Gen Y and Millennials in 2014 have new challenges as they advance in the workforce along aging Baby Boomers and Gen Xers. As they move into management ranks, beating the entitlement label and growing as leaders will be crucial. Tips for managers of Gen Y included in this presentation given at the Nationwide Gen Y Associate Resource Group in November 2014.

1. WhY Gen Y: Millennials Outside the Walls of Nationwide
Presented by Crystal Olig
November 20, 2014

2. Introductions
Crystal Olig
Interactive Director, Upward Brand Interactions & Oxiem
Digital Marketer, Dog Lover, Husker Fan, Mommy, Nationwide Wife
crystal@oxiem.com
@sparklegem on Twitter
Linked In: Linkedin.com/in/crystalolig
Instagram: Instagram.com/sparklegem

3. Past Related Speaking Engagements
• Phoenix Public Relations Society of America, “What’s Next”
• Denison University, “GenYers Who Get It”
• Columbus Young Professionals Conference, “Personal Branding for
Gen Y”
• Entrepreneurship Education Forum, “Teaching Entrepreneurship to a
Digital Generation”
• Ohio Growth Summit, “Understanding the Natives, Looking at the
Web from a Gen Y Lens”
• Private presentations for Colliers International, MT Business
Technologies, others

4. Better Brand Building On The Rise
Upward Brand Interactions helps elevate brands in
traditional and digital marketing environments. We
bring together the experience and capabilities of
Oxiem Interactive, Hafenbrack Marketing + Public
Relations and Genessa Health Marketing.

5. Overview
• Introduction to my interest in Gen Y: It's not "them" it's "us.”
• Millennial demographics 101
• Three generations in the workplace: Gen Y, X, Boomers
• Older vs. younger Millennials
• Typical Gen Y stereotypes and issues - Bruce Tulgan's myths & the
real scoop
• Beating the entitlement label
• Tips for managers of Gen Y
• Traits of leadership in Gen Y's world

6. How Millennial Are You?
Take the quiz:
http://www.pewresearch.org/quiz/how-millennial-are-you/
I am….
• connected professionally to more than 500 people on LinkedIn
• more likely to have your email than your phone number
• friends with more than 800 people on Facebook
• a second language speaker
• a college graduate
• six jobs into my career
• a laid off worker
• a digital native

7. Age Demographics at Work in 2014
Gen Y adults, ages 18 – 35 76.6 Million Americans
Gen Xers, ages 36 – 48 54.0 Million Americans
Baby Boomers, ages 49 – 67 75.6 Million Americans
Silent & Greatest Generations, ages 68+ 39.9 Million Americans
Gen Y
Millennials
Echo Boomers
Boomerang Generation
Trophy Kids with Helicopter Parents

8. Millennial Moments
• Grew up in boom times, GDP
growth and unlimited credit
• “Digital natives” – technology,
technology, technology
• Recession affected early careers
and shaped outlook on work,
finances
• Approach to adulthood, milestones
not the same
• Post 9-11, Afghanistan & Iraq wars
• Education debt

9. Millennials by the Numbers
• 38% have tattoos
• 75% have a social profile
• 50% favor gay marriage
• 64% believe in God
• 37% are unemployed or out of the
labor force
• 41% have a full time job
• 1/3 are receiving financial
assistance from their families
• 13% of 22-to-29 year olds have
moved in with their parents after
living on their own
Study of 50 million Miillenials 18 or older by the Pew Research Center in 2010

10. “On the one hand, they are narcissistic, self-entitled, impatient,
stressed and suffering from extreme moral relativism; on the other
hand, they’re multicultural, tolerant, entrepreneurial, globally
engaged and persistently optimistic.”
Marketing to the Millennial Hero –
In the Cereal Aisle and Beyond
Nita Rollins, Ph.D. , Sep. 15, 2014

11. Gen Ys Care About
• 52% say being a good parent is a priority
• 30% prioritize having a successful marriage
• 21% care about helping others in need
• 20% want to own a home
• 15% want to live a very religious life
• 15% care about a high-paying career
• 9% want lots of free time
• 1% want to become famous
Pew Research Center, 2010

12. Three Generations at Work

13. Three Generations at Work
Boomers
Gen X
Gen Y

14. Older Gen Ys
• Older Gen Ys….
• … are in their early 30s
• … are married
• … some have children
• … are in middle management
• … manage people who are younger
• … manage people who are older
• …. are perceived to be unpolished &
entitled
“When we think about
Millennials, most people
talk about ‘when they
grow up,’ but what they
miss is that it already
happened for a lot of
them—just not in the way
that “growing up” looked
in the past.”
Patrick Spenner, “Inside
the Millennial Mind: The
Do's & Don'ts of
Marketing to this
Powerful Generation”

15. Older Gen Ys
• Reverse ageism struggles…
• Seeing age first, not experience in role
• “Dang son, I thought you’d be older…”
• “Do you even know what a fax
machine is?”
• “How long have you been doing this? I
need to talk to someone experienced.”
• Struggle to have voices heard without
the “gray hair” to back it up
“87% of Gen Y managers
in the EY survey took on
a new management role
between 2008 and 2013,
compared with 38% of
Gen X managers and just
19% of those aging baby
boomer managers.”
“Gen Y managers
perceived as entitled,
unpolished” in USA
Today

16. “Gotta keep learning. Gotta keep moving. All the stuff you’ve
forgotten, I’ll never have to know. Half the stuff you remember, I’ll
never have to know. That just means I’m way past halfway
to catching up to you.
It’s the obsolescence curve getting steeper and steeper.
It makes it a whole lot easier for a guy my age
to catch up to the more experienced people.”
Not Everyone Gets a Trophy:
How to Manage Gen Y
by Bruce Tulgan

17. Typical Gen Y Issues & the Real Scoop
Myths:
• Gen Yers are disloyal
• We won’t do the grunt work
• We don’t know much and
have short attention spans
The Scoop:
• Work is transactional – we
don’t trust the system
• We want credit for the work
we do
• Expectations for knowledge
bases has changed
Adapted from “Not Everyone Gets a Trophy: How to Manage Gen Y” by Bruce Tulgan

18. Typical Gen Y Issues & the Real Scoop
Myths:
• We need work to be fun
• We want to be left alone
• We want managers to do
our work for us
• We want to learn only from
computers
The Scoop:
• It’s not fun, it’s engagement
• Authority to manage selves,
with feedback & mentorship
• Want managers to teach us
how to do work well, fast
• Only what’s easy to learn
from computers – need the
human element too
Adapted from “Not Everyone Gets a Trophy” by Bruce Tulgan

19. Typical Gen Y Issues & the Real Scoop
Myths:
• We want the top job day 1
• Career ladder what?!
• Money and benefits don’t
matter
• Money is the only thing that
matters to us
The Scoop:
• Just want to make an
impact and hit the ground
running
• Our career paths will be
erratic and eclectic but still
progressive &
developmental
• We are savvy enough to
compare
• We want to know how to
earn more
Adapted from “Not Everyone Gets a Trophy: How to Manage Gen Y” by Bruce Tulgan

20. Typical Gen Y Issues & the Real Scoop
Myths:
• We don’t respect our elders
• It’s impossible to turn us
into long-term employees
• Gen Yers are too self-focused
to be good
managers
The Scoop:
• Mutual respect is crucial
• One day at a time
• Just need to learn the
basics & then practice
Adapted from “Not Everyone Gets a Trophy: How to Manage Gen Y” by Bruce Tulgan

21. “The good news is that Gen Y members are perceived as
tech savvy, and smart about ways to leverage social media.
‘They are also seen as inclusive leaders who display what EY
calls ‘diversity’ skills, or the ability to build culturally
competent teams.’
And they come across as enthusiastic and adaptable,
qualities that may help them shift gears”
“Gen Y managers perceived as entitled, unpolished” in USA Today

22. Tips for Managers of Gen Y
• Compliment the person, not the technology
• Capitalize on Gen Y’s adaptability and work shifting
• Don’t use the lens of the past to frame issues
• Reward in-person engagement; discourage distraction
• Understand the idea of an “idea economy”
• Teach context
• Manage actively, consistently
• Focus on relationships
• Adapt communications styles
• Allow flexibility when possible, use other incenting & rewards

23. Beating the Entitlement Label
• Take the words “should” and “deserve” out of your mindset
and replace it with “earn”
• Compare you to you – not others
• Learn your context – how you dress, how you present ideas,
how you prepare, when you speak up
• Make your managers look good and you’ll be rewarded with
trust, ability to present your own ideas in the future
• Find ways to add value
• There’s no way to cheat experience. Experience implies time.
• It’s not a job, it’s a career
• Adapt to grow

24. Traits of Leadership in the New Millenium
• Make yourself a source of information
• Expect your ideas to resonate due to merit, not rank
• Get good at following – peers, not just supervisors
• Get good at selling from the inside out
• Be authentic in situations where authenticity is most difficult
“How to Lead in the New Millennium,” by Penelope Trunk - http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/

25. Q/A Time!
Thanks for having me. Keep in touch!
Crystal Olig
Interactive Director
Oxiem & Upward Brand Interactions
crystal@oxiem.com
Twitter @sparklegem