With 75 million millennials entering the workplace, organizations have no choice but to learn how to recruit, grow and retain these highly talented workers…
The millennial generation (born 1980-2000) is the most educated and tech savvy generation in history, and it also appears to be one of the most misunderstood and, at least so far, difficult to manage and lead. What has worked with other generations, simply does not resonate with this new type of worker who has a significantly different set of career aspirations. However, with 75 million millennials entering the workplace, organizations have no choice but to learn how to recruit, grow and retain these highly talented workers who also have the ability to be the most productive generation to date.
To help my clients better understand millennials, I recently undertook a research project to study a large group of current and recent college graduates – focusing on the most important things they look for in their career and from their leaders. The results are still preliminary, but here is what I have learned so far:
The five most important characteristics of a leader that millennials would willingly follow:
- Competence
- Excellent Communicator
- Integrity
- Innovative
- Compassionate
The five key things millennials look for in a company they would want to work for:
- Opportunity for professional growth
- Ability to make a difference
- Opportunity for personal growth
- Challenging work
- Cool/competent colleagues
The five most important things millennials look for in their career:
- Making a difference in the world
- Doing cool/challenging work
- Working with great people
- Opportunity for professional growth
- Flexibility
Millennial’s attitudes toward their career:
- I want to make a difference in the world
- It is important that my colleagues be competent and fun to work with
- I want to be successful in my career path
- I want to be able to spend a lot of time with my friends and family
- The company values are very important to me
The five things that were NOT important to millennials:
- A prestigious title
- Working for a big, well-known company
- Working remotely
- The opportunity for travel
- Promotions
Again, I am still very early in my research, but the items I’ve listed above stand in stark contrast to what Baby Boomers and Gen X typically look for in their careers. This new generation looks at their job as simply a part of their life, not their entire life. They want to have a fun, flexible and relaxed work atmosphere, doing challenging work with cool colleagues in an organization that gives them the opportunity to grow both personally and professionally, make a difference in the world and have plenty of time to hang out with their friends and spend quality time with their family.
That sounds pretty easy to deliver doesn’t it? No, it’s not.
As an example, I am currently mentoring a millennial who is being groomed to take over his family business. It’s about a $50 million business and the goal is for him to step in as CEO in the next 5 to 8 years when he will be in his early thirties. I mentioned to him that running a company of that size would require a great deal of time and energy and he replied that he refused to put in more than 40 hours a week because time with his family was just as important, or more important, then his career. I cautioned him that it was highly unlikely he would be able to successfully run a high growth company in only 40 hours a week and his response was that if that were the case he would not accept the position. Although I was extremely impressed with his dedication to his family and his core values, I also had to wonder who is going to run the company.
When I share this information about millennials with senior leaders in the workshops and speeches I deliver, they shake their heads in disbelief, many refusing to accept this new paradigm. I counsel them that whether they like it or not, this is how the millennials feel, this is what they look for in their career, and if they want to hire, grow and retain these incredibly talented young people, they will need to adjust to what is required to successfully manage and lead millennials – and you will too.
John Spence has been recognized as one of America’s top 100 business thought leaders and as one of the top 500 leadership development experts in the world. He is the author of four books on business and life success. www.johnspence.com