The business environment is changing rapidly. Baby boomers are retiring and are being replaced by millennials. On the one hand, millennials’ increased participation is bringing in the required innovation, but it has led to a new problem.
The managers in most companies are not millennials. This leads to a generation gap. The managers are not aware of the thought process and needs of millennials, resulting in incompatibility issues. Managing them becomes a daunting task.
Below we analyze different strategies that will work best for the workplace with millennials. It will equip the readers with the required skill set to bring out the best in them and improve the team’s productivity.
Be Democratic
One thing that millennials hate is an autocratic boss. Research has shown that Generation Y needs an environment where one can question authority. Therefore, managers must promote dissent within the team. Each suggestion must be critically examined.
The team members should have an equal say in matters. Everyone’s opinion should be listened to attentively and appreciated for their contribution. This will make the members feel that their suggestions carry a weightage.
Such a participative and collaborative environment brings out the best in millennials. They take up more responsibility and consider the project their own.
Set Goals that have an Impact
One thing that differentiates millennials is their urge to make a difference. We have seen phenomenal growth in social enterprises led by Generation Y in the past decade. They are also more inclined to work in an environment that suits their values, mostly making a mark in the world and bringing about a positive change.
This socially responsible attitude has to be accommodated in the business environment as well. Researchers have shown that millennials are more inclined to work in socially responsible entities and positively impact society more than any other generation.
Thus, the managers and leaders of workplaces must create such projects or incorporate such ideas into their business process that promotes sustainability. The project must be focused on how to improve the overall society.
Such projects will motivate this generation to give their best. It will give them a sense of achievement which they desire the most, even more than financial rewards. This will be a win-win situation because recent surveys have shown that businesses with a positive social impact tend to do better in the long term.
Focus on Collaboration Instead of Competition
Unlike in the past, where managers thought competition brings about the best in people, millennials work better when collaborating. In a competitive environment, team members mostly try to outperform their peers.
However, as discussed previously in the article, millennials focus more on their work’s impact than their personal gains. Moreover, businesses are focusing more on creativity and innovation today.
These require excessive brainstorming and willingness to improve upon others’ ideas. This can only be achieved through collaboration and not competition.
Another way to foster collaboration and improve productivity is by rewarding the team instead of only a few members. This will bind the members together and pave the way for constructive criticism and help each other achieve a common goal.
Allow Flexibility
Another thing that Generation Y value is flexibility. Unlike baby boomers, who were comfortable working from nine to five, five days a week, this generation demands flexibility.
Flexibility for Millenials is the freedom to choose what to do when to do it, and how to do it. They believe that working a few hours with all the attention is better than staying in the office from nine to five. Their definition of productivity is not how many hours one works but what outcome is achieved.
Thus, to make millennials more productive, managers must focus on how to be more flexible. Predetermined work hours should be the first to be removed. The employees should be allowed to work at the time that best suits them. This will help them achieve more in less time.
The millennials should have more say in what projects they are assigned to. This will help them choose projects that they are most comfortable doing. Thus, it will lead to increased interest, translating into more productivity.
Another flexibility can be work from home, which has become quite popular recently due to Covid-19. Google allowed its employees to bring their pets to the office to promote flexibility.
Bring Innovation
Being born amid the dot com bubble, this generation is tech-savvy. This often leads them to new career paths and also more open to innovation in their current workplaces. Thus, innovation is a big factor when employing millennials.
One such instance where innovation would be necessary would be training and development sessions. These must be interactive and involve technology. Unlike baby boomers, who were more comfortable listening to lectures, Generation Y would not be able to grasp it.
The managers can create simulations or games that help the employees learn along with an element of fun. This will certainly improve productivity. In addition to that, innovation can give a personalized touch to each employee’s office space. This will give them a feeling of belonging to the company.
Another Innovation can be the use of software such as Slack and Microsoft teams. These will improve the collaboration between employees as well as keep a check on their progress.
Conclusion
In this article, we examined various strategies that managers at modern workplaces must know. We explained why these strategies are important to increase the productivity of the labor force’s biggest segment today.
Numerous other strategies can be applied. However, these are the most important ones. These can act as the starting point, and then a workplace can be moved in a direction that brings out the best in millennials.
