Dear CEO: This Is Why Millennials Don't Want to Work for You
It's
an issue that requires thinking outside the box--and if you can't,
that's part of your problem.
With
all of the academic analysis and ongoing media
coverage about Millennials, you would think that company executives
might have a better understanding of Generation Y by now. But despite
the increasing number of surveys, studies, and articles, it appears
as though employers and marketers alike still don't understand (or
really care) what makes Millennials tick, both as consumers and as
employees.
The
Millennial generation is the largest
in our history,
and soon, will command an unprecedented amount of spending power and
make up the majority of the workforce as well. Thus, it's important
for employers to understand what Gen Y employees are looking for from
their jobs, and why they may not really want to work for you in the
first place.
Millennials Want to Be Creative
Growing
up with the Internet means that Millennials know a lot about a
variety of topics. It also means that they're incredibly
interconnected and that they enjoy staying in touch with friends or
making new ones. As a result of their hyper-connectedness,
Millennials love to collaborate, they love to be creative, and they
dislike doing routine or mundane tasks. Of course, this isn't to say
that Millennials don't specialize in one thing or another--they often
do--but they very much like to challenge themselves, learn new
skills, and keep their day fresh and exciting.
Let's
say you've hired someone in this age group as an account executive.
You've probably realized that asking that person to sit in front of
the computer and answer emails or write reports all day isn't
inspiring. Give the Millennial more of a chance to meet the creative
side of the company, with clients or get a better understanding of
the goals that the new hire is trying to achieve and how best to
achieve them. This might make the employee happier and more
fulfilled. Nobody wants to sit at a desk and run through the same
tasks all day, every day, even if that's what you had to do when you
started working years ago. Expecting employees to do that now is how
you may frustrate them and drive them away.
Now,
dear CEO, before you dismiss all of these ideas as unrealistic or too
deferential to the Millennial, you might want to consider adjusting
your thoughts. Give your Millennial employees various
responsibilities within their given positions and don't limit them to
any one or two particular tasks. Also, allow your Millennial
employees to bring their ideas to the table and offer creative
solutions to problems. Millennials definitely don't want to work for
a company that crushes their creative will or doesn't value their
opinions.
Millennials Value Ethics & Innovation
One
of the more noticeable attributes of Gen Y individuals is their
general motivation to make the world around them a better place. This
means that they want the companies they work for to take a stance on
societal issues and bring innovative solutions to the table to solve
those issues. Millennial employees don't just care about the bottom
line or their year-end salary. Yes, both of those are still
important, but Millennials also want to know that their current
employer isn't 100 percent business-focused, and that their work is
positively affecting their community.
So
if your company doesn't value anything more than your profit margin,
don't expect Millennial employees to stick around too long. If you
want to hire the best Gen Y talent, you should be able to prove that
your company makes an effort to improve its community and strives to
be an innovator in its niche.
Millennials Want to Be Leaders
Nearly
25 percent of Gen Y employees want a chance to prove
their leadership ability in
the workplace. Couple that with the fact that 70 percent of
Millennials see themselves working independently at some point in
their careers, and you've got pretty good evidence that Millennials
often want to be leaders rather than followers. As such, Gen Y talent
tends to look for, and flourish in, positions where they can lead
others and collaborate with fellow employees. Thus, if Millennial
employees don't think that they have room for growth and the
potential for a leadership role within your company, they're not
likely to stick around.
The
Millennial generation is a fascinating one, and for many reasons.
It's huge, it's incredibly connected, and it doesn't think the same
way that previous generations did. Many Millennials don't even use
the word "Millennial," as they think it's simply a
marketing term. Regardless, many CEOs and business executives scratch
their heads, wondering why younger talent doesn't want to work for
them. If you study their behavior, you'll find that Millennials
simply don't like to feel as though they're locked in, or bogged down
by, any one thing. They value creativity, leadership, innovation, and
morality, and they want to work for a company that does, too. The
workplace is changing, and newer generations are playing a large part
in that. Work-life balance matters more. To Millennials, business and
work are a necessary part of life, but not the only part--and that's
why, CEO, Millennials may not want to work for you.
http://www.inc.com/john-boitnott/dear-ceo-this-is-why-millennials-don-t-want-to-work-for-you.html?cid=em01020week34a
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