Do you want to know the trick to giving effective feedback to your employees? Consider their age! Here are tips on giving feedback to Millennial and Gen Z employees, born between the years 1985 and 2005.
- Know the difference between Millennials and Gen Z. In reality, Millennials and Gen Z are in the same generation, but Gen Z is going to great lengths to be identified differently than their “older sibling.” This is likely because the term Millennials has received a negative connotation over the years. We have news for you, though… Millennials are no longer kids! Some Millennials are closing in on 40 years of age. Just being on the planet for that long and having more than 10 years of work experience is going to make them different than your incoming college interns who are, in fact, still kids in many ways. When you refer to Millennials as kids or treat them like kids while giving feedback, you’re probably going to get heavy pushback.
- Close your feedback loop more often. genWHY conducted a recent study of over 600 Gen Z employees and asked how often they preferred to receive feedback. 69% said they want feedback weekly or MORE! Some even prefer daily feedback. This amount is significantly more than most Gen Xers or Baby Boomers need. It might seem excessive, but consider this is a generation who is accustomed to far more frequent feedback. They grew up taking tests online that were immediately graded for them. Here’s the good news: digital feedback is quick, easy, and effective. Not only that, it is the preferred method for most of your younger employees! Just make sure you are also providing some face-to-face feedback along the way. The more often you close the feedback loop, the more comfortable your young people will become receiving it.
- Beware the double standard. Over our 17 years of research on Millennials and Gen Z, we’ve seen a clear theme emerge… An obsession with fairness! There’s no way to determine the origin story on this, but it probably has to do with everyone getting a trophy, everyone getting a chance to be the line leader, and multiple classes on standing up to bullies. The problem is that everyone has a different viewpoint on what the word FAIR means, which often results in people feeling slighted if their version of FAIR is not met. If a double standard is applied to employees, or if one person is held to a different standard than others, Millennial and Gen Z employees will push back. Additionally, if you hold your team to a rule, then you better follow that rule too. When you violate your own standards, it is open season.
- Tell them what you need. In our surveys and focus groups, we often hear early-career employees say they’re uncomfortable expressing if they are lost or need more information. We wonder if this comes from a need for image preservation, which could be a direct by-product of social media. It might be they find it difficult to tell coworkers they don’t know something, when they feel like they were hired to know it. Our message to the younger generations is that it’s okay to ask for help. You’re not expected to know everything. When you do ask for help, pay close attention and learn for the next time.
- Develop conflict resolution skills. When conflict arises, Millennial and Gen Z employees would much rather deal with it digitally than face to face. In a recent Gen Z focus group, we asked a very specific question. Is it easier to have a face-to-face confrontation with your boss or quit the job and search for another? 100% of the group of 20 said they would rather take their chances on another job! While that might seem easier in the short term, we’ll let you in on a little secret. Job satisfaction often occurs during year THREE of a job. Every time you hit reset instead of learning how to resolve conflicts effectively, you make it harder on yourself in the long run. The best thing you can do is learn how to resolve conflicts in a healthy way.
P.S. We highly suggest the book Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking when Stakes are High.
Language and terms matter. Leadership and respect go hand in hand. If you want to gain the respect of your Millennial and Gen Z employees, be intentional about not using racial, gender, or ableist slurs. It will affect whether they take your feedback seriously. Working to avoid terms that put others on the defensive is not hard. It just takes intentionality, a sincere effort, and a willingness to apologize when wrong. Refusing to use preferred language around a Millennial or Gen Z employee is like calling someone the wrong name after years of working together. It does take additional brain work, but it’s something within your control that you can make the choice to improve on. As one Gen Z put it, “Be innovative. Be open. Be intentional. Be respectful of different mindsets.”
