Millennials at Work: What Management Strategies to Adopt?

Casual attire, quick to use first names, earbuds glued to their ears, smartphones always in hand. They are taking over your companies; here are Millennials.

But who exactly are these Millennials? How do they view companies? How can management evolve?

Millennials: who are They?

Generation Y includes people born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s. This generation, also called digital natives or net generation, is different from the previous generation. The previous generation agrees that “Generation Y youth want everything, right away”. And indeed, the advent of digital technologies has accustomed them to immediate gratification. Different management in companies, a search for a particular quality of life, new ways of communicating, the generation called “Tanguy” pushes for a change in habits rooted for decades.

Millennials at Work, how Do They View Companies?

Their favorite phrase is “I like my job but I have a life outside of it and I expect my employer to accept that”. Millennials do not put work first. They seek a better quality of life, balancing work and personal interests. They are mobile, not afraid of change, and not necessarily attached to a company. Rapid advancement, more flexible hours, continuous training, freedom, and autonomy are their watchwords.

Their essential expectation in their work is “give and take”. They advocate for fairness between what they believe they give and what they should receive from the company. The net generation seeks hands-on management where it is up to the manager to anticipate their needs and provide them with the keys to progress.

These “Tanguy” communicate in a direct manner. They are used to expressing their opinions quickly and easily on social networks. They therefore expect to be able to communicate often, simply, and directly with their superiors.

How to Manage and Retain Them?

Provide a Quality Technological Environment

Whether it’s about getting information, exchanging, or collaborating, young people have become accustomed to getting what they want with 1 click.
Give them innovative tools that allow them to achieve this. A collaborative platform, like the one developed by Incenteev, allows them to exchange in real-time with their colleagues. Exchanging videos, ideas, and sharing opinions as easily at work as in their personal lives will keep them motivated and thus loyal to your company.

Speak to Them Directly

As mentioned above, digital natives are used to communicating directly. They want a close and informal relationship. “The manager is perceived much more as a coach, a mentor, than as a simple hierarchical authority. These young people need to respect their manager and trust them” explains Julien Pouget, author of the book “Integrating and Managing Generation Y”. It is therefore necessary to promote transparency with them and give them regular feedback.

Download your white paper: The Manager Coach

Develop “Stand-Up Meetings”

Think agile management, which better suits this generation’s way of working. Promote the minimization of useful work for greater simplicity. If you want to get an idea of what agility is, we invite you to read the Agile Manifesto; you just need to replace the terms “features” and “software” with “project” to understand what agile management entails. Avoid long table meetings and organize “stand-up meetings,” meaning short meetings, of a maximum of 15 minutes, where all participants remain standing and which allow communication on project progress. Shorter and more dynamic, stand-up meetings will keep all your employees attentive.

Challenge Them

Millennials are no more demotivated than other generations to work in a company. They need to feel involved and have a strong need for recognition. A good way to involve them in the company’s results is to organize challenges, especially for your sales representatives “net generation.” Challenges will motivate your employees daily; having clear objectives will give them a vision of what they need to accomplish for the company.

Prioritize Results

Millennials genuinely demand more adaptability and flexibility from their manager. Prioritize results, communicate about their work by showing them how they contribute to the company’s progress. Be flexible with your employees’ schedules, allow them to leave earlier if they need to. By doing so, you will show them that you are attentive and responsive to their needs. They will be all the more grateful, and you might be surprised by the motivation that will result.

Millennials are no more difficult to manage than their elders. Having grown up in a different personal and professional environment, they simply have different expectations. By slightly adapting your management style, you will find it very easy to satisfy this generation that expects instant gratification.

Download your white paper: The Manager Coach