The workforce for everyone is a completely different landscape than it was 20 or even 10 years ago due to technology and the behaviors/work ethic of the Millennials. Jack Mencini and Adam Sonnhalter, business coaches with Maximum Value Partners (MVP) www.maximumvp.com and cohosts of Dirty Secrets of Small Business discuss the nuances of how small businesses can work more effectively with this generation who make up a good portion of the 2017 workforce.
In this week’s show, they discuss the topic of How do I communicate with Millennials and how do I get these individuals to work effectively with everyone?
It is evident from the MVP coaches talking to their clients that Millennials and the challenges they represent are abundant in the workforce. “It is rare that when we talk to the owner of the company,” said Adam, “that they are talking about them (Millennials) in glowing terms. It’s more that the conversations are not that positive and often laced with frustration from the small business owner.”
This topic came to the forefront last week for Adam when attending a weekly Rotary meeting where Lisa Hutson, Director of the Small Business Development Center at Lorain County Community College gave a great talk about diverse generations in the workforce. Her presentation cited several interesting stats from the Center for Generational Kinetics including giving an overview that Millennials are 17-35 years old and born within the years from 1982 – 2000. They are also known as Generation Y. This group is very creative! The oldest Millennials are now 35 years old and are reaching the prime of their careers. Hutson mentioned that these Millennials are “adulting” later.
In their minds, they become adults at 30 vs. the more traditional definition of 18 or 21 years old. Millennials don’t seem to think it is a big deal to go to school and come back and live with mom and dad.
Jack and Adam discuss a common mis-perception that most people think that Millennials are tech savvy. The truth is that they are more technology dependent rather than tech savvy. They are always on their devices, but they don’t necessarily understand how the technology works.
How Millennials communicate is very different as well. In addition, this group in the work force is asking for more feedback than say Baby Boomers or Gen Xers born from 1965-1981. Millennials want more than the yearly performance review. They seek feedback and confirmation on a continuous basis… be it monthly and even weekly from their supervisors and colleagues.
Another huge factor with Millennials revolves around work schedules and expectations from their older bosses and colleagues. The objective should be with everyone in the workforce is productivity and not demanding that every employee be physically in the office in a routine that is 9-5 no matter what. The question should be asked: Can the work be accomplished effectively if the worker wants a flexible schedule and wants to work from home? Should it matter that they may be working through the middle of the night so that they can attend their kids’ volleyball game in the afternoon? If the work gets down and it is completed on time and in good order, who really cares if they were physically in the office?
To hear more about how to work effectively with Millennials and have them be accountable, access the February 20 podcast and all the Dirty Secrets of Small Business podcasts on iTunes or at http://maximumvp.com/dirty-secrets-small-business-radio-show-podcast/
Do you have any How Questions of your own to email to Jack and Adam? Do it by sending your questions to radio@maximumvp.com or submit a question on their web site at http://maximumvp.com/how/.
If you have a success story or a question you would like to share, email or call (radio@maximumvp.com or 877-849-0670). You can also call in during the show each week at noon (EST) – 1:00 pm on WINT 1330 AM, call 440-946-9468 to ask your question to the Maximum Value Partners’ coaches!
Access all the Dirty Secrets of Small Business podcasts on iTunes or at http://maximumvp.com/dirty-secrets-small-business-radio-show-podcast/
The post How do you get Millennials to work together? appeared first on Maximum Value Partners.
The post How do you get Millennials to work together? appeared first on Dirty Secrets of Small Business.
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