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10.13007/086
Ideas for Leaders #086
Attracting, Developing and Retaining
Millennials
Key Concept
The number of ‘Millennials’ entering the workforce is peaking, and there is
now global interest in understanding how best to manage them. By some
estimates, nearly 80 million Millennials (young adults born between the late
1970s to early 2000s) make up today’s global workforce. There is also
evidence that they are fundamentally changing how business is conducted.
Here are some steps to maximizing their effectiveness in your organization.
Idea Summary
It is no secret that Millennials (also known as Generation Y) are unlike
previous generations; their careers have been affected by different factors to
their predecessors, such as the recent financial crisis — which left high levels
of unemployment in young adults — and more widespread use of the latest
technology than ever before. So, understanding how to keep this generation
of employees engaged and how to leverage their strengths is key for firms of
all sizes; this is what Jessica Brack explores in this white paper.
Program Director at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, Brack reaches out
to employers that want to prepare Millennials to be their organization’s next
generation of top-level leaders. “The nearly 80 million Millennials who are
about to enter, or who are already in the workforce will fundamentally change
how business is conducted in the future,” she says. “HR practices and
policies designed to attract, develop and retain this vast cohort must change
to reflect this generation’s work — and life — expectations.”
The challenge of managing Millennials can be described as a clash between
‘cowboys’ and ‘collaborators’. The former term refers to the generations
before Millennials — Generation X (mid-1960s – mid-1970s) or the Baby
Boomers (1946 – early-1960s ) — and the latter term encompasses the
optimistic, socially-conscious and achievement-oriented nature of Millennials.
The aspects of work that cowboys and collaborators value as important differ,
and as result of such different job expectations conflicts are bound to arise.
Some firms have already introduced measures to maximize the effectiveness
of Millenials in their organizations, such as Johnson & Johnson, which formed
a generational affinity group to help raise understanding of the generation and
to encourage inclusion across all generations. Similarly, General Electric (GE)
formed a team of 21 Millennials from various GE businesses and functions
with a goal to identify ways to attract, develop and retain Millennial talent.
They named this team ‘Global New Directions’.
Business Application
HR executives in particular have an important role to play in attracting,
Authors
Brack, Jessica
Institutions
University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler
Business School
Source
White Paper
Idea conceived
2012
Idea posted
February 2013
DOI number
Subject
HR Management
Corporate Culture
Career Development
Coaching
Mentoring
Talent Management
developing and retaining Millennials. They can do this through the following
steps:
1. Attract them: follow the example of companies like Google and Deloitte, who use technology to
deliver information about your organization’s culture, open communication policy, flexible work
schedules, training and-development opportunities, etc.
2. Develop them: there are a number of ways to do this, including offering soft-skills training like
how to assimilate into a new workplace culture, how to work with team members assertively and
diplomatically, how to process feedback, how to approach a supervisor for coaching and
mentoring, and how to set long-term career goals.
3. Retain them: the key word here seems to be ‘flexibility’. Create an organizational culture that is
flexible and relaxed, has open communication, encourages sharing and innovation and offers
flexibility. This is a good step to keeping Millennials engaged.
Further Reading
Maximizing Millennials in the Workplace, “Brack, Jessica”, UNC Kenan-
Flagler Business School White Paper (2012)
Further Relevant Resources
Further Reading at IEDP: Managing Generation Y: Why it Matters
Further Reading at IEDP: Y Generation Games: Developing Tomorrow’s Leaders
Further Reading at IEDP: Humanity and Happiness: Generation Y's Work Wishlist
Kenan-Flagler Business School’s profile at IEDP
© Copyright IEDP Ideas for Leaders 2013
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