How to work with millennials and centennials

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The managing partner of the art hostel debunks myths about laziness and lack of hard work among the younger generation and talks about why people between the ages of 18 and 27 are great employees.

Freedom and creativity are what young employees expect from work. And in most businesses, this approach is possible, at least in the service sector.

If you build communication according to the principles of Agile, you will get a genuinely engaged employee who will grow with you. Here are five basic rules for dealing with millennials and centennials.

Rule # 1. Give them your territory

A young employee should have his own territory - his area of responsibility, where he can independently improve, invent, introduce initiatives. There he is in charge, this is his platform for development.

The task of the leader is to designate this territory, determine the framework and some obligatory things. The rest is up to the employee.

Rule # 2. Use flexible task lists

The younger generation is very smart and does not like conflicts. When faced with stupidity in the workplace, young employees quit immediately. They shouldn't be given meaningless and stupid tasks. You can't ask to count rice or use two cash registers when you need one.

Each employee should have a to-do list for the week so that he himself can plan when to perform a particular task. Let him add new cases to it himself and cancel tasks from the head if they are no longer relevant.

Rule # 3: Balance Trust and Control

Smart educated youth are immediately involved in work - they put their soul into the project.

Therefore, the first thing to do is to praise regularly. The second important point is that you cannot constantly ask: "Well, have you already done?.."

During the day, tasks change: what was planned in the morning may not be relevant in the evening.

Let the employee do what is important at a given time, and make decisions for himself.

The manager can clarify and ask questions about current affairs once a day. Specifically, to clarify and ask, and not to present: “Why hasn’t been done yet ?! I gave the task the day before yesterday!"

And then a miracle happens. When people set themselves tasks and are responsible for the result, they do not steal. They are not interested in this.

Rule # 4. Forget about fines

Fines for corporate misconduct are as archaic as whipping slaves. It is much more effective when employees' incomes are tied to objective KPIs - revenue or reviews.

If a millennial or centennial is doing a poor job, it's usually not due to unwillingness to work or being harmful. The following factors are at play.

• Emotional burnout. Involved employees love to work seven days a week, but at least one day a week a person should be off work.
• External factors: a quarrel with a partner, drug or alcohol addiction.
• Depression. This happens, but, fortunately, young people who have been affected by this ailment seek the help of a psychiatrist and begin treatment.

If you notice something is wrong with an employee, do not chop from the shoulder. Sometimes the picture of the world in a person's head is at odds with reality and he needs time to reconcile expectations.

Rule # 5. Add bonuses

Before hiring an employee, you need to seriously consider what the company can give him.

It is boring for a young smart man to work only for the sake of money. But the practice of foreign languages, the development of managerial skills, the ability to create your own mini-projects are already interesting.

You need to constantly come up with something so that the work is not boring, but looks like a hobby.

Many employers do not hire young people due to lack of experience and existing stereotypes.

My advice is to take a closer look at the younger generation. They are smart and energetic people. You just need to build the right communication, and then your business will be filled with positive energy, which is highly appreciated by customers.