How to Help Millennials Succeed in the Workplace

This is a guest post written by Arman Sadeghi of Titanium Success.

Millennials could make up close to 40% of the total workforce by the year 2020, according to the results of a research study conducted by the Association for Talent Development. Businesses are increasingly hiring this fresh source of talent and skills for their operations. However, companies often find that these young people have different methods of working with a distinct ideology from their predecessors. This factor changes the office dynamics completely.

Business owners need to help their millennial workforce assimilate into the company to make full use of their potential. To do this, they need to take several steps that can help reduce employee turnover. Here’s where a business coach comes in. Businesses often choose to hire such personnel to help them understand the strategies they need to adopt. These methods will help millennials succeed in the workplace.

Understand Their Expectations

A few years ago, employees were content to join a good company and work for an extended time, all the while steadily moving up the corporate ladder. Millennials, on the other hand, often have aspirations about wanting to become entrepreneurs. They would prefer to work in managerial positions of leadership. Considering the many young role models they have, millenials feel inspired to follow paths that can lead them to grow and succeed.

Many millennials do continue to work with enterprises for a long period of time, but only so long as their needs are met. If they feel they’re not getting enough opportunities, they’re very likely to move on to setups where other options are available. To work with such young people, you need to adjust the culture of your company. Work with your peak performance coach to create an atmosphere that is conducive to growth, while also being beneficial for your company.

Offer Them Better Orientation and Training

Schools and colleges do give students academic training. However, post-graduation, these students need practical skills that can help them perform in an actual workplace. These skills are often not taught in a traditional college environment. If you offer the proper training, millenials will learn the necessary skills to become independent, reliable and talented leaders in your company. Among the critical aptitudes they need is the ability to think and solve problems, work on and deliver presentations, analyze situations and adapt to the ever changing market. It is also essential to teach them time management, communication, effective listening skills, and most important, working as a part of the team.

Offer Flexible Work Hours

Millennials today have different priorities as compared to the employees before them. They prefer to maintain the perfect work-life balance and want to make time for leisure, entertainment, family, and friends. This is why they prefer jobs in companies where they are free to work at the times that suit them best. One of the pointers your peak performance coach is likely to give you is to allow for flexible working hours. Give your people the go-ahead to use digital technology and work remotely from home if they need to. You’ll also want to allow them to work on weekends and out of office hours if they want to. This way, you’ll encourage productivity and ensure employee satisfaction.

Ensure Manager-Employee Interaction

Young workers prefer flexible working hours and are tech savvy. They are comfortable using gadgets and apps to receive instructions, submit work and stay in touch with their teams. As your peak performance coach will likely point out, they also appreciate the opportunity to interact personally with their colleagues and managers. Institute an open-door policy as your company culture. Instruct your managers to welcome new and innovative ideas. Make sure your millennial workers receive constructive feedback on their performance and that they are allowed to communicate freely with their managers and superiors.

Offer Opportunities to Learn and Grow

Millennials are eager to learn and advance their skills. They are always looking for opportunities to excel by taking on challenging tasks. They thrive on the excitement of working on new assignments. If they see stagnation, they’re likely to move to setups where they can learn and grow. Offer your people training programs and adopt policies where your younger workforce can develop their talents.

For instance, consider the task rotation strategy. Your peak performance coach can show you how to move employees to other lateral positions in the company. Allow them to work in a new role for a preset time period so they can learn to manage other responsibilities and develop new skills. Assigning new projects is another way to challenge their creative abilities. Millennials respect and enjoy a work environment where they are pushed out of their comfort zone. Help them develop their flexibility and ingenuity to aid the success of your company. With that being said, make sure the new tasks aren’t so tough that it leads to discontent.

Work Out a Competitive Salary Structure

In today’s times where remote hiring has made great strides, the job market has gone global. Millennials now find that there is a demand for their talents and skills on an international scale. Hence, they are exposed to better opportunities and salary structures. To retain the skills you need for the growth of your enterprise, your peak performance coach will advise that you need to change your perspective about the remunerations you’re offering. The younger workforce is more focused on the salaries they can earn. You’ll also find that better positions and promotions are no longer enough to stay with a company. Remember, they can get those at other setups also. This is why you’ll need to pay competitive salaries to keep your employees.

These are just some of the factors you need to keep in mind when hiring and working with a team of millennial employees. Given that the work environment is evolving rapidly, it’s advantageous to have a peak performance coach on board to help you direct your team, and help millennials succeed in the workplace.

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