Millennials are different. From the way they work and things they care about differ from previous generations.
Cassandra Brown reporting on the subject contests that whereas previous generations strove to keep a clear divide between work/corporate/professional life and personal/emotional/social life, millennials want both worlds to work in harmony.
Natalie Cruz, a Talent Acquisition Operations Support Manager at LinkedIn shares her tips for managing millennials with LinkedIn’s CHRO Pat Wadors and Head of Talent Brendan Browne.
“Managing millennials is a lot about feelings.
They want to know:
‘are they caring about my career development?’
‘what’s the purpose of the work I am doing?”
Hear them out and coach them
they love to be heard!
Once you’ve listened to them, you have to “empower them to make change and help coach them,” says Natalie Cruz.
What’s really important is the actions you do after you hear them out.
According to her, millennials are always interested in their next opportunity and sometimes they try to move too quickly. So when you simply have ot say no to something a millennials wants, “give them more context and talk them through difficult situations so they see the other side of things,” she says.
What it really comes down to is that millennials want to feel cared for and know you have their best interest in mind.
“It’s important to help them set a timeline for themselves, set expectations, and have clarity around the path they need to take to get there,” she says. “A lot of times, they want to come up with the answer themselves,” Cruz advises non-millennial managers.
Turning the tables and managing through coaching, rather than instructing, can be mutually beneficial.
Keep it casual and get to know them on a personal level
Millennials want to know they belong and be able to be themselves.
It’s essential for them to feel comfortable in their work environment.
As their manager, that means you need to show interest in their lives. Ask them how their mother/brother/dog is doing and communicate with them in a relaxed way. “We have a group text and even like to use Bitmojis,” says Natlie.
Let them be themselves and, in turn, that means you can just be yourself as a manager.
Time Inc. argues that millennials are not as lazy and spoiled as you might think
“Millennials are not that different from 20-somethings throughout history. We try to pigeonhole them, stereotype them, and reduce them to a cultural stereotype, and we’ll show some provocative things about how 20-somethings at that life stage haven’t really changed…”
Talent on Tap is a weekly series where Pat Wadors and Brendan Browne break down some of the hottest topics, biggest challenges, and most enticing opportunities in the world of talent. Talent on Tap will also give you an opportunity to hear from other organizational leaders, subject matter experts, and thought leaders in the space. Stay tuned each week for the latest.
