The millennial generation also known as Generation Y will make up about 50 per cent of the global workforce by 2020, according to a study by PwC.
As employers we need to understand what motivates them and how they approach their careers.
Millennial employees do not fit neatly into the 9 to 5 mould that their parents may have worked within. Flexible working patterns and the ability to work out of the office are not just perks for them as there are things that they have come to expect.
It is important to equip all employees with laptops to enable them to work from home and go a step further.
A recent study by the US software giant Citrix forecast that in 2017 half of all companies will have a mobile working policy, and that by 2020, 70 per cent of people will work away from the office as often as they work at a desk. A survey by the British Council for Offices and estate agency Savills, found that 48 per cent of the more than 1,100 British employees surveyed considered access to a collaboration space to be “imperative”.
Providing an environment where new ideas are welcome is important. Encouraging colleagues and having a mechanism for the adoption of ideas as this generation has a passion to improve things using technology. With the philosophy of continuous improvement, employees are exploring the use of robotics, machine learning and artificial intelligence. They are driving and embracing this learning, recognising that automation is not about putting people out of work, but rather about improving working practices.
Millennials tend to be quick learners and it is fair to say that change comes more naturally to them than to prior generations. They want to learn through multiple channels, a mix of classroom training, online learning, and a mixture of internal and external trainers. They seek promotion much more quickly than employees in previous generations.
As part of that drive for advancement through an organisation, they also seek feedback more frequently than those who might have been content to wait for their annual or six-monthly review. They like instant feedback to know how they can do things better.
Capturing this enthusiasm is really important. One way of doing it is to hold knowledge forums across functions to enable employees to share lessons. Unlike their parents, this age employees do not expect to have a job for life, and employers need to recognise that and be adaptable.
While each function within the organisation has a career path, employees are able to rotate across jobs and take on new roles either within the same department or across functions. As employers, one cannot expect them to stay with them for their whole careers. But we have noticed that we retain our best talent by enabling them to make changes in their career paths.
Millennials are not afraid to take risks. And by providing them with a safe environment in which to take those risks, we can help them move across functions or deviate from a more traditional career path. A stimulating, fun workplace is also a key requirement of the millennial generation. Social benefits such as sports clubs, fun days, tuck shops, recreation rooms are a key element of that.
There are of course challenges in having different generations working together. And employers need to explore ways to help foster communication and understanding across generations. As well as opportunities for senior staff to become mentors, it’s a great idea to put in place programmes of reverse mentoring.