How to improve working with the millennial generation

The millennial generation (those born from approx 1981 to 1996) have grown up in an internet-driven, social media-consumed world. The world is a very different place to what it used to be when you were growing up. Thriving in an age of a disrupted generation requires you to understand millennials on a deeper level than may have been required for previous generations. Next year will see nearly half of the working population made up of millennials, so it’s no longer a matter of whether you want to work with them, but instead how you can harness their energy and talent to set your business apart in the future.

The millennial generation’s work values

The work values of your employees can have a significant impact on your overall business. Learning to harness your employees work values can improve your workplace culture and lead to greater harmony for your whole team.

The millennial generation’s work values include:

Workplace flexibility
Environmentally conscious
Digital innovation
Equal pay and opportunity
Offering career pathways

By taking the lead and offering these types of initiatives within your business can go a long way towards building trust with the millennial generation. It also allows you to position your business as an employer of choice in the marketplace.

Millennials want meaningful work

To really connect with millennials on a deeper level, your business needs to have a clear purpose beyond profit. Millennials want meaningful work, where they feel that their role in the business helps to make a difference in the world. What does your business believe in? What charities do you support? Are you environmentally conscious? Do you have a mission or vision statement?

Creating a defined vision for your company not only helps to improve your relationship and connection with millennial employees in your team, but it can make it easier to bring your business goals to life too.

Many businesses may have a vision, but often this isn’t articulated well to all employees. By understanding what your business really stands for, outside of looking after your clients or customers and making a profit, employees can become more invested in how they can make a real difference to the world.

The benefits of millennials in your workplace

Employing millennials in your workplace can provide many benefits. Millennials have grown up with technology so can be incredibly digitally savvy and enjoy the fast-moving pace of innovation. They are also quite used to change as a result of the constant innovation and dynamic environments at school, home and in the community. The benefit of this is that millennials enjoy being flexible and adaptable, which is a necessity in any business environment.

Millennials also bring energy, fresh ideas and innovative thinking to a workplace. They’re never usually happy with the status quo, (which can have its downfalls too), but this appetite for more can lead to great improvements with process, systems and automation (and associated cost savings), that older generations may have simply become complacent with.

How to attract millennials to your business

Attracting millennials to your business is all about creating an enviable workplace culture and a business that openly demonstrates to the world (not just your employees) what your purpose is beyond a profitable business.

As business owners, there’s a genuine opportunity for you to capture the hearts and minds of our younger millennial generation. If you want your business to be a future leader, then learning how to harness the untapped talent and hearts of the largest group of people in the workforce, should be at the top of your to-do list.