Do you have issues managing millennials in the workplace? It’s a common concern for many companies today. But first, what is a millennial, exactly? According to Wikipedia, millennials, aka Generation Y, are those born throughout the 1980s and 1990s. This means that your company, whether you realize it or not, is most likely full of millennials.
If issues with millennials in the workplace come up, most leadership teams begin by addressing the perceived symptoms they can see: lack of motivation, lack of values, or lack of skills. Other leaders simply complain about millennials and pine for the good old days when people did their jobs without asking questions. Whether you like it or not, millennials are here to stay. So, how do we learn to work with them…to motivate them, to teach and learn from them, and even to appreciate them? With the Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS®), it’s easier than you think.
To get to the root of the problem, let’s try to think like a millennial. Millennials simply want to know the “why” and the “what” behind what they do. Why should I work here? What’s my purpose? How do I contribute? How am I doing? These are all questions you may hear.
1. Why should I work here?– Like all of us, millennials want to be inspired. Your Vision/Traction Organizer™ (V/TO™) addresses this exact question and explains the focus and purpose of your organization. It should answer the question “Why do we get out of bed in the morning?”. Your V/TO™ should energize everyone in the company.
2. What’s my purpose?– In addition to being a part of a larger team, millennials want clear direction as to their purpose and role (and how this translates into success for the company). This is where the accountability chart comes in. With a well-defined accountability chart, each employee should have clear roles and a definition of success for their “seat” in the company.
3. How do I contribute?– The weekly meeting pulse is a great tool to keep everyone on the team on the “same page” and allows each person to raise issues and participate in solving those issues. The scorecard and to-dos also bring accountability to the team.
4. How am I doing?– Does it seem like the only purpose of an annual performance review is to satisfy HR? With EOS®, our 5-5-5™ is a quarterly conversation with each employee to make sure they know what is expected of them. This informal check-in keeps each employee on-track with their goals (rocks) and fosters open communication.
For more information on managing millennials on your team, schedule your free 90-minute meeting today.