Engage the Millennial Workforce

The best way to engage with YOUTH is through any forum that will reach for their hearts. When working with youth, one must use whatever methods available to engage with them, always asking their opinions, allowing them to make a solid contribution to the ‘team‘. Surveys, questionnaires, etc. via their mobiles apps can be one way to achieve the answers you are seeking.

Youth have a “can-do” attitude about tasks at work and look for feedback about how they are doing frequently – even daily and they want a variety of tasks and expect that they will accomplish every one of them.

Positive and confident, young professionals are ready to take on the world.

Find out what they are thinking, what they are worried about, what they are seeking in a career, a life, etc. Get to know your ‘team’ on a quasi personal level, and this can be accomplished through social engagement such as networking meetings, lunches, etc. Our youth like TEAMS and TEAM ACTIVITY.

Once you have captured their hearts, you will achieve an active, breathing, living response. Passion is a tool that works for all of us, and in these times, the managers must reach deep into the psyches of their employees, their teams, etc. especially in youth, for times are tough at this stage in life for these young people.

Provide a fun, employee-centered workplace. Generation Y, the new millennial, as these young professionals are being referred as these days, want to enjoy their work and their workplace.

They want to make friends in their workplace.

Worry if your millennial employees aren’t laughing, going out with workplace friends for lunch, and helping plan the next company event or committee. Help your long-term employees make room for the millennials.

As always, when I characterize a group of employees based on age, or any other characteristic, some employees will fit this description; some employees will fit part of this description; some employees will not fit this description.

Planning to hire Millennials in your office?

This guide will teach you how to co-exist with this challenging new generation of workers.

Yet, I believe that, if you heed these tips, you will steer your organization forward, more times than not, with a positive approach to managing your millennial employees.

10 Tips to Engage Young Professionals in the Workplace:

1] Provide structure. Reports have monthly due dates. Jobs have fairly regular hours. Certain activities are scheduled every day. Meetings have agendas and minutes. Goals are clearly stated and progress is assessed. Define assignments and success factors.

2] Provide leadership and guidance. Millennials want to look up to you, learn from you, and receive daily feedback from you. They want “in” on the whole picture and to know the scoop. Plan to spend a lot of time teaching and coaching and be aware of this commitment to millennials when you hire them. They deserve and want your very best investment of time in their success.

3] Encourage the millennial’s self-assuredness, “can-do” attitude, and positive personal self-image. Millennials are ready to take on the world. Their parents told them they can do it – they can. Encourage – don’t squash them or contain them.

4] Take advantage of the millennial’s comfort level with teams. Encourage them to join. They are used to working in groups and teams. In contrast to the lone ranger attitude of earlier generations, the millennial actually believe a team can accomplish more and better – they’ve experienced team success.

5] Listen to the millennial employee. Your millennial employees are used to loving parents who have scheduled their lives around the activities and events of their children. These young adults have ideas and opinions, and don’t take kindly to having their thoughts ignored. After all, they had the best listening, most child-centric audience in history.

6] Millennial employees are up for a challenge and change. Boring is bad. They seek ever-changing tasks within their work. What’s happening next is their mantra. Don’t bore them, ignore them, or trivialize their contribution.

7] Millennial employees are multi-taskers on a scale you’ve never seen before. Multiple tasks don’t phase them. Talk on the phone while doing email and answering multiple instant messages – yes! This is a way of life. In fact, without many different tasks and goals to pursue within the week, the millennials will likely experience boredom.

8] Take advantage of your millennial employee’s IT SAVVY: computer, cell phone, and electronic literacy Are you a Boomer or even an early Gen-Xer? The electronic capabilities of these employees are amazing. You have a salesman in China? How’s the trip going? Old timers call and leave a message in his hotel room. Or, you can have your millennial text message him in his meeting for an immediate response. The world is wide, if not yet deep, for your millennial employees.

9] Capitalize on the millennial’s affinity for networking. Not just comfortable with teams and group activities, your millennial employee likes to network around the world electronically. Keep this in mind because they are able to post their resume electronically as well on Web job boards viewed by millions of employers. Sought after employees, they are loyal, but they keep their options open – always.

10] Provide a life-work balanced workplace. Your millennials are used to cramming their lives with multiple activities. They may play on sports teams, walk for multiple causes, spend time as fans at company sports leagues, and spend lots of time with family and friends. They work hard, but they are not into the sixty hour work weeks defined by the Baby Boomers. Home, family, spending time with the children and families, are priorities. Don’t lose sight of this. Balance and multiple activities are important to these millennial employees. Ignore this to your peril.

Photo courtesy of Fastcodesign.com

THE MILLENNIAL DIFFERENCE

Millennials are creating a change in how work gets done, as they work more in teams and use more technology. Their social mindset, however, is also a significant factor. As Leigh Buchanon writes in Meet the Millennials, “One of the characteristics of millennials, besides the fact that they are masters of digital communication, is that they are primed to do well by doing good. Almost 70 percent say that giving back and being civically engaged are their highest priorities.”

RELATED: Here’s The New TIME Magazine Cover About How Millennials Will Save Us All

“The millennials,” a wistful F. Scott Fitzgerald might have written today, “are different than you and me.” Managers accustomed to using certain practices to engage boomers are going to have to change their ways – and practices – if they hope to engage and retain the newest heavily scrutinized employee cohort, the millennials. This author recently completed an important study and he offers valuable advice that managers can use to make the millennial feel ‘wanted and respected‘.