The Millennials

11/12/2017

People born between 1984 and 1995 are known as The Generation Y, or “The Millennials”, being actually part of the active labour force. 

This generation values virtual places and objects as internet, smartphones or PlayStation, being part of their everyday life. Millennials (also known as the new Baby Boomers) are the children of the upbeat Baby Boomers and they grew up participating in family decisions, and they translate this autonomy under to their environment, whether it’s work, educational or personal. 

Millennials are optimistic but pragmatic, they value diversity and respect differences. These employees are willing to work on an environment that has the diversity to which they are used to, appreciating space to participate, autonomy and power to decide. Values as justice and solidarity are considered in order to construct a collaborative environment. 

Generation Y seeks for quality of life: “Living as I want”. 

40% of Gen Y says they are going to quit their job in the next three years… What are they looking for? 

Millennials are ambitious when considering aspects that their job should comply with, they seek for inspiring leaders with open and transparent communication and updated environments, where latest technology is being applied. 

Moreover, autonomy, development opportunities and a good balance between personal life and work are appreciated by this generation, they prioritize purpose beyond the economic benefit. 

A pleasant environment turns out to be a key element when analysing objectives Millennials look for in their jobs, as a result of their strong commitment to illusion and diversity. 

New Performance Management and Engagement Model.

These expectations demand a new performance management and a new engagement model, in order to be able to motivate and retain Gen Y assets, by complying with their objectives and goals. 

Objectives need to be clear, transparent and set as a team, being more collective and qualitative objectives rather than quantitative and individual ones, for empowering teams where mission and purpose should be shared. 

Formal procedures should be left aside, as continuous conversations give Millennials participation and feedback they look for. As a consequence, process need to be more agile, fast and continuous, and leaders should be focused on coaching and development of their teams. 

When individual tasks, assessments should include many inputs, and strong emphasis on data analysis, resulting on opportunities for growth together with training and international assignments.

Enrique Garbino, Auren Uruguay