Eager to Learn, Eager to Succeed – Nurturing your Millennials

What kind of employees does the term “millennial” conjure for you? Are these your high potential, career self-starters? Do they bring disruptive and innovative ideas to your organization? By definition, this generation spans a broad range; at one end of the spectrum, they are 35-year-old, mid-level managers and on the other, they are 17-22 year-olds just entering the workforce. However millennials show up in your workplace, one thing is clear: they are taking over. By taking over, we don’t mean in 5-10 years, we mean now. Millennials are learning the essential skills in today’s workplace to lead our organizations in the very near future.

According to the study conducted by Gallup, “How Millennials Want to Work and Live”, Millennials have now grown to the largest generation, at more than 73 million. Most millennials are moving into their late twenties and early thirties and are hungry for increased responsibility and meaningful experiences at work. This generation values mentoring highly – 79% of them want a coach or mentor. In fact, they rank training and development opportunities as more important career considerations than cash bonuses.

Millennials crave a collaborative instead of competitive work environment where they can work with others to solve complex problems. They want feedback and growth opportunities. They want mentors who will guide them to be their best.

This represents a seismic shift for companies as they consider what attracts employees to join their teams.

Gallup laid out six changes in leadership between generations and how organizations need to adapt:

Past
My Paycheck
My Satisfaction
My Boss
My Annual Review
My Weaknesses
My Job

Future
My Purpose
My Development
My Coach
My Ongoing Conversations
My strengths
My Life

Many companies make the mistake of waiting too long before they adapt to changing generations. For example, rich mentoring partnerships could be established within organizations among the generations. With 16 million baby boomers nearing retirement age, companies should act fast to give these late-stage career leaders the opportunity to mentor millennials, or risk losing that experiential knowledge forever.

At Menttium, the millennial interest in mentoring and development generally, gets our attention. Retention of talent and building a bench of future leaders are critical considerations for our clients. As an organization devoted exclusively to formal mentoring for the last 26 years, we understand the high stakes of losing the valuable knowledge that leaves when your most experienced people do.

We are seeking feedback on programming for millennials in the workplace, and would love yours here. Six instead of twelve-month program? Just-in-time, bite-sized video or audio tutorials? Share your recommendation, it may just become part of a new Menttium program!