Workforce Management Featured Article
Planning for a Workforce of Millennial Employees
If you run a contact center, chances are good you’ve already got some experience managing younger workers from the so-called “Millennial” generation. Even if you hadn’t, you will shortly; statistics show that there are now more Americans of this younger generation than their parents, the Baby Boomers. They are now 25 percent of the American populace, and they are entering the workforce in record numbers as the Baby Boomers retire.
As with any generation, the millennials bring a mix of character traits to their jobs, some of them good and some of them not so good. The good part is that they tend to be tech savvy and learn new solutions and systems easily. They are very oriented to more modern channels such as text and social media. On the flip side, they may be less reliant on telephone calls and email, so they will likely require more training in these skills than older workers.
One of the best ways to get the most out of younger workers, however, involves mentoring, or setting the workers up with older workers who can show them the ropes, according to a recent article by Ron Wormley writing for Shift Hub.
“The Harvard Business Review found that of 2,200 Millennials they polled, mentorship-related values ranked highest on what they desired from their professional lives,” he wrote. “The study noted that Millennials most wanted: a boss who would help them to navigate their career paths; a company that would help them develop skills for their futures; and to learn technical skills within their areas of expertise.”
More old-fashioned models of workforce management might not work as readily for these younger workers as they did for older Americans. The “once a year” review, for example, is unlikely to help a younger worker hungry for feedback and guidance. It’s also unlikely to help these workers, who are often used to regular feedback on their performance, to feel valued.
To boost employee engagement with younger workers, it may also be helpful for companies to engage in something called “reverse mentoring,” according to Wormley.
“Reverse mentoring, which pairs an entry-level employee with a management-level leader to train them on the things they know (like how to write a blog, sync mobile devices, etc.) is one way to encourage information sharing from both parties,” he wrote. “As a young employee shares what he/she knows, they feel like their skills and knowledge are valuable. At the same time, managers can share their perspectives and be a stronger mentor thanks to a relationship-based foundation.”
Newer methods of workforce management may also help with the flexibility that younger workers crave. A study by Pew (News - Alert) Research found that making money isn’t at the very top of the list when it comes to what young workers out of a career: instead, they’re eager for work/life balance, so schedule flexibility could be key to keeping these workers longer. Modern workforce management solutions can help companies build better flexibility into workers’ jobs.
Finally, younger workers crave challenges and chances to excel, wrote Wormley.
“Think about leveraging other opportunities and challenges for your young team members via: letting them take the lead on creative projects; including them in meetings and in problem-solving discussions; and presenting various challenges that (when done well) are rewarded and celebrated.”
Going forward, younger employees will require more from their managers and the companies that hire them. The bonus side of this is that they’re (so far) willing to give more back to their employers.
Edited by Alicia Young