Managers and leaders who are able to understand, communicate, motivate, train, and retain four or five different generations at the same time is mission critical in every industry.
This cross-generation management skillset is not one that managers may naturally have, but it is one that can be developed through learning and practice.
2. Purpose of Today’s Training
• What is a Millennial?
• Perception vs Reality
• What do I need to know to more effectively lead?
3. Traditionalists
Baby
Boomers
Gen X Millennials Gen Z
Four Generations in the Workforce
• WWII, GI Bill, College
• Authority
• Delayed gratification
• One company career
• Vietnam, Cold War, Civil Rights
• Kennedy & King assassinations
• Find identity in their work
• Technology to do more work,
not less
• Persian Gulf, AIDS
• Video games, MTV,
computers
• Mobility and autonomy
important
• Technology for work-life
balance
• 9/11, Terrorism
• Latch Key
• Texting, Social Media
• Emphasis on social
responsibility
• Technology for work-life
blending
• Mortgage crisis
• ISIS
• Tech savvy
• Globally connected
• Flexibility
• Entrepreneurial
• Still evolving definition
1933 - 1945 1946 - 1964 1965 - 1979 1980 - 1995 1996 - Present
4. Perception of Millennials
What is your perception of Millennials?
• Autonomous
• Entitled
• Imaginative
• Self-Absorbed
• Defensive
• Abrasive
• Myopic
• Unfocused
• Indifferent
5. Reality of Millennials
• Work – Life Blend
• Reward
• Self- Expression
• Attention
• Achievement
• Informality
• Simplicity
• Multitasking
• Meaning
6. Challenges for Millennials
• A lack of experience
• Not being taken seriously
• Not getting respect
• Being perceived as "entitled"
• A lack of patience
• Getting helpful feedback
• Understanding expectations
• Rigid processes
• Proving my value
7.
8. How to Lead Millennials
What Millennials Need What Millennials Need From Their Leaders
Work-life blending acceptance Be flexible when letting them have it their way makes sense
Reward for work, more opportunity and promotions
Reward the right things in the right way; Teach and guide them;
Be clear and patient when setting expectations
Self-expression and being listened to
Put their imagination to work; Listen to them for ideas and
strategies
Attention and knowing what is expected out of them Build a relationship; Be clear and detailed
Feeling achievement and knowing how they are doing
Give affirmation when they do achieve; Assure them about your
relationship with them when providing information on
performance improvement
Informality and a say in how they do their job
Don't take things personally when they go around the normal
channels to build relationships; Let them challenge you
Simplicity and the big picture
Show them the big picture and broaden the short term; Help
them connect the dots
Help sculpting ability to multitask with attention to detail
Include the details and give them direction; Demonstrate, coach
and then empower them
Help finding the meaning
Make it matter to them; Help them see how their daily
contribution matters
Most information used in this power point presentation was extracted from
Managing the Millennials: Discover the Core Competencies for Managing Today's Workforce Hardcover – February 15, 2010
by Chip Espinoza (Author), Mick Ukleja (Author), Craig Rusch
For the first time ever, there are four to five generations in the workforce.
People living longer, more active lives so they’re able to work longer
Traditionalists and Baby Boomers not being in a financial position to retire
Traditionalists and Baby Boomers wanting to work until an older age, as work has helped define them for decades
Baby Boomers financially supporting their “adult” Millennial children into their late 20s and even 30s
Managers and leaders who are able to understand, communicate, motivate, train, and retain four or five different generations at the same time is mission critical in every industry, including healthcare.
In the United States alone, there are over 6,500 medical device companies that are competing for the same talent STERIS is competing for. Recruiting and engaging talent is a core part of our company values and a requirement for future success.
This cross-generation management skillset is not one that managers may naturally have, but it is one that can be developed through learning and practice.
Traditionalists:
There were 56 million Builders. The Great Depression, Roosevelt’s New Deal, WWII, Korean War, GI Bill. As a result of the GI Bill, nearly 8M WWII Veterans had taken advantage of the opportunity to further their education. 49% of those admitted into college in 1947 were veterans. Authority was important as was hard work, honor and delayed gratification. It was not uncommon to spend one’s entire career at one company.
Baby Boomers:
Boomers are forever young – run fast, jump long, and throw hard. Find much of their identity in work, no surprise that Baby Boomers have added hours to the workweek. When it comes to technology, they use it to do more work – not less
Gen X:
Some of the values that emerged from their experience include mobility and autonomy. They need to be independent. Their greatest value is to have balance in their lives. Technology came of age, and the members of this generation use it for work-life balance. They don’t perceive a need to be in the office – they could sit on the beach and do their work.
Millennials:
In 2015, Millennials comprised 35% of the workforce.
By 2020, 1 in 3 adults will be millennials. By 2025, 3 of 4 will be from the Millennial Generation (Espinoza).
Demographers place their birth years between 1980 – 1995. They have been shaped by 9/11 and terrorism, Columbine (which took the King and Kennedy assassinations to a new and personal level), environmentalism, cell phones, text messaging, technology based social networking, and a strong emphasis on social responsibility.
Technology isn’t a tool to do more work, rather it is used to achieve work-life blending – it is an integral part of the members of this group, and working with it has become second nature. The members of this new generation want and need constant feedback. Why? Because they were raised in democratic and praise-based families that proudly displayed “My kid made the honor roll” bumper stickers. They grew up in an era where the focus of parenting was nurturing. They have grown up working on teams in school and on academic projects. When they get into the workforce, they expect to work in teams. Diversity is important to them. If they walk into the workplace and don’t see diversity, they think something is wrong.
Millennials are the most-educated and technologically savvy generation ever and arguably a highly sheltered and structured generation.
Gen Z:
The next generation clock started in 2001 and will continue through the second decade of the 21st century. The future will determine how they will be referred to, but for now, most refer to them as Gen Z. The forerunners in the group turned 15 years old in 2016. Their cohort will be smaller than the Millennials. Here are some things that may impact their values and attitudes: Mortgage Crisis, Corporate Bailouts, “Sully” and US Airways Flight 1549, “Captain Phillips” thwarts Somalian Pirates, and ISIS.
We are focusing today on the Millennial Generation, Largest Generation Sense Baby Boomers. Gen X is being considered the skipped generation. As Baby Boomers exit the workplace, the Millennials are taking over the majority.
Millennials have high perceptions of themselves. They think that they work better and faster than other workers.
They have high expectations of their employers, and want direct and fair input from managers. They want managers to be involved in their professional development, because it is all about them in many ways – it is not just about the company.
They seek out creative challenges and view peers as vast resources from whom to gain knowledge.
They want to be recognized and valued the first day on the job.
They want small goals with tight deadlines so they can see their own development as they slowly take ownership of a new role.
Millennials are high performance (with a lot of potential) and high maintenance.
For managers, the maintenance clouds the potential. Instead of opportunity and promise, they see a headache.
Work -Life Blend
They work to live, not live to work. They don’t mind accessing work during their personal time, and they want to be access personal life while at work.
Reward
A lot of different kinds beyond the traditional pay increases, bonus’ and promotions
Self-Expression
Imagination, fresh perspective
Attention
Used to it and like it. Were raised with it.
Achievement
They want to
Informality
Get straight to building the relationship.
Simplicity
Skip the loopholes, get to it
Multitasking
Do it all, not necessarily in order
Meaning
Reason to care
A lack of experience
They are keenly aware they lack it
Not being taken seriously and not getting respect
Feeling their great ideas are getting lost in the shuffle. Feeling getting treated different because of their age
Being perceived as "entitled"
They know other generations think this. They do not think they are!
A lack of patience
High expectations of career development and progression
Getting helpful feedback
Frustration when feedback is vague or untimely
Understanding expectations
Confusion about what is expected, mismatch of expectations
Rigid processes and Proving my value
They want to be outcome oriented, not process oriented. They want to learn how to go about asking for more responsibility or opportunity
Let’s talk about what millennials want and the challenges managers are sometimes faced with this group in the workplace.
Can anyone in our audience today relate to the last few slides in your interaction with millennials?