Who are they?

The millennial generation, born between 1980 and 2000 now entering employment in
very high numbers, will shape the world of work for years to come. Attracting the best of these millennial workers to your business, as an employee or consumer, is critical to the future of your business. Their career aspirations, attitudes about work, and knowledge of new technologies will define the culture of the 21st century workplace. Simon Sinek covers it well in the video above.

Why does it matter?

Millennials matter because they are not only different from those that have gone before, they are also more numerous than any since the soon-to-retire Baby Boomer generation – millennials already form 25% of the workforce in the US and account for over half of the population in India. By 2020, millennials will form 50% of the global workforce (always good to have the stats).

But although they will soon outnumber their Generation X predecessors (like me), they remain in short supply, particularly in parts of the world where birth rates have been lower. They will also be more valuable – this generation will work to support a significantly larger older generation as life expectancy increases.

How do millenials see “work”?

It’s clear that millennials will be a powerful generation of workers and that those with the right skills will be in high demand. Attracting and keeping younger workers is one of the biggest talent challenges for businesses employing them. They may be able to command not only creative reward packages by today’s standards, but also influence the way they work, where they work and how they operate in the workplace.

Are they that different to past generations? It’s true to say that some of the behaviour and attributes of millennials can be explained by their age and relative lack of responsibilities. Our behaviour and priorities change and adapt as we age, but to dismiss the issues entirely on that basis would be a mistake.

What sets them apart?

Millennials’ use of technology clearly sets them apart. One of the defining characteristics of the millennial generation is their affinity with the digital world. They have grown up with broadband, smartphones, laptops and social media being the norm and expect instant access to information. This is the first generation to enter the workplace with a better grasp of a key business tools than more senior workers.

It’s more than just the way they use technology its the way they behave too that makes today’s youth different. Their behaviour is coloured by their experience of the global economic crisis and they place much more emphasis on their personal needs than on those of the organisation.

Millennials tend to be uncomfortable with rigid corporate structures and turned off by information silos. They expect rapid progression, a varied and interesting career and constant feedback. In other words, millennials want a management style and corporate culture that is very different from anything that has gone before – that is, one that meets their needs.

The particular characteristics of millennials – such as their ambition and desire to keep learning and move quickly upwards through an organisation, as well as their willingness to move on quickly if their expectations are not being met – requires a focused response from employers. Millennials want a flexible approach to work, but very regular feedback and encouragement. They want to feel their work is worthwhile and that their efforts are being recognised. They value similar things in an employer brand as they do in a consumer brand. These are all characteristics that employers can actively address.

Businesses like Google and Apple have been successfully attracting talented millennials because they are naturally innovative employers who are never restrained by ‘how things used to be done’, their culture, management style and approach to recruitment and retention naturally appeal to the millennial generation. And because of that, they are able to take their pick of the best younger talent around.

Irrespective of your long-term aims and ambitions for your business, it will be your ability to attract and retain millennial talent will be a vital step to the success of your business because they are not only your employees but your consumers.

In summary

Millennials want a flexible approach to work, regular feedback and encouragement, to feel their work is worthwhile and that their efforts are being recognised. They also value similar things in an employer brand as they do in a consumer brand. In other words if they buy your product they will want to work for you. If they like what you stand for, they will want to work for you. It will all be about what is in it for them. You need to learn now how to feed the machine that is here now. Interact with it (collaborate), develop a healthy mindset to working with it (mindset) and learn about how it works (learning).

Kerri Bainbridge

One half of the Anywhere Team NZ

Collaboration, Mindset, Learning

Snack size communication is changing the way we communicate

Like a healthy diet, social interactions in our digital age should be balanced. Are you so caugh up in this digital age that you need to disconnect to reconnect with friends and family?

Did you know that according to the research by the food and dining industry, we are snacking much more frequently. In the United States, 90 percent of people are snacking multiple times a day and eating less during traditionally scheduled meals, sometimes foregoing them altogether.

Why is this important you might ask when I am talking about social media? Well, it seems we are also snacking on information, taking bit size chunks thoughout the day, more than we have ever done before too. It seems our attention spans are shorter, our desire to receive information is still there but we want it more quickly and in shorter chunks of time. Interestingly, this is called snackification (yes, that’s a real term).

So why is this technological trend toward briefer, more frequent, more casual interactions important to you?  Because our communication to customers needs to be “snackified” too. At work and at home, there is a definite trend toward shorter, more frequent, more informal interactions while we are doing something else.

Snackification at Home

Have you noticed that your family and friends often send texts rather than call these days. They text what’s on their minds and then send those thoughts straight away in small bites of information. Have you noticed your partner sends lots of little texts during the day so you know they are thinking of you when before they might have thought it silly to just ring you to say the same thing. I used to have hour-long phone conversations with family and friends, but now I rarely have a telephone conversation lasting longer than a few minutes, and recently even these are being replaced by text messages. We are changing the way we maintain relationships aren’t we?

We also consume entertainment and news in bite-sized chunks. In our house we occasionally watching a movie together. But sometimes we spend time together while watching short videos, reading or listening to music tracks on tablets or phones individually: I call it being “alone together” on our couch.

A survey by OpenMarket from May 2016 reported that 75 percent of millennials actually prefer texting over talking. The research suggests that this has been a consistently growing trend for several years, indicating that this is not a fad. I know my son (11-years-old) only send texts to his friends (unless I force them to pick up the phone). In addition, millennials prefer texting because they say it’s less stressful since it doesn’t require them to come up with answers on the spot and allows them time to choose and edit their words.

Snackification at Work

In my own businesses I have noticed over the years, my clients began requesting shorter and shorter session times. If I am asked to do a presentation, more often than not I am asked to do a 10 minute opening followed by a Q &A session rather than a longer presentation going into more depth. Seems everyones busy. I have also noticed that emails are getting shorter, people are using bullet points and often opt to send 2 emails when in the past it would have all been in one long email.

In fact, snackification of communication is typical in most workplaces. Reports used to be long and detailed. Now many professionals consume and share information either in short, bulleted, slide presentation form or in multiple emails with text and video attachments. Meetings that used to last half a day are getting shorter or are eliminated. Interestingly, according to a 2014 survey, 43 percent of workers avoid spontaneous conversations in favor of email and myriad collaboration tools that enable them to have short “conversations” throughout the day.

What is the impact on your business

Since millennials are the next generation into the workforce I suggest if you are not one of them, you find out more about the way they are communicating in order to meet their needs as employees and connsumers.

Check out my next blog where I look at the pros and cons of “snackification” on our personal and business lives. I would love your comments.

Kerri Bainbridge

Collaborate, Mindset, Learning

One half of the Anywhere Team NZ

3 reasons to use the Google App Calendar:

1. I always have my phone, so I will always have my diary and contacts which means I always have their contact details
2. Automatic sync between PC and smart phone, and its easy to make changes on either PC or smart phone
3. It is linked to Google Maps so I can find my clients easily.

One of the things I blogged about recently was challenging you all about how well you stored your important data for appointments, files, and client information. I suggested you store your electronic documents and client information in the cloud. I personally use Dropbox and Evernote and when it come to my diary I am using the Google App Calendar.

If you think about it, in an emergency you are not going to grab paper files and you may not have time to grab your computer. But you will grab your phone.

The reason I like the Google App Calendar is :

1. because the PC version syncs to my smart phone,
2. I can share this calendar with colleagues or family if I need to,
3. I can print it from my pc and on my phone I can even link it to Google Maps so I can find my clients

You can see my demonstration on the video HERE.

I would be without it. I can Go Anywhere, Be Anywhere.

 Kerri Bainbridge

One half of the Anywhere Team NZ

Collaboration, Mindset, Learning