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6 Ways To Help Millennials Excel At Work

This article is more than 5 years old.

Millennials are quickly becoming the largest employee demographic. In less than two years they’ll be the majority, and by 2025, they’ll account for 75% of the entire workforce. It’s important to address the changes that come from having a younger workforce now so that companies are prepared for the wave of change as their senior staff starts to retire.

The best ways to help Millennials develop and excel at work do not require a major process overhaul – they simply require some tweaks in the way things are currently being done. Part of this process requires a mindset shift, the other part requires commitment from the leadership team. With those commitments in place, companies will see an impact nearly immediately.

Set clear expectations

Millennials like to know what to expect at work, and what’s expected from them. For Millennials, having a clear picture of their day-to-day responsibilities helps them focus and prioritize tasks at work. This process starts with onboarding. The clearer the expectations from the start, the better prepared they’ll be to successfully integrate into the company. Periodic check-ins enforce accountability and help both managers and employees stay on track and manage expectations.

Offer guidance and support

Especially early on in their career, Millennials may need some extra guidance. Let them know who they can go to for help. It’s important that this help is not simply telling them what to do and how to do it. Teach them so that they can use the skills they’re learning to solve another problem in the future. Balance out the times you help with times where you let them work through a problem on their own with minimal guidance. Support them by helping them develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Deliver feedback more frequently

Millennials expect a lot of feedback on how they’re doing. Feedback is what they grew up with, starting from their years at school with people constantly doling out positive reinforcement, to instant gratification from social media and their peers. Frequent feedback helps Millennials stay on track with their goals and addresses problems as they arise. Ongoing discussions also make your Millennial employees much more receptive to critiques.

Provide ample learning opportunities

Millennials are hungry to learn new skills and rank access to learning opportunities as a top employer benefit. Training opportunities can be as simple as peer to peer mentoring to as extensive as formal workshops. It’s a great way to address skill gaps and help employees grow and develop. It’s also another way for managers to see where employees excel and where they need more training.

Show them where they can grow

Millennials leave companies when they don’t see opportunities for growth. It’s not usually the case that these opportunities aren’t there, they just don’t know about them. Show them the potential career paths within your company and help them understand the steps they need to get there. Provide feedback to help them to track their progress towards advancement.

Give them a place to share their ideas

Millennials, like everyone else, like to share their ideas. They want to be part of the discussion, not an afterthought. The disconnect comes from them not knowing who or where to direct these ideas to, so sometimes it seems like they’re challenging things for no particular reason. Many times their reason for speaking up is to improve a process, propose a solution, or suggest a way that technology could streamline an existing process. Create an outlet where all of your employees can go to share their ideas.

These ideas help all employees excel at work, not just Millennials. Each of these actions show employees that their companies are invested in them and their development. To initiate the change, identify which idea best addresses the biggest challenge you’re seeing at work. Begin by implementing the solution to that idea, then slowly introduce the others.

Which solutions worked best for you or your company? Join the conversation with me on Twitter.

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