How to Tap into 'Millennial Magic' for your Business

Millennials.

Love them or hate them, they are here to stay. Come 2020, they will comprise 50% of the global workforce, and 75% by 2025. Millennials already make up over two thirds of the entire employee base in companies like Ernst & Young and Accenture.

At the time of writing, the median age in South Africa is 26. Learning how to manage young employees and help them activate their potential is key to unlocking 4IR possibilities.

Depending on your current experience of this age group in your workspace, you probably have some assumptions and attitudes concerning Millennials. I accept that your experience may have been less than 'magical'. You have certain expectations of work readiness once they accept a role and you don't have the time or capacity to meet any skills gaps.

Therein lies the greatest frustration with onboarding and retaining young employees.

I relate with this video on Hiring Millennials in the Workplace because in my experience of managing student teams, you will always encounter those who avoid work and those that lean in and give their best. We often forget that this employee behaviour is true for any age group.

The opportunities presented by working with Millennials far outweigh the challenges.

Interview with a real Millennial (they’re people too)

The best way to demonstrate the magic that Millennials can bring to the workplace is to showcase a shining example of one. I interviewed my friend, Siyabonga Ndlovu because he is exemplifies the type of Millennial you want to be working in your organisation.

(You can watch the series on Youtube).

He is a great relationship builder, has a strong work ethic and is always looking for ways to improve things. The travesty in Siya’s story? He was unemployed for over six months after graduation and began to lose hope of finding work.

Fortunately, his flexibility and openness to trying something outside of his direct line of study led to a part-time role that helped him make a formal entry in the world of work.

Currently, he is engaged in remote work and is operating in a field he didn’t study for. Over time, and with some coaching, he was able to identify his true passions and start creating plans to pursue his multifaceted life goals.

There are thousands of other Siyas in South Africa, diamonds in the rough, feeling frustrated and hopeless because they haven’t been able to access the right opportunity that will also be a catalyst of growth.

While South Africa’s youth unemployment problem is a complex, there are incredible individuals (probably like yourself if you’re reading this article) who care about supporting young people along their career (and life) journey.

Decision makers in organisations have immense power to set the temperature of the induction process and build interventions that help graduates adjust their expectations to the realities of the workplace.

Here's the golden secret to understanding Millennials: they want to do meaningful work.

How did they get this way?

Each new generation learns from the struggles of the previous generation. We’ve watched our parents devote their lives to one job and witnessed the scary realities of ill-prepared retirement.

In one organisation, two retirees left at the same time of my departure and I could see the fear in their eyes as they went off into an uncertain future. So naturally, we would do well to heed the warnings of Baby Boomer realities and seek out different paths so that our future looks different.

The easiest way to unlock the treasure within Millennials in your workplace is to help them connect their 'why' to your bottom line. Fail to do that, and they will become continually disengaged until they find a different job where they feel they can make a positive difference.

"We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all the power we need inside ourselves already." J.K Rowling

What exactly is Millennial Magic?

That rough diamond (aka your Millennial) a few cubicles away from your desk has incredible potential. If you’ve hired correctly, then you’ve identified the Siya type – those that want to learn, grow, work hard and help you achieve your organisation’s mission.

I've coined this phrase because most of the young people I've worked with do possess a certain kind of workplace magic. They offer fresh ideas, new approaches and an energy that threatens colleagues who show up to the office just to avoid work.

1.    They seek challenge: They will get bored with routine tasks. They need to feel like they’re on an adventure. Work needs to be exciting and challenging. They want to be stretched so that they can grow. They will likely take on new projects so that they can push themselves to succeed at something new.

2.    They need meaning: This generation needs to have a good reason to get out of bed each morning and make the transit to the office. Money is a lessor motivator than feeling that their lives (all those hours spent at the office) actually counts for something. They need to connect how their current role is going to help them achieve their big picture life goal. With some intentional guidance and coaching, you can help young employees have a more realistic expectation of their own personal success journey.

(A special word on first generation professionals: they may feel a greater urgency to climb the ladder of success, as they shoulder the responsibility of helping to care for their immediate and sometimes extended family members. This rush to get to the next phase of success can often be misinterpreted as being entitled. Again, it helps to sift out the underlying motive of seeking promotion. Is this a really hard worker who has personal financial pressures or is this an employee who wants maximum reward for minimal effort?)

3.    They value relationships: They are less interested in hierarchy and more interested in authenticity. So when they push against rigid structure, they are seeking out real connection with managers and colleagues. Most Millennials will be open to coaching and mentoring because they want to learn from leaders they admire and respect. The tricky part is being intentional about meeting this development need while mired in day to day tasks. If you start to make room for this in your schedule, you will be rewarded with a surprising deep connection to the young employees who are eager to bring their best to work.

4.    They are not satisfied with the status quo: Millennials have grown up in a world where the status quo has been constantly overturned. In South Africa, they are the generation who witnessed the shift from the apartheid government into democracy. They were some of the first workers to enter into a diverse work environment. Many Black, Indian and Coloured Millennials were among the first in their families (myself included) to be able to access opportunities previously denied to their parents.

So if you are constantly hearing them saying things like: "Hey, let's try this", or "Why can't I just call the person directly?" it's because they've been pioneers in their personal lives so it makes sense that they would try to create more effective ways of getting the job done.

Millennials are actually a secret weapon in your business, because in order to stay competitive, your business needs to constantly improve and evolve.

Place Millennials at the forefront of driving these changes and you will have an engaged employee who will surprise you with their innovative solutions that will keep your business moving forward.

5.    They want to add value: Nearly every university student that I’ve engaged with or graduate that I am coaching express a deep desire to “add value” to the company they work for. (Again, check for the Siya effect). If they feel connected to your mission, meaning it echoes their own personal values, you've found yourself a strong allay. Granted, they might not stay in that role for 5-10 years but while they are there, they will bring innovation and insight into their work. Give them the space to try, fail, learn and improve. They will be more engaged in an environment conducive to growth.

6.    They have energy and passion: Let’s not forget about this crucial element. What may be mistaken as idealism and naivety, can be leveraged to breed fresh energy into your team. Allow them to have fun while they work and you will see an increase in productivity and team morale.

7. They desire wholeness: Millennials are key to developing a more ‘human’ workplace. Again, they've watched preceding generations burn out and destroy their health and personal lives while seeking professional success. They are interested in balance, longevity and legacy. They can't make much of an impact tomorrow if they compromise their health today. This is why they explore alternatives to the traditional work life structure and seek to define their own path of personal success.

How to manage Millennials

The workplace needs to adapt to a new normal in order to survive. It takes brave business owners, like our own Vusi Thembekwayo, to embrace the changes of the workplace and allow employees to thrive in a productivity agreement they get to co-engineer.

• Pass the baton: It does take time to explain things that you wish younger employees already knew. Feeling connected to the organisational mission happens when individuals on the team feel connected to each other.
• Adopt a Millennial: Everyone has a Millennial (in fact many Millennials) in their lives. If you’ve noticed that a family member or child of a friend has been struggling in a particular area, make a little extra effort to reach out. They may not want the help offered but many people don’t know how to ask for help when they need it. This will help you gain insight into what makes Millennials tick and you will be able to relate to Millennials in your own office.
• Be patient with them: You have probably lost your patience many times with young people you’ve encountered who appear entitled, lazy and arrogant. (These are labels that have been placed on young employees). Find the Siyas (they are out there) and invest in them. They are the ones who will appreciate the extra support, thrive under training and development and provide rich rewards to the organisation over time.
• Help them learn from their mistakes: The younger generation are struggling to cope with the shame of failure. One in four university students have been diagnosed with depression and there is an alarming increase in suicides in the 15-24 age group. The incoming generation of workers need help to navigate the transition into adulthood.

For a refreshing look at leading Millennials, this EntreLeadership podcast provides key insights into how to identify the right kind of Millennial to employ in your business and how to coach them to provide maximum value.

There is a new normal for employee engagement. Once we accept that the traditional worker has changed, we can adapt our workplace cultures to keep them engaged.

Millennials can bring their own brand of magic to your business. It's a two way process. Given the right environment, your young employees can flourish into the exceptional business leaders that we need to help us navigate the future.

How do you feel about the Millennials in your workspace? Are they simply misunderstood geniuses or a burden you hate having to manage?

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