People born between 1981 and 1997 are dubbed millennials and, like any generation, they have their good and bad points. They make up 40% of the workforce, according to Meagan Johnson, generational humorist. Within the next 10 years, they will make up 75% of the workforce across the globe.
Millennials are different from baby boomers or Gen Xers, but that is not surprising. Each generation has its unique identity from the one before it, and no one generation is better than the next.
To attract and retain millennials, managers need to understand what they value. Speaking at a recent NationaLease meeting, Johnson reported on a Qualtrics survey, which found that 74% of millennials ranked a collaborative work environment as the first or second most important characteristic they look for in the workplace.
Savvy companies are changing the way they interact with millennials. For example, many have replaced annual reviews with what Dick Finnegan of C-Suite Analytics calls stay interviews that occur within the first 60 days of employment and periodically after that.
In his book, The Stay Interview: A Manager’s Guide to Keeping the Best and Brightest, Finnegan shared examples of some questions that can be asked during a stay interview:
- What do you like most about working here?
- When was the last time you thought about leaving your job and what was the cause of your thinking of leaving?
- What talents, interests, or skills do you have that we haven’t made the most of?
- What have you felt good about accomplishing in your job during your time here?
- What do you think about when you think about your job?
- What kind of feedback or recognition would you like about your performance that you aren’t currently receiving?
- What opportunities for self-improvement would you like to have that go beyond your current role?
Feedback that Johnson received from millennials showed that they like connecting with their managers at least once a day (60%), want feedback every week (40%), and are satisfied at their place of employment when they receive feedback from their supervisors (70%).
One way to ensure that managers are in contact with their millennial employees is to institute the 15-minute monthly conversation. Here are some questions you can ask during these short meetings:
- What’s something that you’re better at now than you were last month?
- What would you like to be better at this month?
- What is your plan for developing these skills?
- What resources can I help you with?
According to Johnson, millennials want to know that their manager is participating in their career development.
While many people mistakenly believe that millennials are not loyal to their employers, the reality is that, according to a Capital Group survey, more than 65% of millennials feel loyalty between employee and employer is important.
And here is an interesting fact: More than 85% of millennials who have stayed at their place of employment for at least five years were happy with their sense of purpose at work.
Jane Clark focuses on managing the member services operation at NationaLease as vice president of member services. She works to strengthen member relationships, reduce member costs, and improve collaboration within the NationaLease supporting groups.
