2015, the year when Generation Y are taking over the majority representation of the workforce. Are we ready for them? In short: not really. And that's because with their joining companies, any rules changes. (For the good!)
As young people join their organizations, managers realize they are faced with a problem. The old-fashioned way of leading people no longer works, and the so-called Me me me generation has already become a problem. Despite their young age, Generation Y are already unemployed: only 28.9% of them are involved in working related activities compared to the 32.2% from their parents' generation (Generation X) or the 32.7% of the Baby boomers (approaching retirement age). What is happening and why?
Generation Y is the first generation ever modeled by cohabitation with technology. Digital natives are impatient, always (self-) researching, difficult to discipline and get aligned with the job description, in a constant need for assertion and a launching pad. A real pain, isn't it?
Actually not. Truth being told, all of these symptoms are just signs of our times: if your employees have them, then your customers will definitely have them too. And companies that are willing to adapt shouldn't just make room for Generation Y, but also learn from them to best meet this new generation's expectations.
But to get there, we have to see working through their eyes. In doing so, we may discover things that will make managers happy - millennials aren't out the door at 5 p.m. and, if they are committed, they are willing to get involved whenever situation calls for their projects - but also to worry about the way we are currently leading our organizations - control generates resistance and financial motivation no longer has the expected interest.
Are you ready to know the new rules of working according to millenials?
Old-school rule:
You work for money, so you can support yourself financially.
New-school rule:
Your job can no longer suppress your personality and identity. And if it tries to, then you don't belong there.
The “Shut up & work” approach may have worked with previous generations, but Millennials are the rebels of the labour market. More active and more informed, flooded with information from everywhere, they are in a constant search of themselves and of the ideal job that can highlight their skills and abilities. Its downside? Generation Y are not mature, they aren't settled, nor grounded. In order to reach their potential, they need to be mentored by their managers who should be helping them develop their talents and find meaning in their work.
The advantage is that they no longer consider the job description as a box they need to fit in, but as a strictly indicative benchmark: it isn't the job that shapes someone's personality, it is you, the individual, the one shaping the job. This brings a substantial change into the heart of organizations: if until now companies were defined by their structure, by the functions and the processes they set in motion, they are now starting to be defined by the people who keep the wheels turning. Businesses are becoming human vectors - exactly what is needed to become successful in the 21st century.
Employers who manage to channel their employees' passion into performance are those who have the knowledge to define and to highlight the organization's mission, transforming it into a common goal each employee can contribute in their own way.
Old-school rule:
Work is what you do in the office from 9 to 5.
New-school rule:
Work is not measured in hours, but in results or deliverables.
Flexible hours is the key to the millenials' hearts. What some call flex-time is for them the new normality: the unit of measurement isn't the hour of actual work, but the energy needed to finish a particular task and thus contributing to the success of the team and the business.
For many managers, this is a difficult step to take, especially since they consider Generation Y to be some superficial and fickle young people. However, giving them exactly what they ask for - the freedom to build their own agenda and the context to accomplish their tasks - is exactly what any boss should be doing because it is during that time that the character, commitment, and the performance level each individual is capable of are proven.
By offering autonomy and accountability, managers build the context employees can show their results in. By the "9 to 5" approach, the only thing measured is attendance - the wrong KPI.
Old-school rule:
When choosing between two job offers, you go for the one offering the highest salary.
New-school rule:
When choosing between two job offers, you go for the one ensuring personal excellence and the fastest development.
Millennials are used to being seen. They are used to publicly experience success or celebrity, to be immediately appreciated for what they do well or to receive attention and support when they blow it. That's why for a Millennial an ideal company is one that can ramp up their latent potential development and offers them the recognition they desperately seek.
The need for real-time feedback at work is a direct consequence of the influence the internet and social media have on this generation - according to an intergenerational study performed by Pricewaterhouse Coopers, 41% of millennials prefer to be rewarded or recognized for their work at least once a month, if not more frequently. However, this desire for recognition of this generation can also be found in 30% of members not belonging to generation Y, who would enjoy this level of feedback frequency from their managers, according to the same study.
Old-school rule:
Your boss is in charge. You're just an employee.
New-school rule:
The boss is the facilitator of your professional success.
One of the largest international studies on millennials conducted by Deloitte in 2014 confirmed that millennials want leaders who focus on employee development and mentoring. According to Deloitte respondents, the key characteristics of a leader are the ability to inspire, vision, firm decisions and passion. Only one in 10 respondents believe true leaders focus exclusively on financial outcomes.
Old-school rule
The boss is always right.
New-school rule:
Stop controlling me, make me believe. Or better yet, inspire me.
Millennials no longer believe in control or in the authority that from their perspective hasn't been acquired. In the always connected and deeply collaborative world in which they live, control or micro-management is a totally inefficient way of doing things, favoring sharing (information, expertise, responsibility) and inspiration.
Millennials have already developed an instinct for self-accomplishment and for many of them lifelong learning is an already acquired instinct as well thanks to the internet. What they need next is a leader to inspire them and channel their development like a coach, and the possibility to do what they know best in business (also): communicate in real time, teamwork, developing and finding innovative solutions to everyday problems.
What's changing and why this is good news for businesses
Millennials expect a little more from their employers apart from a decent salary: a flexible and custom-made program according to their needs, real-time appreciation and feedback, and a shift from the control paradigm to collaboration and building a team-oriented work environment.
However, as the authors of the PwC study discovered, these desires are not exclusively theirs. Millennials are just the catalyst for a long-awaited change for any company employee - a profound change in management that puts people at the center of the business and not the operational processes and mechanisms.
