Let me start this post by letting you know that I am a millennial. I know I'm not the easiest person to work with; in fact, I can be a challenge to some of my colleagues. The point is, I don't accept the status quo and I will always strive to do better.
Challenge the old way of working if you believe there is a smarter way of doing things and increasing efficiency. Some call our generation lazy because we are reluctant to do the same things over and over again, but if it can be done in a smarter way, then why shouldn't we? We are impatient and want to have purpose and impact in an organization.
So, as you can imagine, management may find millennials to be very demanding and may have difficulty engaging them in the right way to develop their potential.
Ultimately, this story just revolves around how and why I believe millennials will be the catalyst for change in our industry (and yes, there are many others who want to change the current way of working besides millennials ).
Millennials are committed, especially if they are listened to and are part of the decision-making process, as they want to move up in the organization. But they are not blindly loyal and will not remain at all costs. The older generation values job security much more than millennials.
Millennials look at how a company can add value to their skill set and how they can improve within the organization. If they cannot see a future within reach, then in many cases this can trigger a change in the workplace. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to have a strong culture to support your agility, and an ability to understand their key drivers to continue to engage and retain them.
In general, millennials care more about people than numbers. If we educate and help the people we work with, they will grow and feel valuable, so they will go the extra mile for their employers. Take the time to listen to millennials’ ideas. They don't have 40 years of experience in banking, they don't know how to work in the same way as their more experienced counterparts, they may think or see things in a different way.
You might be surprised by the innovative ideas they come up with.
Many companies in our sector have outdated standards and working methods because they have been in the sector for many years, so they are still adapted to older generations and the old way of working. We should embrace failure as long as we learn from it and consider how to ensure it doesn't happen again.
Mistakes should be seen as opportunities for learning and improvement.
Employees must feel that management will not turn their backs on them as soon as something goes wrong. When people feel understood and part of something bigger than themselves, they will do whatever it takes to excel at their work.
This mentoring dynamic builds far more trust and loyalty than a raise or bonus ever could because it cultivates mutual respect rather than a transaction. Knowing that management is on your side is priceless and will benefit both parties in the long run.
When it comes to the Millennial workforce, focus on results rather than how they are achieved. In the end, companies that stay up to date with the needs and desires of their workforce will be the ones that make the most profits and have a social impact.
One of the best things about the way millennials approach work is that they are open to new ways of doing things. This generation is full of curiosity and initiative, and millennials are willing to move away from traditional ways of doing things, especially if it means finding a more efficient way of working. There's an app for everything and information is just a Google search away.
Millennials are comfortable with using technology and use it in every way they can in their daily activities. Generation Y loves technology at work because it saves time and offers the option to optimize processes.
So our best advice is:
- Let millennials use their favorite technology to support their work.
- Make them engaged in digitalization in projects. Millennials love responsibility and remember to support their failures to make them better.
- A one-size-fits-all management approach won’t work with millennials.
- The company must be tasked with managing engagement on a macro scale.
The Millennial generation could be the biggest catalyst for change in our industry, as they are in the right place at the right time. Digital tools in the industry are now mature and suitable for implementation on a larger scale, but everything must be born from proof-of-concept projects.
Millennials are willing to try it without compromising efficiency.
There is a “perfect storm” happening right now. Digitalization trends are converging in a way that will generate a business revolution , affecting organizations of all shapes and sizes. Management has been stuck in a routine for several decades in our sector, which is easy to see in the productivity and profit curves that are being generated in our sector.
We have been running organizations like machines and have lost the agility to change quickly. This is now a cultural aspect in organizations and we forget to shift to the needs of customers and employees.
Everyone in the current state is in a dangerous position, if they don't develop and invest, they will end up going bankrupt due to the speed of digitalization and transformation we are currently seeing.
As Millennials rise to management roles in the coming years, they will simultaneously become the largest generation in the workforce. Change is coming and smart organizations will start making the necessary adjustments today to stay ahead. So, as an organization supporting transformation, you must take this into consideration
Go digital
Improve all organizational facets that can create value to digitize, gather and share information and knowledge. The Millennial era has a relentless and disciplined focus on the customer or end user, including the employee. Millennials are the first generation to have known only a digital workplace, so they are used to harnessing this power individually.
This will continually unlock new value in areas such as internal and external collaboration to improve efficiency, work-life balance, reducing stress and moving from knowledge workers to knowledge workers.
Transparency
Transparency is about a greater and smarter flow of information and knowledge that supports innovation and problem solving within organizations. The Millennial generation has always had access to more information than they could handle. They are confused by organizations that tightly control them. Transparent organizations make smarter decisions that generate better results. They will successfully build a transparent architecture that makes more information visible to more people to enable better decisions.
Concluding
The millennial generation represents a significant change in the workplace, bringing with them an innovative mindset and a different approach to professional issues. Their unique characteristics and willingness to adopt new technologies and approaches can positively influence organizational culture and drive digital transformation in companies. It is essential that organizations recognize and harness the potential of this generation to remain relevant and competitive in the current market.
