How Companies Are Managing the Millennial Generation
As multinationals seek to become bigger, faster and
stronger to compete on the global stage, they’re launching new corporate
development programs to mobilize their workforce. And their efforts are
reaching far beyond out-dated cushy executive retreats.
Companies have employed all types of wide-reaching
programs to help their workforce learn, grow and lead, which in turn helps with
talent retention and recruitment. A range of leadership development
opportunities have opened up, from online learning to corporate coaching, from
traditional classrooms to virtual reality experiences. Each organization is
experimenting with new initiatives.
Jason Wingard , chief learning officer
at Goldman Sachs, sat down with Knowledge@Wharton to explain the pros and cons
behind different programs being employed to encourage learning across vast
organizations. Wingard, who was previously the vice dean of executive education
at Wharton, also gives insights into what kinds of programs make millennials
tick, and what initiatives effectively foster leadership development.
An edited transcript of the conversation appears
below.
Knowledge@Wharton: Let’s talk about some of the challenges
you encountered at Goldman Sachs and Wharton’s executive education program.
Let’s specifically discuss some of the challenges companies face in managing
people from different generations.
Jason Wingard: As organizations expand, evolve and
become more multinational, they bring in many different populations and
generations of employees and managers. It can sometimes become difficult to
have these different generations work together. Their values, experiences and
educations are often different. When you bring them together and ask them to
produce results, we have to help these workers overcome their differences to be
as effective as possible.
Knowledge@Wharton: When looking at the different
generations, how do you define millennials? What are some of the unique
challenges in dealing with this generation?
Wingard: Millennials, in general, are
characterized as Generation Y. From my perspective, they range in age from 18
to 26. They’re the youngest, most junior population in any organization.
Millennials
are unique because their baby boomer parents, in general, have given them
experiences and support unlike any other generation in history. Many
millennials had helicopter parents, so some may say they’ve been sheltered and
entitled, but also received additional opportunities. As a result, they come to
work with many relationships and expansive background experience.
Some
corporate leaders and managers feel that millennials are a little bit more
entitled. While they’re willing to work hard, they also want access to
high-level information about, for example, strategy. Or they want exposure to
clients. Accessibility is very important to them.
They
want effective communication to understand how their role, as small as it may
be, funnels into the larger organizational strategy. They also want a suitable
work culture and environment, so they can feel good about where they work and
feel integrated into the organization. They want to know about how the work
culture is going to benefit them, beyond just ping-pong tables and free food.
They want an effective, fun, engaging work environment.
Career
orientation is also important for millennials. They don’t expect to take jobs
that will give them a lifetime of employment. They want to build transferable
skills that they can use for the rest of their careers.
Knowledge@Wharton: What implications does this
have when it comes to millennials’ work ethic and their attitudes towards
work/life balance?
Wingard: A common misperception is that
millennials do not want to work hard. But, in my experience, they work very
hard. But, as I said earlier, they also want to understand the broader strategy
and organizational goals. They’re willing to work hard, but when it comes to
work/life balance, they want some predictability in when they aren’t working.
They want some predictability and flexibility in spending time with their
family and friends, and also focusing on their health to ensure they are
balanced.
Unlike
prior generations at this age and stage in their careers, where they may have
been willing to invest more time in their work, this generation wants to have
more of a balanced experience.
Now
remember, millennials are a product of the baby boomers. They saw their parents
work really hard in the 1980s and sacrifice a lot of family time to climb the
corporate ladder. They saw that this led, in some cases, to divorce or chronic
health problems, and so this new generation does not want that. Millennials are
willing to work hard, be engaged and stay motivated to be successful. But they
want flexible corporations that can give them more balanced lives.
Knowledge@Wharton: With all these different generations in
the workplace, what implications does this have for corporate leadership
programs? What kinds of issues need to be resolved?
Wingard: At Goldman Sachs we’re focused on
helping to mold effective managers. From a leadership development standpoint,
we like to work with “Producer Managers”. The Producer Manager is an employee
who has risen through the ranks quickly as an individual contributor. After
various promotions they became managers, not necessarily because they are good
managers, but because they were great individual contributors. As these people
become managers, Goldman Sachs takes on the responsibility of teaching them how
to be good managers. We help them understand how to motivate, communicate and
lead others. We want them to help set a culture where people from diverse
backgrounds can have fun and be effective. We teach them to evaluate people in
the organization objectively, not just subjectively. These are skills and
attributes that people don’t necessarily pick up by working their way up
through the organization as producers. What we need to do, as learning and
development professionals, is to take these highly motivated, highly impactful
people and show them the benefits of being good, effective managers. We want
the good work that they do to cascade down to others.
Knowledge@Wharton: Part of being a good manager,
regardless of rank and level, is the ability to create effective teams. As
business becomes more global, teams often have to work across multiple
geographies and time zones. What is the current thinking on how to navigate
some of the cultural differences that arise when you’re trying to encourage
strong performance in a multi-generational, global team?
Wingard: As companies become more global, they
are confronted with cultural differences among clients, employees and partners.
We have to ensure our leaders are trained on issues related to sensitivity.
They have to understand how their behavior may be perceived and how their
actions may be received. We spend a lot of time coaching different leaders and
bringing people together to generate cultural awareness and sensitivity.
Knowledge@Wharton: Let’s turn to another point. A term I
have often seen bandied about is “thought leadership.” What exactly is thought
leadership and how do you nurture that within a company?
Wingard: Thought leadership can be defined as
new insights and new ideas about a given topic that can be shared with a wide
range of people, and those insights and ideas can be applied in other
organizations and other scenarios.
Thought
leadership, at its most basic, is articles, white papers, books and blogs
written by leaders that can be shared within an organization or outside an
organization. Thought leadership can come in different forms, including
writing, interactive dialogues and interviews. Or it can come in the form of
much more intimate, one-on-one discussions through mentorship.
For
example, a political leader or a sports coach could talk to a large group about
a crisis that they went through from a leadership perspective and explain how
they navigated that crisis and came out victorious. They can explain the
lessons they learned, which could be applied in other scenarios and other
situations.
The
process of sharing those ideas and having a dynamic dialogue creates an
atmosphere where people can learn about new themes and new experiences. People
within an organization, from the highest level to the lowest level, can take
away relevant information.
Knowledge@Wharton: Technology is one of the biggest
drivers of change in organizations these days. What impact has technology had on
the way companies approach corporate learning?
Wingard: Corporate learning has traditionally
used a “push” approach, where curriculum is designed and pushed out to
employees through classroom education, executive coaching, off-site leadership
experiences and executive education at business schools like Wharton. There are
many traditional strategies that corporations have used to deliver this kind of
education.
But
now, with technology and e-learning, this creates much more of a “pull”
operation. All of a sudden we have a mechanism for delivering educational
content whenever an employee wants it. Instead of someone else dictating the
type, speed, tone and schedule of learning, individuals now have more options
and power over their learning experience.
Knowledge@Wharton: Academia has paid a lot of attention to
massive, open online courses – also known as “MOOCs” — which are having
profound implications for business schools and other educational institutions.
Do you see any of these trends in corporate learning? If so, what are some of
the key lessons learned so far?
Wingard: The MOOC is a wonderful phenomenon that
emerged from universities. It allows you to package the best academic research
and teaching and broadcast it to thousands of people around the world. These
online platforms make education more accessible.
The
corporate MOOC is a new phenomenon that many providers are now developing. In
the corporate space, MOOCs are being packaged for a corporate experience.
Goldman
Sachs has now launched several corporate MOOCs. This e-learning experience
combines video with assessment and other reading materials. It also
incorporates social media so you can talk to the professor and others in the
classroom. It is designed to mimic a real classroom experience. This creates a
“pull” opportunity for people who want to learn in their own time.
Most
traditional corporate training happens during the workday and takes people away
from their desks. In some cases, employees sacrifice time from doing their real
work. With e-learning and MOOCs, you can take these courses whenever you want.
You can do it during your commute. It makes it accessible. It also caters to a
different learning style for a generation that may prefer to have a flexible
learning experience.
So
a millennial who is commuting can do all sorts of learning on a train,
including watching videos, taking assessments and reading supplementary
articles. They can also communicate with faculty members and others who are
taking the course. That’s the way they want to learn. That dynamic set of
choices and variability in the learning experience is what many people in the
younger generations really want.
Even
in the older population, they’re finding it much more convenient to learn with
MOOCs because they can cherry-pick the topics they want to address specific
challenges they’re facing. MOOCs are a really good vehicle for helping people
tailor their learning to deal with specific work challenges.
Knowledge@Wharton: As you get more involved in technology
driven learning initiatives, what have you concluded about the limits of
technology. Essentially, what do you think technology can do really well, and
when does it fall short?
Wingard: Technology allows large organizations
to scale up their curriculum and content to reach a wider audience. In a small
organization, you can take 30 people and host a one-day dynamic session where
the group can learn together and share ideas and this can be really helpful for
that group. But as the organization grows, it can be difficult to distribute
that information to thousands of people at a time. For example, if you have
thousands of vice presidents in your organization, you will have a checklist of
curriculum and competencies that you want them all to know about. But it’s not
feasible to take all of these people, put them in a room and have a group
education session. So technology allows organizations to distribute learning
content to a much broader audience.
Secondly,
it provides an opportunity for just-in-time learning, which is becoming more
necessary for people who are working in dynamic situations where issues can
crop up that they haven’t dealt with before. They need to be trained
immediately and MOOCs can be useful in these instances.
Ultimately,
e-learning gives employers scalability and accessibility. There are, of course,
other benefits from e-learning, such as cost savings and reducing workers’ time
away from their desks. But, for the most part, it’s about scalability and
accessibility.
Knowledge@Wharton: Are you seeing much use of gamification
and social media initiatives?
Wingard: Gamification is a phenomenon that is
really growing rapidly in the corporate learning landscape. Most people have
seen games being used by young kids who are playing in virtual 3D worlds, just
for fun. Now corporate trainers and designers are creating immersive learning
experiences in virtual corporate settings. One example is when you create
avatars of real people and organizations and you build a model of the office
environment. Then these avatars have to navigate real-world experiences to
teach people what it’s like to provide leadership, communicate strategy and
create a following. These are the things that we would teach in a traditional
classroom setting, but you can watch it happen in this immersive virtual
learning world. People have the opportunity to see a real-world character in a
virtual reality setting, and they can see supporting video clips and little
bubbles come up above the avatar’s head with supplemental content. It’s an
opportunity to entertain people while delivering hard hitting content. It
mirrors having a classroom session where you learn about a case and then you
have students act out different scenarios in front of the class.
Lots
of organizations, particularly those that are trying to entice millennials and
foster a fun culture, are using MOOCs, gamification and other forms of social
media to deliver new learning experiences that millennials will appreciate. And
older populations in these organizations are really warming to these new ways
of learning as well.
Knowledge@Wharton: A lot has been written about the
so-called “war for talent.” What are some of the new strategies and tactics
that are being deployed in this war?
Wingard: We’ve talked about a few of the tactics
that corporations are using.
The
war for talent is a real phenomenon now. For the first time in the last five
years, there are a lot more job opportunities available to employees, both in
their industry and outside of their industry. People are leaving the industries
that they’ve worked in at a much more rapid pace. All of a sudden, companies
are finding that it’s really challenging to keep their people, and it’s
challenging to find replacements. The talent war is escalating.
In
order to recruit talent, you must have a value proposition that shows people
why working at your organization is so important. You need to set an attractive
culture. You need strong and dynamic leadership that people want to follow,
which we talked about earlier. You have to create an environment where people
say, “This is a great place to work. This is a place where we win. This is a
place where we are productive. This is a place that nourishes and nurtures.”
That message gets out and becomes broadly communicated. Then your recruitment team
must codify these themes to encourage people to come to your workplace.
On
the other side is employee retention. Once you get the best people, you want to
ensure they stay. This leads back to all the things we talked about before.
Organizations have to spend a lot more time on this than they did in the past
because it’s getting easier to find alternative jobs. Now, in this
war-for-talent environment, companies have to spend much more time on their
human capital. You have to stay close to your employees, understand what they
want and provide at least some of the things they want. Organizations need to
monitor and evaluate how well they are serving those needs.
Companies
have not had to focus on this very much in the past — particularly large
companies — because they would always have talent coming in. For example,
Goldman Sachs recruiters could go to a top business school and know that they
would be able to attract the best talent based the bank’s reputation for
excellence. Employees would come in and they would want to stay for a long time
over the course of their careers.
Now,
because of the millennial orientation and because of other opportunities
cropping up around the world, we’re seeing that employees may want to come for
a little while, but then look for opportunities elsewhere — for example, at
small technology companies or small hedge funds. We have spent a lot of time
thinking about this dilemma. We’re working to create a culture where people
actually want to come in, stay, develop transferable skills and think about
longer term opportunities within the firm. Many companies are thinking about
their employees in this way as the talent war heats up.
Knowledge@Wharton: Let’s tackle one last question: What is
the relationship between corporate learning and corporate strategy? Is there
evidence showing that companies that are able to integrate the two sides
ultimately outperform?
Wingard: Historically, companies that have been
most successful were able to develop a very strong corporate strategy. But it
wasn’t necessarily true that corporate training, learning, and leadership
development needed to be aligned with that corporate strategy in order to be
successful. But business is much more dynamic now. The speed of getting
products to market is much quicker. Organizations are now facing much more
intense competition, which means they need to make sure they have a rock solid
corporate strategy, as well as strong leaders that can implement that strategy
as quickly as possible, and more efficiently than anybody else.
How
can we get our people to develop these strategies in a much faster, much more
creative way? That’s where corporate training comes into play. That’s why jobs
like mine are so critical to an organization. We have to think not only about
corporate training and education, but also about creative ways to stay
constantly linked up with top leaders as they are developing new
strategies.
Leaders
will be asking, “How are we going to develop new services and new products?
What are the barriers that we’re facing? How are we going to resist pressure?”
As leaders craft their corporate strategies and consider all the variables, the
learning function needs to be top of mind. We need to be asking other questions
concurrently, “How can we make sure that our people will be able to implement
this strategy as quickly as possible? How can we prepare them? How can we get
the right people aligned with the right roles? How can we create a pool of
successors and new leaders?”
It’s
particularly important in large, global organizations that there is a seamless
connection between the people, the leadership development, the professional
development and the strategy. If this isn’t aligned, you could wind up with a
dynamic strategy that employees simply can’t implement.
Historically,
an organization like GE was known to develop its talent within its own
corporate university. GE made a point to pair strategy with development and
learning. Now many other organizations are doing that as well, including
Goldman Sachs. We are constantly in the process of developing dynamic
strategies, responding to the market, making sure that we’re providing
excellent services to our customers and working seamlessly with our partners,
while also making sure that our leaders are getting the right leadership
development. We want to provide them with lessons, interventions, coaching, and
access to learning content that will help them be as dynamic as possible.
You’ll
see a lot of corporate universities following suit and multinational
organizations that are hiring chief learning officers or creating forums for
corporate strategy and corporate learning to come together. They are spending
money, providing the resources and taking the time to get this right because it
ultimately pays off, allowing companies to implement their strategies more
effectively and get the returns they’re looking for. If you do not do this, you
truly lose out.
Now
is a time when you can’t just have the strategy. You have to have the learning and
strategy paired up. Otherwise, you lose your competitive edge.
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/how-companies-should-manage-millennials/
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