Working With Millenials

Just recently, I overheard a conversation while having lunch at a coffee house close to my office. It was between two managers, a male and a female in their thirties. I did not mean to eavesdrop, but they were speaking rather loudly and most of the lunch crowd had left as it was already 2.30 pm.

From what I can gather, they were both working for different companies and they were both frustrated with the folks they worked with. "How can boss expect me to perform when he gives me such a useless team," lamented the female counterpart. "I am sure you agree with me that we were young once. We were also fresh from the university, but we were never like them. We tried to adjust and adapt as fast as we could. We never gave up and we never gave our bosses the I don’t care attitude. I have done my best. Take it or leave it."

"Well, we have to remember, they are the millennials…and they consider themselves entitled and privileged," replied her male friend.

Well, this is not a unique conversation. After lunch, I pondered on this subject matter. Many have complained about working with millennials. Is it really that bad? My own experience working and teaching them has taught me a thing or two of how to deal with millennials.

Firstly, who are these millennials?

Millennials refer to those born between 1981 and 2001. Many do not realise that millennials are not a single homogenous group but consists of broadly, two groups, which are the Gen Y and Gen Z. Gen Z refers to the younger ones while Gen Y are older. These two groups are differentiated by technology, where Gen Y’s world centred around personal computers, cell phones, and video game systems, while Generation Z grew up on tablets, smartphones, and apps.

Now that we are clear exactly who these millennials are, why are they such a pain to many? Are they really a lost cause?

Having worked with Gen X, Y and Z, it is not fair to label millennials as a lost cause. Personally, I regard the millennials as Class "A" individuals.

The fact is we need to find time to understand the millennials and redirect their energy and attention. While the first 4 "As" can be negative but the last 2 "As" can make millennials become top notch workers. Consider the following:

1. Leverage on their aptitude for Tech-Savviness and excellent social connectivity to improve processes in management, marketing and services delivery
2. Recognise their ambitious streak and use it to develop creative ideas. Give them new challenges. Certainly, they can sometimes be over confident and over bearing but, nothing our wealth of experience cannot handle.
3. Knowing that they have high expectations of their employers, management must clearly define their roles from the onset.
4. Bosses must not resent the millennials for questioning authority. Instead, share responsibility with them to make them more responsible and motivate them towards meaningful work.
5. Training of millennials must be reviewed to give them a solid learning curve.
6. Knowing that the millennials desire better work/life balances than their predecessors, it is important to set them stimulating and rewarding targets.
7. Leverage on their craving for feedback and guidance to mentor them. Keep them in the loop and appreciate good work with words of praise.
8. Millennials need to be told about career prospects or they will job-hop as soon as you have completed training them.
9. Millennials can be groomed to multitask and to focus through leadership by example. Eventually they become invaluable assets.

Like it or not millennials are here to stay and the sooner we learn to work with them, the sooner will we strengthen our work force.