How To Manage And Engage Millenials Within The Workplace

With millennials believed to make up around 50% of workforces by 2020 at workplace, it is important for businesses who haven’t already adapted their hiring process to attract this generation to consider making changes. Whilst there are naturally some workplace issues which come from the generation gap, millennials are unique in so many ways and tend to have different demands from their jobs than other generations. Keeping millennials, and all employees for that matter, motivated at work is important, as we all know motivated and engaged employees are better employees.

With millennials dominating the workplace, how exactly can you properly manage and motivate them? There are many myths surrounding millennials which have come from the older generations, so how can you keep them engaged?

What Do Millennials Value In The Workplace?

Exactly what every other employee does, and that is development opportunities, meaningful work, recognition and feedback. There aren’t many unique and standalone problems with millennials in the workplace which need to be addressed.

But, this isn’t to say that each generation doesn’t differ from the other. For example, the work values that millennials have may differ in some cases. Millennials may be less impressed with the longevity and size of a business and be more attracted to its positive reputation. Still, what motivates people within their job hasn’t changed and employees still expect the business that they work for to help them succeed, which are both areas which HR and managers should consider and take into account when they are looking to build a healthy place of work.

Adapt Your Hiring Process

Whilst it is certainly not recommended to change your whole workplace in order to suit millennial workers, there are some changes which you can make in order to make the hiring process easier.

CVs were first used professionally in the 1950s, which means that there have been almost 70 years where this step of a job application hasn’t changed. As well as being outdated, CVs also come with the fault that they show the applicant’s education and experience, rather than the ability to get the job done. Some candidates look great on paper but are actually poor performers and some candidates are great employees who struggle to put their CV together. It may be worth ditching the CV in your hiring process/

Thanks to technology advancements, millennials are a generation known for having things instantly. Ordering a taxi using an app, online grocery shopping or streaming the latest shows, all of these can be done at the click of the button, so why not consider adapting your hiring process to suit this change? Providing applicants with fast and good quality feedback, even if they haven’t been successful, is far more useful to millennials than long, drawn out replies. By prolonging the feedback step, you risk getting bad company feedback online, which will then put off other future employees.

Millennials now make up the largest proportion of workforces all over the world, so if you are a company which is open to it, why not broaden your hiring process further afield? Millennials are a generation who are known for their love of travel and working abroad, so it won’t be hard to find employees from other countries. If you do want to hire employees from overseas, then you must contact an immigration solicitors to see what visas both you and your employee will need – this will protect you should anything go wrong during the process.

Recognition and Feedback

One of the biggest mistakes that managers often make when it comes to millennial employees is a failure to communicate with then at regular intervals. Statistically, millennials prefer to get regular feedback on their work. Not because they wish to be rewarded when they complete a task, but because they want to do high-quality work. Often, millennials seek out feedback as a way of progressions and ensuring that the work they do is of value to the company.

With that being said, employee recognition is not just a great form of motivation for millennial employees, but also employees from other generations. Whilst it may not always be obvious, millennials are just as ambitious as everyone else, but if they start to suspect that their work is not valued or of good enough quality, then they channel their ambition into searching for a new job.

Flexibility

Although millennials can be dedicated to their job, it doesn’t mean that they always love the idea of spending eight hours in the office 5 days a week. Millennials are the first generation of digital and technology natives, and the idea of structured office work can feel like a very antique idea, especially when they are fully aware of how they can do their work with little more than an internet connection.

It may seem counter-productive, but many millennials are interested in creating and forming connections with their work and coworkers as well as being more independent than employees from other generations. Some employers may find that they get more productivity out of their millennial employees when they give them the freedom and trust to work remotely when possible.

Conclusion

Even though millennials have the reputation of being entitled and lazy, they are very similar to the working generations before them. Once they are given a stable workplace where they can grow, then millennials are a huge asset to modern workplaces.

Natalie Wilson is a freelance writer for many different business publications. With a range of knowledge in the business and insurance sector, she is an avid researcher and writer in the field. Having worked with a number of different businesses, Natalie is now a freelance writer looking to specialize in the topic. You can connect with her on Twitter @NatWilson976.