Training millennial workers and bridging the generation gap in the workplace can be a tough slough. I've provided some pointers below that should be of assistance to managers and human resources professionals who are struggling to make a breakthrough in this areas. This requires a different mode of thinking, you need to put yourself in the mindset of the millennial generation and respond to the changing requirements of your workforce. This isn't business as usual, it's confronting a rapidly evolving trends that are pushing the dynamics your younger employees. Tips:
1. Consider issues like: work-life balance, professional development, flexible work arrangements, and educational opportunities. Other than salary, which is an ever important issue, these are the issues that are at the front of an employees mind.
2. Pair high performing younger employees with senior managers in mentoring relationships. Retention strategies are important concepts for today's human resources professional to understand. With job jumping a growing workplace phenomena, steps must be taken to secure young employees from leaving and hooking up with a professional. In the coming talents wars retention issues are going to be on the forefront of organizational priorities.
3. Employee engagement is crucial. Your young employees need to know that their ideas are being considered and acted upon if warranted. The process of feedback is crucial in developing a high-performance workplace where people are listened to. Nothing will push millennials out of an organization faster than bad attitudes, poor communication, and an environment where authority is wielded around in an inappropriate fashion.
4. Make emerging technology a part of the workplace. This concept goes hand in hand with the aforementioned strategies and when effectively deployed can lead to a sea change in productivity and innovation. Are you using social media, instant messaging, and virtual office environments? If not, then you need to consider hiring people who understand the changing role of technology in a corporate environment.
5. Millennials need feedback, so give it to them. Consider having managers meet with millennial employees one-on-one on a weekly basis for feedback sessions. A lot of issues can be resolved in an informal environment before they appear as problems.
6. Be prepared for push-back, attempts at negotiation workplace boundaries, and a lot of self-advocacy. Millennials have a bit of an attitude, this is simply part of the generational zeitgeist. Learn to work with this dynamic and benefit from it.
7. Ensure that the values of your employees line up with the organizational values. It's crucial for branding in a globalized world to have a strong sense of who you are and what your organization stands for. You won't be in competition for top talent unless you can define your organization, what it stands for, and where it's headed. Millennials want to know everything for an organization before they walk in the door to an interview, so give it to them online. You'll be doing everyone a favour and allowing people to determine whether they'd be a good 'fit' before even applying.
8. Stay current on workplace trends and issues facing millennials, generation X, and the boomers. It pays dividends to have strong intelligence on emerging trends and dynamics.
I've attached an article below discussing some of the issues that I have raised here, if you would like to continue the conversation then please contact me. See:
Bridging the new generation gaps
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