Managing Millennials

The Ultimate Handbook for Productivity, Profitability, and Professionalism

Kevin E. Phillips

• Publisher: Productivity Press
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781138483422
• eBook ISBN: 9781351054928
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Management
• Index: Business

The Millennial workforce has different goals and objectives than previous generations and possesses a unique perspective that is unlike any other employee group. Nevertheless, instead of incorporating a management style that is conducive to getting the best out of Millennials, business leaders incorrectly attempt to manage this subset of the workforce the same way they manage employees from previous generations. This must change!

Archaic methods of management do not deliver success with a new breed of employee. Instead, the outdated model leaves Millennials uninspired and lacking the desire to produce results. To get the best out of Millennials, it is imperative for leaders to modify their current management style. With over 55 million Millennials working in the United States, the largest demographic in the workplace, it is critical that they are managed effectively if companies are going to succeed. Managing Millennials: The Ultimate Handbook for Productivity, Profitability, and Professionalism delivers a profound understanding of what motivates Millennials, generates increased awareness of the different ideologies and preferences each generation in the workplace values, and most importantly, provides specific actions you can use to understand and motivate Millennials and transform your organization.

Section IV

Making Changes, Taking Action

Maintaining the status quo in today’s business world won’t cut it. The market has never been more competitive and the need to successfully leverage the talent in your organization and take advantage of the operational changes that are occurring in the workplace has never been more important. While broad strategies, long-term planning, and quality discussion from this book can be helpful, without taking definitive action, benefits will be limited. If you are ready to make changes, but don’t know where to start, these solutions will get you moving.

In this section, there are over 100 ready-to-use solutions from 18 real-world issues designed to get the best out of Millennials. These solutions empower you to improve your business and increase productivity and profitability. To simplify this process, this section has been separated into three chapters, enabling leaders to select the proper solutions that align best with their specific situation.

The opening chapter focuses exclusively on motivating Millennials. The real-world issues discussed range from increasing Millennial loyalty and commitment to your organization to using unique ways to compensate Millennials that do not involve money.

The next chapter covers generational diversity and the challenges that come with bringing different employee groups together. Paying particular attention to issues that surface due to conflicting perspectives, this chapter provides guidance and direction for problems that cause turmoil in the workplace because of generational diversity. Leaders are provided specific actions to take to minimize problems that often disrupt harmony in the office.

The final chapter revolves around abstract challenges that are often outside of the norm for leaders. These issues do not always have answers that are intuitive for management, so are often incorrectly addressed. This chapter also uncovers many of the mysteries behind these issues.

10

Motivating Millennials

Motivating employees is an interesting challenge for companies in the twenty-first century. In the past, it was believed money was the ultimate motivator and served as the driver for improving performance. In essence, if you wanted employees to perform a certain way, you needed to increase their wage, and theoretically, the bigger the pay increase, the better the results. In reality, this approach does not carry weight. The notion that employees will chase after money the way a donkey chases after a carrot on a stick is not true.

While an increase in compensation can lead to better performance, research shows that it is only sustainable when it will generate a lifestyle change. Nominal pay raises will not create long-term motivation. So, while a small bump in pay is appreciated, to bring out enduring engagement, companies must place emphasis beyond just an employee’s bank account. This is especially true for Millennials.

Companies have taken note of this and started introducing new activities to the workplace to ensure Millennials are able to produce optimal results. While some companies found great success motivating Millennials, others failed to generate inspiration. Though they are eager to stimulate employees and boost productivity, they spend time and money on the wrong initiatives. How does passing out candy, having beer in the break room fridge, or letting people wear their favorite football jersey to work create long-term motivation? Produce better results? Help employees become more engaged? The truth is, they don’t! These are perks, not drivers of engagement that motivate. Yet these are the sexy activities brought up when discussions about improving productivity and increasing employee engagement surface.

Far too often, companies (and leaders) that are trying to motivate Millennials highlight the wrong activities when discussing the best ways to inspire personnel. Focus on what is important is replaced with quick fixes, fun events, and shortsighted solutions. The pinball machine in the corner of the break room and Friday happy hours are great and appear to show how innovative and trendy a company is, but they do not get to the core of why Millennials will immerse themselves in their work. It takes more than these trivial activities to captivate the Millennial workforce.

Unfortunately, while this is true, the actions necessary to motivate employees aren’t always as noticeable or enticing. It is much more exciting to showcase holiday parties and Halloween costume contests. Though fun activities are more intriguing, their importance pales in comparison. Further, when thinking from a holistic point of view, appropriate analysis must occur:

• Are a couple pieces of candy really the only thing that is stopping your team from being productive?

• Is not having beer in the fridge the reason people aren’t putting forth concerted effort?

• Will allowing members of your team to wear football jerseys actually inspire them?

Are we so naïve to believe that these inconsequential changes are really the cornerstone to transforming the behavior of employees and triggering increased productivity? When analyzing from this perspective, it is clear that more thoughtful initiatives must take place for Millennials to be motivated in the workplace.

The rest of this chapter comprises six issues companies commonly face and specific actions you can take to combat these challenges. Most of the actions recommended are fairly straightforward. However, others are not linear in nature and require outside-the-box thinking due to the unique perspective of Millennials. For traditionalists who might scoff at these “outlandish” ideas, the acceptance of the changing workforce due to Millennial involvement must be acknowledged. Because they have become the largest population of workers in the United States, adapting your management style to successfully motivate Millennials to perform has never been more important.

The six real-world issues discussed in this chapter are:

• Five tips for communicating feedback to Millennials

• Ten ways to compensate Millennials that don’t involve money

• Five keys to effectively recognize Millennial contributions

• Ten ways to increase Millennial loyalty and commitment to your organization

• Five reasons Millennials quit and what you can do to stop them

• Five tips for motivating melancholy Millennials

FIVE TIPS FOR COMMUNICATING FEEDBACK TO MILLENNIALS

It isn’t shocking to know that preferred methods of communication vary for different employees. These differences are often magnified when more than one generation is involved. Unfortunately, while many business practices have been modified to account for the vast differences in intergenerational populations, for the most part, employee feedback has remained the same. This can be particularly challenging for Millennial employees who have different preferred methods of communication than other generations. This creates the need to adapt how you communicate feedback to Millennials. Following are five tips for how you should communicate feedback to Millennials.

1. Provide consistent feedback: Annual reviews are not enough. While annual reviews are a part of almost every company culture, Millennials need more consistent feedback than yearly evaluations. They want to know what they are doing well, where they can improve, and how they can grow with the company on a consistent basis. Provide feedback weekly (or even daily if necessary).

2. Be direct and to the point: Millennials want concise communication that delivers important information. They are used to reading (and delivering) 140-character messages via twitter, so the moment you send them a 10-page detailed report about what they are doing well and where they can improve or belabor points in a long, drawn-out speech, you have lost them. Do not waste time or mince words. Written correspondence should be direct and to the point, and face-to-face feedback should be results-focused with specific action items that have tangible benefits.

3. Provide context: Specific examples enable abstract comments to come alive. More than just an explanation of what they are doing well and where they can improve, Millennials want context. Provide specific examples of a Millennial’s behavior, and how it positively or negatively affected the outcome of a certain situation.

4. Expect to have a discussion, not give a monologue: Unlike previous generations in which employees would take feedback from a leader with the mentality that “the Boss knows best,” this is not the case anymore. While Millennials still respect their manager and the guidance they provide, the willingness to mindlessly trust is gone. Millennials want to share a dialogue and discuss constructive criticism to understand the leader’s rationale behind the feedback.

5. Use varied methods for feedback: Face-to-face feedback is good, but informal feedback via email, text, IM, or even video can have the same effect. Millennials grew up in a home that had hundreds of TV channels, endless opportunities to stream videos online, social media, and constant contact via text with virtually anyone at any time. Thus, face-to-face communication may not be the best method for delivering information. While formal (annual) feedback sessions are likely to remain the same for the foreseeable future, varying the way you communicate constructive criticism informally is imperative.

TEN WAYS TO COMPENSATE MILLENNIALS THAT DON’T INVOLVE MONEY

In the past, an increase in pay was believed to be the best way to motivate employees. While financial compensation is still a motivator that can generate specific behavior, incremental increases in pay do not produce transformative performance. Specifically, while a small pay raise may have been extremely important to previous generations, many Millennials would gladly sacrifice a nominal increase in their paycheck for intangible benefits. Following are ten ways to compensate Millennials that don’t involve money.

1. Provide time off: It could be argued that Millennials value their time more than any other generation. They love having a busy schedule, yet feel like they never have enough time to accomplish everything. This makes time away from the office well received; an afternoon away from work enables Millennials to immerse themselves in activities that they truly enjoy.

2. Allow them to work from home: Similar to time off, the opportunity to work from home is also revered by Millennials. Millennials (in certain industries or roles) feel that a laptop and an internet connection are the only things they need to be able to do their job effectively. As such, when they are presented with the opportunity to work from home, they cherish the experience. This also creates awareness that you trust them.

3. Let them stretch out in an office for the day: Provide an outstanding performer the opportunity to use an office that is typically vacant as a reward for their excellent performance. An employee who traditionally works in tight quarters or an open workspace would appreciate the opportunity to stretch out in a nice office for a change. Alternatively, if there is no vacant space, provide the outstanding performer the opportunity to use an executive’s office. High-level executives typically travel a lot. Rather than allow their workspace to go unused while they are on the road, provide the outstanding performer the opportunity to use their office as a reward.

4. Connect them with C-Level Executives: Millennials love rubbing elbows with the big players in the organization and would treasure the opportunity to take on a challenging project with C-Level Leadership. If a Millennial is producing exceptional results, put them on an important project with leaders of the company. This will enable them to showcase their skills while simultaneously strengthening their commitment to the organization.

5. Recognize them on LinkedIn: Research shows that cash bonuses are typically spent on bills and perks are soon forgotten, but recognition becomes a lasting memory that encourages exceptional performance. Recognize employees on LinkedIn. Celebrate a Millennial’s contributions by formally recognizing them on their LinkedIn profile. Not only will they appreciate the kind words the first time they read them, but they will also have the opportunity to go back and read them again and again. This will provide encouragement well after you shared your sentiments the first time.

6. Pay for a cooking, painting, or skydiving class: Because financial compensation is spent on bills rather than an outing or experience, the opportunity to provide high performers with a tangible reward for a specific activity could seem daunting. This doesn’t have to be the case. Instead of simply giving employees a cash bonus, reward them with an activity that has already been paid for. Give high performers a gift card for a fun activity or night out on the town.

7. Present them with a stuffed giraffe: Quite often, certain employees will go above and beyond their responsibilities and stick their neck out for the company. When this occurs, they should be presented with an award that is emblematic of their effort. They could be given a stuffed giraffe that symbolically represents their extraordinary dedication and willingness to stick their neck out for the team. During a meeting, introduce a stuffed giraffe to your team. Share what the giraffe represents and how each month the giraffe will be given to someone who has stuck their neck out for the company.¹

8. Cater a breakfast for that person’s team: Celebrations are more fun when they can be enjoyed by a group of people. Instead of just providing breakfast for a single employee who is being recognized for their outstanding effort, enable that employee’s team to bask in the celebration. This will enable the team member to feel appreciated by management, while also building a rapport with fellow colleagues.

9. Send them on a field trip to a local vendor: Seeing different parts of the industry and where your organization sits in the value stream is inspiring due to understanding how your company fits into the industry’s ecosystem. When a Millennial performs exceptionally well, send them out to a local vendor. This will enable them to see how their actions make a difference and allow them to appreciate what they do on a daily basis.

10. Write them a letter or present them a handwritten note: Though customary in the past, the impactful activity of writing a letter to acknowledge exceptional performance has gone by the wayside. Stop to take the time to write a letter to a Millennial about their performance. This will encourage them to continue pursuing greatness. To take this a step further, mail a copy of the letter to their home address. This will inform their family what their loved one has done and why they are valued.²

FIVE KEYS TO EFFECTIVELY RECOGNIZING MILLENNIAL CONTRIBUTIONS

More than just compensating Millennials and creating innova...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Author
• Introduction
• SECTION I Millennials in the Workplace
• SECTION II Everything Has Changed
• SECTION III Beyond the Horizon
• SECTION IV Making Changes, taking Action
• Conclusion
• Index