When they first entered the workplace in 2007, Millennials were quickly labeled as pampered and lacking work ethic. Although that opinion has been repeatedly blasted as an unfair generalization, it’s still mentioned when talking about companies’ pain points.
Ruth Schwartz, a business coach and corporate trainer (highperformanceadvocates.com), says employers should look within if they continue to struggle with this generation gap. “The reasons businesses are struggling is that employers themselves aren’t clear about their purpose,” she states in a recent blog post on SwitchandShift.com, a website examining workplace morale. Millennials crave meaning, but too many companies can’t adequately answer the “why?” of work. She shares three ideas that employers can learn from Millennials:
Teach me. Whatever happened to workplace apprenticeship? For employers to get the juice from young talent, they must become mentors and teachers. Bring back apprenticeship. Develop a real-life, in-depth, meaningful training program, and you’ll see surprising dedication.
Will work for vision. It is true that people do not see any one business as their lifetime work. Rather than complain about the change, make your business a great stop on the way. Integrate apprenticeship, and then add a big hairy vision. The companies that are able to clarify and communicate a world-changing mission and vision keep people longer, get more dedication and develop a seamless employee pipeline. The bigger the purpose, the better. Make it real, and make it big enough to capture hearts and minds.
We are a tribe. There’s a reason that the cubicle is the universally hated symbol of the heinous workplace. Collaboration, cooperation and connection are the new normal. If you are not creating these qualities in your business, you are destroying the tribe. Often, we think this effort to collaborate and communicate is wasted time.
Not so. It is the most important and inspired time we have. Whenever we can, we must create the necessary space to be more and create more — together.
