The article this post responds to is written by Jenny Dearborn, Vice President, Chief Learning Officer, SuccessFactors – an SAP company
Has anybody else noticed how obsessed Forbes is with us? Googling "forbes millennials" garners articles about us 1 day ago, 2 days ago, 5 days ago (two separate pieces), 9 days ago (2 separate pieces), . . . Do you get the idea?
By "us," I of course mean those of the Millennial generation--who else could I, a person born in the eighties possibly be talking about? We are the "Me Me Me" generation, after all. And why wouldn't we be--you can't stop writing about us!
This latest, though, has got to be addressed. Forbes, have you gone crazy?
Now, in your defense, most of your suggestions are great--not just for The Youngs, but for all people. I think reformatting offices to fit the 21st century is a great idea, especially offering opportunities for employees to learn more than one facet of your company. Encouraging community can only help your company thrive in the age of "Best Companies to Work For" lists.
I like the idea of helping employees reach out to one another, though I'm boggled why Millennials in particular are being charged with a lack of interpersonal skills--it wasn't our generation that beget Human Resources.
You lose me completely though in Recommendation Number 3: CC Mom and Dad. Forbes, it is NEVER alright for my employer to contact my parents regarding my career. The only time it is acceptable for my employer to contact my parents is during an emergency situation and my parent is my emergency contact.
You're right to think that I have a great relationship with my parents, and I want them to be proud of me. This is not a reason to embrace parental involvement. It will not boost my morale. Involving my parents will only remind me that you do not view me as a competent adult. And if my employer does not view me as a competent adult, why should I give them the quality of work of a competent adult?
I understand you need to be brought back down to Earth, so I have done you the service of rewriting this piece. My Millennial-limited attention span brings you only five ways of increasing productivity, but I think you'll get the point:
Five Tactics to Increase Millennial Productivity in the Workplace
by Jamie
(1) Make Your Company's Positive Impact on the World Priority.
Stop trying to "influence their influencers," and start trying to become our influencer. We'll have confidence in your decisions and therefore increase productivity if we have confidence in you (I think that was the logic in the article?) Forbes tells us that of Millienials, 85% want work that makes a difference and is enriching to themselves but also enriching to the world. This isn't surprising considering that Millenials lead the way in rates of volunteerism. Even if you're cynical that Millennials only volunteer to pad college applications, that doesn't explain why volunteering is a priority for college graduates. Build your company's image around social responsibility, and Millennial productivity will follow.
(2) Increase Loyalty by Offering Assistance for Student Debt Payment.
We're broke. We're so broke that a third of us regret going to college. That college degree you require cost us a lot of money, and we're putting off major purchases and life changes as a consequence. You already know we're much more likely to move in with Mom and Dad. Help us move out of the basement by offering us assistance paying off our student debt, and I can guarantee better Millennial productivity will follow.
(3) Don't Insist on 9-5.
As a Millennial, I'm taken to task a lot for being lazy. Thankfully, even Forbes seems to have decided this is a bit over-the-top. I am a motivated individual. However, I don't always understand the utility of the 9-5 workday. We belong to the age of rising worker productivity, and even if you can't quite decide why productivity is rising while income is stagnant, Millennials are aware that we are expected to produce much more while being paid less. With technology, we can do more in less time. And, we've been raised to believe our time is important. You may ask if this makes us deluded narcissists, but I argue we're just trying to avoid the mistakes of previous generations. We were the children of workaholics, whose birthdays were missed because of business trips or after-school recitals were missed because of meetings. Increase Millennial productivity by offering flexible hours beyond the 9-5 and allow Millennials the opportunity to schedule those other important moments in life.
(4) Evaluate the Way You Mentor.
Upset with our lack of leadership experience, teamwork, laziness, self-centeredness and inability to manage money? The answer is a resounding "yes," because you took us to task earlier this month. Maybe the answer is as easy as giving us some guidance. I don't much care what you call it, but you tell us again and again that mentoring is important at all stages of our lives, even instructing on how to find a mentor. Maybe it's time that companies start embracing this powerful tool to increase Millennial productivity. By the way, mentoring for Millennial women is on the decline, so a strong mentoring program for that demographic may even help you recruit top candidates.
(5) Invest in Them.
OK, this may be a cop-out, because it appeared on the original list, but even you, Forbes, can have some good ideas. For many of us, it was a struggle to get hired in the first place, so we can feel mighty loyal to the people who gave us a change. If you show faith in us by investing in us, we may just turn out to be your best employees.
