If It Works For Millennials . . . .
February 15th, 2008 by Cali & Jody
Great piece in Advertising Age about how to get the best out of the new generation of workers. Rather than tag them as spoiled, the columnist gives some good advice for how managers can change their own behavior to fit in with the times.
With the exception of Tip #5 (Handle with Care) this all sounds like good advice for everyone. Eliminate ambiguity? Treat time as a 24/7 resource? Combine work with play? You don’t have to be 22 to enjoy being treated this way.
I like the advice except the “eliminate ambiguity” one. How can you eliminate ambiguity? Why would you?
Ambiguity is an inescapable part of life.
A mark of maturity is the ability to tolerate and to function well under ambiguous circumstances. Better to figure out ways to teach millennials how to do this, or give them experience in it.
Yours is an interesting topic area. I recently wrote a blog article entitled, “The Greatest-Generation, Baby-Boomers, Gen-Xers, Gen-Yers, Gen-Me: Who Are These People?” It can be found at http://www.workplaceattitudes.blogspot.com.
Thanks,
Dale
In response to Working Girl’s comment.
There can be no ‘real’ accountability when ‘ambiguity’ is involved. Yes, it is a part of life, but it needn’t be a part of work - especially so because you’re measured at work! This is one of the biggest reasons for attition - at least in the places where I’ve worked so far. Ambiguity in metrics - the measurements themselves or in the process behind them, or in the (flawed) reasoning behind these processes. Come appraisal time, the very ambiguities that made you uncomfortable when they were rolled out by management, now make you wince - you feel the pinch in your package increment or bonus, and guess what? There’s nothing you can do about it because it is… ambiguous. Can you imagine ROWE working in an ambiguous environment?
Half the battle against voluntary attrition is won when you spell out expectations, and the measurements used to evaluate performance per these expectations. Making it transparent, and providing people a way of checking their performance metrics from time to time is a HUGE win. At the end of the review period people already know how they’ve performed - there are no surprises. Those who are doing well know just how much they need to do to maintain/exceed (depending on how their work-life balance is doing!) and those that aren’t doing so well need to find ways of doing better.
The latter, again, is something that management often overlooks. If you don’t want to spend a zillion hours coaching and mentoring, provide your employees with the tools and mechanisms to better themselves. Invest in performance coaches - even if for a short time. A company’s investment will be justified when an employee feels cared for… in a way that matters most to him/her:
1. Expectations are clear, measurable. No discrepancies, don’t feel cheated.
2. There are ways to self-monitor performance - no unnecessary (often well intentioned) badgering.
3. There are ways to improve performance - and these are within reach. Hence, there is growth in sight - even if not in this workplace, then as a professional.
I know I would (and I have) stick it out in a company if it made me more efficient - it is an investment in ‘me’ at the end of it.