Many companies simultaneously fear and are in-awe-
of the millennial generation, and those that follow.
This makes sense. The unknown is scary. On the
surface, it is easier to judge the differences and
assign negative connotations to this population than
to understand how the differences can, in fact, make
a positive difference. And when millennials first
started entering the workforce, this was the status
quo.
Except now the millennial workforce isn’t unknown.
In 2020 millennials will account for 50% of the US
workforce. On average, millennials stay in a company
for two years. This high turnover cost is negatively
impacting many organizations’ bottom line.
Joris Luijke, VP of People at Grovo, sums it up nicely:
“The world has changed over the past 15 years. That
doesn’t mean that humans change. It means that
people’s behaviors do.”
So how do we transition how we communicate to
meet the needs and behaviors of this growing and
influential population? How do we keep talented
millennials longer than the two year average? And
what strategies can we use to increase the
effectiveness of intergenerational working
relationships?
The reality is, if you want to retain talent, you need to
meet people where they're at and build from a place
of mutuality. Here are four communication strategies
for communicating to millennial employees.
1. What’s in it for them?
Often referred to as the “Me” generation, millennials
want to know what’s in it for them. Millennials just
don’t want to have a job, they want to have a job with
an impact.
“The need for opportunities and the pathways to
success are becoming more and more important,”
says Rachel Nathanson, Training and Development
Manager for MSLGROUP. “Employers need to speak
from a position of what they have to offer and be
transparent about that up front. Make it clear that
any employees who wants to get involved can get
involved.”
Knowing what’s in it for them is not the self-serving
question it may seem—it’s a question of purpose and
being tied to something that they have a real stake in.
“Millennials want to feel like they’re impacting the
community—and feel like the company cares, and
isn’t just about making a profit. [Businesses need to]
communicate the impact that employees are having
on a daily basis on their teams, their managers, their
CEO, their company, their customers, and the world,”
states Dan Schawbel, Partner and Research Director
at Future Workplace.
2. Feedback is a two-way street.
Gone are the days of one-way, linear communication
from a supervisor to an employee. This top-down
approach to communication is no longer effective as
a sole messaging approach. To build a strong and
satisfied millennial workforce, the art of giving—and
receiving—feedback needs to change. Feedback is
now a two-way street, and the frequency with which
feedback is given needs to increase.
“Annual performance reviews are no longer
sufficient. Millennials want at least quarterly reviews
and regular feedback. And not just with one-way
feedback. Millennials want the opportunity for two-
way feedback. They don’t only want to know how
they’re doing, but they also want to be able to tell the
manager how he or she is doing,” says Schawbel.
One tool for achieving both of these goals is used by
Pernod-Ricard, “Reflektive, a program we’re piloting,
sits within Outlook as an app that our employees can
use to give real-time, effective feedback. We're
working on changing the dialogue on how we give
ongoing feedback and really put focus on our
feedback culture,” Calvin Ng, Learning and
Development Manager.
3. Put good news first.
Previous generations prefer to get the bad news over
with first, leaving the good news for the end. The
opposite is true when giving millennials feedback.
“Millennials want the positive before the negative.
‘Here are the great things you did on X, and here is
some way to make it even better’,” says Schawbel.
And when it comes to positive feedback, the “if
everything is going well you won’t hear from me”
management approach is not effective. Being
proactive with positive feedback is important, and
enabling employees to provide this feedback for each
other is too.
“When you think about how you feel when you get
positive feedback, it makes sense for peer feedback
to make you feel great. Your mom is supposed to
give you positive feedback, your boss is supposed to
give you positive feedback, but when your peer does
it, especially when they don’t have to, it feels the
best,” says Luijke.
4. Give clear direction and give access.
Wow. Did I learn this the hard way when I was
teaching! If there is anything in an instruction that is
open to interpretation, it will be interpreted in a
different way than you intended. That isn’t always a
bad thing, as the best innovations can come from
these varied interpretations, and many times my
class culture changed for the better as a result.
But if you need something done in a specific way, be
specific. Confirm mutual understanding. And when
the employee does exactly what you’ve directed, give
reinforcing positive feedback.
If you’re open to alternative ideas, encourage them.
“This is the way we’ve always done it” isn’t a good
reason to keep doing it.
Part of what millennials want is to understand
pathways to success. Give access, and give clear
direction on how to pursue these opportunities. Use
stories and mentoring to communicate these
directions instead of bulleted lists and context-less
content.
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