Millennials are a very interesting breed of employees. They are notorious for being demanding, eccentric and unusual, since they are the ones who exist digitally more than any other age group; they are the first ones to stay on top of any change in online marketing trends, hence it is a given that they are a very important component of any digital marketing agency. But, motivating millennials is no easy task. As a founder of a new age digital marketing agency called Pure Design Solution (PDS) in Gurgaon, India, a large chunk of my team has always been millennials. Instinctively, I have felt connected with them as they are avid learners, go-doers and full of fresh ideas that have helped our agency remain relevant and innovative. If you are also one of those organizations which consists of millennial employees, here are some tips to help you understand them better to inspire them to bring out their best –
1. Collective – Millennials care about their co-workers and believe strongly in collective tasks. But, such emphasis on teamwork can be a double-edged sword. If they care about how their actions affect their co-workers, they equally care about whether their peers inspire them and if they are really learning from them. I have found millennials to be very curious when it comes to understanding what everyone in their team does; an assembly line traditional approach will not work with them. They are all about cross-learning for personal development. If used properly, a teamwork mindset can be used to motivate millennials and to create a unique culture of accountability and cross-training to maintain cohesiveness.
2. ADD Generation – Millennials get bored quickly. They need constant stimulation or they run out of interest. I have seen a lot of success in building out job profiles for them where they are offered a lot of variety, a change of pace day-to-day, creative expression and where they can move up the ladder quickly because millennials don’t have much patience or tolerance for slow growth. In fact, they have the highest tendency to switch jobs fast.
3. Not Everyone Is For Sale — While money is what pays the bills, millennials are unique in the sense that money is not everything for them. Feeling emotionally connected to their work and believing their work matters and makes a difference is what maintains their loyalty. If they don’t have a personal stake, they won’t feel involved and are likely to leave soon. Millennials are willing to accept less salary if they strongly believe in the work they are doing. You can’t buy out this generation that is not driven by money or titles. They have to take pride in their work.
4. Be Flexible About Being Flexible — Most traditional leaders believe in the set hours at work philosophy. The truth is that millennials don’t buy into any of that since everything is about convenience for them; after all, they grew up with on-demand entertainment, right? Since they are so used to technology, they only find it logical that offices also embrace what technology has to offer which is work flexibility. I have seen more and more millennials demand work-from-home options. And, when they are in the office, they still need to feel at ease. After interacting with many millennials in my own team, it became evident that they feel so accountable to their teams and clients, that they don’t abuse the freedom given to them, which is why they insist for it. Millennials are all about finding work-life and personal-life balance. A study by PwC indicates that 71% millennials said work demands that interfere with their personal life is not acceptable at all. Any organization that doesn’t let them have personal freedom and interests outside of the office is not going to be able to retain them. Training employees is costly and time-consuming, so making sure you can retain your millennial staff through some minor adjustments in your work culture is important and a win-win situation.
5. Pay Attention to Giving Attention – Studies indicate 41% millennials want to be recognized monthly, not every since months or annually. Millennials need to be recognized and rewarded for good work. It boosts the morale of the team. They need attention and to be talked to face-to-face in a conversational style. They need lots of feedback and answers to “why” to show reasoning behind everything. Millennials are extremely social, both online and offline, and in my experience, team-building outings, activities, socials, lunches, dinners, etc. are great ways to keep spirits high.
Since millennials are a large chunk of the workforce, it is crucial to understand their mindset in order to retain them to grow your organization. This unique generation is all about personal expression, empowerment, individuality, uniqueness, balanced workload, and opportunity. They like to be lead, not micro-managed, and prefer leaders who care about their growth, development and well-being. By keeping these five points in mind, you’ll be able to develop a positive and productive work-environment to bring out the best of your staff.
