Be a leader!

The most powerful conglomerates in the world have rolled out recruitment marketing campaigns that specifically target millennials. The fact that most of us feel the need to change our hiring strategies indicates that, they are one of the largest representatives of a workforce.

But to understand how to work with them, we need to travel back in time to the 1980s, up until 2000. Millennials are the first generation to grow up in the information highway. To them, the world is without borders. They have the amazing ability to think without limitations. Technology and social media have altered the way they consume information.

Be it a quarrel over DC comics versus a Marvel video game, to following Diet Sabya on Instagram to engaging with celebrities on twitter or even commenting on socially motivated issues like #Metoo on Facebook – they are sharp, sensitive and like their content to the point. Exposure is clearly not a challenge. This means, be it personally or professionally an experienced voice that can put things in perspective, helps in building a stronger foundation.

With their new vision, perceptions and desires, millennials have joined the workforce. They need leaders and not managers. They need people who can inspire them, empower them and value them. They need experiences across their employee lifecycle, from hire to exit. Leading millennials from the front involve the following.

Work-Life balance
They are excellent multitaskers and enjoy flexible work environments. Millennials are driven by results and not motivated by long hours at work. Enabling them with tools and technology to complete their work and yet find a balance to enjoy their personal space is a winning combination.

Growth
Most millennials value growth more than the money. They seek out opportunities that can challenge and enhance their learning. Their professional career interests can best be defined as a cargo net. They are willing to experiment with new roles, move cross-functionally. The traditional upward climb may not necessarily be what they are looking for. Millennials work well with appreciation and rewards. They need to feel empowered, but also made accountable for their responsibilities. An organisation must be able to do the following:

Demonstrate that their work has a great impact
Give them challenging projects
Increase their conversation with leadership

Mentoring vs Bossing
Established hierarchies, rigid protocols and respecting the chair are passé. Supervisors will actually have to work towards earning that place of trust by their performance and conduct. Millennials relate to mentorship and not workplace structures.

Company culture
An organisation is likely to retain its millennial workforce if the culture and values are aligned to their own belief systems.

A diverse workplace
Millennials are curious and enjoy interacting with new people. Open minded and more inclusive in nature, they enjoy conversations with likeminded people as it helps them to refine their own work ethics, performance and objectives. We need to ensure that diversity is enhanced to that of space, thought and belief.

Learning and development
Millennials look forward to new learning and development opportunities. An organisation that constantly designs new training programmes aimed at enhancing their skills are able to successfully feed the millennial stimuli.

-Nina Nair, SVP and HRD, India and Americas - [24]7.ai