Millennials have been blamed for all kinds of workplace sins: from being lazy, unreliable and irreverent to ungrateful, job-hoppers who, for sure, are way more interested in their social media than anything else!
The truth? Millennials are often workaholics whose potential has been constantly misinterpreted and underestimated, who actually feel guilty when they need to take time off (Harvard Business Review, 2017). So, how do we go about motivating the future asset of our organisations and make them bloom into great managers?
Here I’ll show you 7 KEY ways to motivate millennials!
1. Share Your Vision
Millennials, more than any other generation before, want to know why and what is behind the tasks they’re working on. They don’t want to work a 9 to 5 meaningless job, they want to make some difference! Curiosity is an extraordinary feature in an employee so rather than suffocating it, make the most of it. Share the team or company vision, even your personal vision: this will make them feel valued and give them a deeper purpose than just watching the clock between pay checks.
2. Flexibility=Freedom
Freedom is one of the most important needs of this generation and work-life balance is one of the most effective employee retention tools. So when it comes to millennials, flexibility is an even greater necessity. This tech-proficient generation of digital natives can work remotely from everywhere and will be happy to accept less pay given the opportunity to work flexible hours and location (Griffith Insurance Education Foundation, 2012). In fact, flexible schedules and telecommuting can improve work-life balance and satisfaction for all of us.
3. Trust
Make your millenials feel independent and trustable. Make sure they feel creative and in charge of the situation, by giving them a task, making clear your expectations, but then letting them do their job. Micromanagement feels way too tight for millennials. And if and when failure occurs, use it as an opportunity to consolidate their strengths and correct their weaknesses.
4. Frequent Feedbacks
Communication is fundamental, especially for a generation that is used to communicate quickly and without significant substance. It’s important to provide frequent feedback that reinforces positive traits and correct constructively what needs to be improved. Don’t sugar coat your feedback: millennials have a very low tolerance for inauthenticity! And don’t forget to ask their opinion regularly to encourage their involvement into the collective project which is the company.
5. Education & Development
Millennials value growth more than any other generation: they don’t want to settle, they want to develop new skills and competences, get better and constant education and find new purposes.
Feed their hunger for knowledge and development with regular professional development courses, progressive education on specific themes and self-awareness workshops.
6. Encourage Individuality
Great aspirations and creativity go hand on hand for millennials. By allowing them to choose their projects they will feel more engaged and more productive. Let the passion, creativity and initiative of youth be the key to produce something innovative. And if they have a side project, encourage it as a means of cultivating their individuality!
7. Mentoring
We all need to invest in our people. In the information age as the 4th Industrial Revolution takes shape, this is the only value add! Don’t treat your workers like simple gears of a big cog. Take time to get to know them. Investigate their goals, weaknesses, passions. And use them to create a deeper bond between you, the company, and them. Don’t get frustrated or disappointed if they leave: your job is to create independent units that can work independently and if they decide to stay it will be because they’re happy with their role and therefore will be the best allies you can ever have.
Have a fabulous day with your millennials!!
Andrew
