mission to better people’s lives, and growth within one’s own organization). These attributes nicely align with what our thriving companies should be focused on providing in the first place. Millennials are highly zealous and enterprising, therefore they are seeking organizations that provide an environment in which they can contribute and thrive. In my own experience running a nationally-recognized headhunting office in Salt Lake City, what we hear consistently from millennial prospective candidates is a strong message that they are “worth more than just money”. We’ve seen time and time again, it isn’t the amount of money thrown their way but the culture, direction, and ability to contribute to a cause that sparks their interest and/or keeps them with their current employer.
The reality is, with almost half of your workforce falling into this age range, they are ultimately becoming the cornerstone of your organization and must be embraced. They carry your message, company brand, and represent your mission every single day they walk through the doors of your organization. With a natural tendency to innovate and create, coupled with an innate desire to make a difference, you have a very valuable asset walking the halls of your company looking to make a contribution. The average millennial has over 250 “actual” friends on Facebook. Imagine how quickly they will spread the right idea or message to their vast audience. The world of business is changing as we know it. Soon we will look at prospecting, marketing, and employee relations with a whole new paradigm as the presence of millennials inspires or even requires us to do so. If you build a business detached from institutional limitations and create a space of tightly-networked, passionate visionaries who have room for social and experiential endeavors, you will reduce your risk of losing your best-trained talent to the company down the street.
Let’s change the conversation about millennials away from the stigma and false impressions powered by misinformation and lack of foresight, and instead turn our focus to the new ways in which our organizations can leverage these strengths and build better business practices around employee engagement. It’s time to embrace the changes and challenge ourselves to not let the differences scare us, but rather motivate us to be better bosses and colleagues.
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