A new generation brings a new way to manage, and with new management styles, everyone in the office has to be on board and educated on the shift. Millennials, essentially the children of Baby Boomers, are hitting the workforce with a force of their own, and some HR departments are finding that a change in their rules and regulations as well as a shift in management style is necessary to build a positive and successful working environment.
If you’re a working HR professional looking to make a change in your office to cater towards your young and eager new employees while still respecting your tenured workers, this blog will help you to create a new plan.
It’s Complicated
While change within HR programs and styles is not a new concept, the standard solutions to making the office happy are no longer sticking. For instance, many experts claim that “attrition,” or in millennial speak, “burnout”, is the biggest fear amongst workers today, and thus the biggest problem for HR to tackle. Unfortunately, combatting this newfound fear will take more than just a relaxed dress code and a 3% pay increase. Millennials want to be engaged in their work and lead with passion. This can lead to millennial employees spending less and less time with a company before moving on, hopping from one place to the next until they are given a role that makes them feel fulfilled.
The solution? Create a more engaging environment with unique and worthy benefits, growth and educational opportunities, and introducing a more exciting office culture. This can include getting involved with charities, scheduling night classes for employees who’d like further training in their craft, and even introducing work perks.
Get A Mobile Move On
According to a recent industry article on the subject, millennials send roughly 20 texts per day. It should be no surprise that up to speed technology and resources are what millennials want in the workplace. Whether it’s an answer to a question, or requesting time off, twenty-somethings want things to be done quickly. Some research shows that 56% of millennials say technology makes them more efficient, and 60% think that large work meetings are not an efficient use of time. This is tricky, as team meetings are important, and new technology is an expense at the mercy of a company’s successes.
However, this feedback presents HR professionals with a lot of easy fixes. Start making your office more digitally accessible by uploading all paper records to a database, using chat tools to respond to inquiries faster, and encourage the use of cellphones in the office in accordance to business professional standards. Texting your boss that you’ll need to take a sick day is no longer considered rude, but efficient and convenient. Perhaps it’s time to loosen the reigns on communication practices as long as respect is given at all times.
Give Them Time
This message is two-fold. It’s true that millennials entering your company may not have all of the skills and education at first glance to be a leader, but given the right tools, mentorship, and education, they will prove to be a needed asset to your team. Growing up in a tech-literate and diverse generation gives them a ton of skills that Boomers and other generations just won’t have as naturally, and that’s nothing to scoff at. Trust your instincts, but don’t be afraid to take a chance on new ideas. Additionally, millennials want their voices heard when it comes to company growth and change. Lend them an ear and give them some of your time, and you’ll build a trusting and lasting relationship, improving the office environment as well.
Of course, there will always be a few troublemakers in the bunch, but don’t let them give the rest of the generation a bad reputation. Try some of these new tactics and see what kind of feedback you get. Millennials tend to be willing to recommend friends to open positions within their company, so if these new changes go well, you could attract a ton of new hires who are ready to work and make a difference.