Image courtesy of deathtothestockphoto.com
Whether you’re a seasoned manager, or this is your first experience being a boss, the workplace of 2015 is one where a one-size-fits-all approach no longer works. Alan Scott said, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got!” The difficulty with Mr. Scott’s approach is that it assumes that if you’ve successfully managed your team in the past, you’ll continue to have the same result with no change of course. When you have millennials joining your team, a lot of the same management techniques will resonate. However, here are a few generalizations that you might want to be aware of, and likely disregard when managing this often written about, often misunderstood generation.
Money doesn’t motivate millennials.
Making that statement to characterize the entire generation is as useful as trying to cross an ocean in a canoe. There may be SOME millennials who would rather work for an organization that is doing charity based or altruistic work versus taking home a big paycheck. However, assuming that is always true with every millennial will land you in hot water with the ones that seek validation through compensation. Additionally, if you previously motivated your team to reach their quarter’s goal through a big bonus check, changing the reward to a trip for two to New Zealand will likely result in grumbling from people who relied on that bonus for family perks or retirement savings. Take an informal poll (perhaps individually) of your team before you make any huge policy change related to perks and strategies to motivate everyone on your team.
They know everything there is to know about technology.
They are probably more tech savvy than the baby boomer generation as a whole. However, one might argue that their technical aptitude is reflective of the socio-economic level from their childhood. If they matriculated through a school district that assigned tablets or laptops to use in the classroom at a young age, they likely have a stronger technology background than their peers who had to sign up for computer lab time. Painting this whole generation as computer experts is a nice characterization, probably just not an entirely accurate one.
They don’t like to talk to people, and don’t know how to build relationships.
This study did not help our case against painting millennials as anti-social and technology obsessed. However, a study released by the Pew Research Center in late 2014 confirms that millennials are in fact, social.- And not just online. While when it comes to a customer service situation they might rather send an email than pick up the phone, the frequency of how often they engage with their social networks (online and offline) demonstrates how important their friends are to millennials. As the generation ages, we’ll see if the theory that the breadth of their networks trumps the depth of their networks. Meaning, they may have a lot of friends and connections, but their relationships may be more fleeting, not lifelong friendships.
While each of the assumptions may be true for some millennials, don’t take the generalization and assume that every millennial on your team fits the stereotype. The best piece of management advice we can give is to get to know your millennials, ask them what matters to them, and give them the mentoring and support to grow in their role. No matter which generation your team members belong to, the more they feel like you want them to succeed, the more they will want to succeed, and that only reflects positively on you and your leadership. Bottom line: don’t be afraid of hiring millennials, they are a promising piece of the future of our workforce, and with a little coaching, they will probably surprise you.
For more information about millennials, their job prospects and hiring experiences, join our sister company, Katapult Network, for a free event on May 21st in partnership with the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. Event registration and details can be found here: http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/event/129111