The Millennials Go to Work

1. The Millennials Go to Work

2. The Millennials go to Work Who are the Millennials and why are they acting this way at work? Helen B. Garrett Associate Dean of Student Affairs Enrollment and Student Financial Services Lane Community College garretth@lanecc.edu (541) 463-5686

3. The Millennials go to Work • Every generations rebels: • 1st-Each rising generation breaks with the young-adult generation (Gen Xers) • 2nd-It corrects what is perceives as the excesses of the current midlife generation which are their parents and leaders (Baby Boomers) • 3rd-It fills the social role being vacated by the departing elder generation (The Greatest Generation)

4. The Millennials go to Work • Why this sudden focus on generations? • Marketing and the power of the co-purchasers • College and University professionals are obsessed with studying and knowing the Millennials and more important, the Helicopter Parents • Baby Boomer and Gen X Supervisors need help with their Millennial staffers • It is fun to talk about!

5. The Millennials go to Work “The Millennials, who the first batch were the high school class of 2000,…are as a group, pleasant, cheerful, helpful, ambitious, and community-oriented.” Mary Ann Johnson, Film Critic (2000)

6. The Millennials go to Work • What are the generations? • G.I. or Tom Brokaw’s Greatest Generation, born 1901-1924 • Silent Generation, born 1925-1943 • Baby Boomers, born 1944-1964 • Generation X, born 1965-1980 • Millennials, born 1981-2006 • So far unnamed, born 2007-

7. The Millennials go to Work • Other names for this generation: • Internet Generation • Echo Boomers • Boomlet • Nexters • Generation Y • The Nintendo Generation • Digital Generation • Sunshine Generation (Canada) • Thousands voted with ABC and chose Millennials

8. The Millennials go to Work • Sought after, needed, indispensable. Remember “Baby on Board” signs? • Smart, ambitious, incredibly busy, very ethnically diverse, dominated by girls. Sociable, optimistic, talented, well-educated influential, collaborative and achievement-oriented. • Make decisions jointly with parents • 73 million of them, the biggest generation in history, who are intent on going to college and focused on the future

9. Who are the Millennials? • 7 Core Millennial Traits • Special • Sheltered • Confident • Team-oriented • Conventional • Pressured • Achieving

10. The Millennials go to Work • How did we create the Millennials? • Focus on children and family • Scheduled, structured lives • Multiculturalism • Terrorism • Heroism • Patriotism • Parent Advocacy • Globalism

11. The Millennials go to Work • What did we say to them? • Be smart-you are special (Mr. Rogers) • Leave no one behind • Connect 24/7 • Achieve now! • Serve your community

12. The Millennials go to Work • The most watched over generation in history: • Daycare • Bike Helmets • Car seats • Internet blockers • Cell phone leashes as young as 7 now

13. The Millennials go to Work • Who is watching? The Helicopter Parents are! • Always hovering, sometimes even “Blackhawks” • Ultra protective • Unwilling to let go • Enlisting “the team” (physician, lawyer, psychiatrist, professional counselors) • Not going away when their babies go off to college, grad school or work • The average college millennial contacts their families 3 times…daily. No wonder!

14. The Millennials go to Work • Some not good news: • Nearly a majority will spend all or part of their childhood without a father in the house • Widening gap, a Digital Divide, between the “haves” and “have nots”, 25% under the age of 6 are living at or below the poverty level. • The internet, cable and video stores are exposing children to adult content at earlier ages than ever before • Two biggest worries for today’s teens: grades and college admissions. Gen Xers worried about AIDS and violent crime.

15. The Millennials go to Work • Myths about Millennials: • Myth: Today’s kids are violent • Reality: Serious teen violent crime is down • Myth: Teen pregnancy is up • Reality: Is falling at the fast rate ever recorded • Myth: Kids’ use of drugs is up • Reality: Using milder drugs than adults, in lower quantities, less frequently, less risky settings

16. The Millennials go to Work • Getting Ready for the Millennials • Be Prepared For… • high expectations • possible involvement of parents • Do… • encourage them • mentor them • learn from them • Don’t… • throw a wet blanket on their enthusiasm • expect them to pay their dues

17. The Millennials go to Work • 6 Principles of Millennial Management • You be the leader (and my coach and therapist, too) • Challenge me • Let me work with friends • Let’s have fun • Respect me • Be flexible

18. Who are the Millennials? • Ideas for Managing the Millennials • Design office space to share ideas • Assign projects to groups who are evaluated on reaching a goal • Reverse mentoring; especially with technology • Take a genuine interest in them • Give plenty of feedback often • Connect with their parents • Make things crystal clear (think gaming) • Focus on what they are good at

19. The Millennials go to Work • Hiring Millennials: • The Upside: • Great multi-taskers • Goal oriented • Positive attitudes • Technologically savvy (Digital Natives vs. Digital Immigrants) • Collaborative • The Downside: • Distaste for menial work • Lack of skills for dealing with difficult people • Impatient • Overly confident • Their “Helicopter Parents” are watching • Things go wrong and news on this is one click away

20. The Millennials go to Work • What they want from a job: • To work with positive people • To be challenged • To be treated respectfully • To learn new knowledge and skills • To work in friendly environments • To have flexible schedules • To be paid well

21. The Millennials go to Work • Their definition of success: • Personal satisfaction with what you are doing • Having close family relationships • Having a close group of friends • Having an active religious/spiritual life • Making a contribution to society

22. The Millennials go to Work • Where Baby Boomer/Gen Xer Employers Go Wrong with Millennials • Not meeting their high expectations • Discounting their ideas for lack of experience • Allowing negativity • Feeling threatened by their technical know how

23. The Millennials go to Work • How to motivate a millennial: • Don’t impose Baby Boomer ethic of “it is an honor to have a job”. • Most have no fear and are not motivated by threats of punishment or firing. • Monster.com is a click a way and hey, they are a Millennial, who wouldn’t want them? • Get to know them and what matters to them. Let them tell you what motivates them. • Set goals with them, with a reward at the end.

24. The Millennials go to Work • So what do we do with this information? • Use it to know who our Millennials are and to realize that generation studies are actually more of a reflection about the parent styles that created the next generation than the generation themselves. • Realize that you are serving one of the most positive, confident, optimistic and values oriented generations in history and enjoy your Millennials now, cell phone, IPOD, X-Box 360, MySpace, Helicopter Parents and all!

25. The Millennials go to Work • Millennials Go to College, Neil Howe & William Strauss 2003, American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. • Parenting the Millennial Generation, Dave Verhaagen, 2005, Praeger Publishers. • The Online Home of Claire Raines Associates, Managing Millennials, http://www.generationsatwork.com/articles/millenials.htm • Christopher M. Knight’s Top 7 Business, Top 7 Keys to Managing Millennials in the Workplace, http://top7business.com/?id=3023