We want to contribute to your success
Managing people is an ongoing challenge. Its scope doesn’t just extend to what the millennials want and how you should give it to us. It is about your organisation assimilating a powerful team comprising all generations and expertise to drive business growth. We do expect a lot from our employers – however, we Gen Ys can help you get out of these difficult times, well-prepared for the upturn, given the right coaching and opportunities. Here are four reasons why you should focus on us:
We can help you implement your business strategy. Whether it’s going green, becoming innovation-driven or simply increasing productivity, millennials can be your best ambassadors and we can make things happen quick – so long as we feel inspired in our roles.
We are adventurous and can fill the gaps. We find on-the-job development opportunities, including rotational assignments and working with strong coaches, more important than formal training mechanisms. The striking difference between the millennials and the generations that precede us is that we are now more mobile and more willing to explore different careers. Organisations can take advantage of this and build a well-rounded workforce that understands the business inside out.
We can drive your Corporate Responsibility (CR) initiatives. As the CR movement gains traction, companies that do not demonstrate a strong work ethic commitment to their community, marketplace, workplace and environment run the risk of being spotlighted. We are your organisation’s markers when it comes to CR: a significant majority of the P survey respondents indicated that they would seek employers whose CR values reflected their own, and would consider leaving an employer if its social responsibility values no longer reflected their own.
We insist on technology which can drive your productivity. Having grown up with the internet, we are more likely to use our fluency with technology to get results – this makes us more efficient when it comes to pulling information together. What may appear as demanding to employers is just us pushing for tools that help us function more efficiently, ultimately increasing the overall productivity of the organisation.
Y-sing up to the millennials
Make no mistake – the talent war is alive and thriving in Malaysia. Due to the downturn, as employers you now have an opportunity to bring in new talent which previously might not have been available to you. But this also means you need to work hard to retain your existing performers.
Companies that make talent management – particularly their millennial talent – a boardroom agenda will be better positioned to take advantage of the talent surplus in current market conditions. On the other hand, businesses which cut back now might find that when the economic environment rebounds, they do not have enough of the right people for the upturn to remain competitive.
With the workforce and businesses going global like never before, it’s time to wise up to the millennials. Working through the Gen Ys’ pressure points will require a customised strategy, but here are some ideas to kick start the thought process:
• Compromise - There has to be give and take between the Gen X and Baby Boomer managers and their Gen Y employees. Managers will have to accept that we want challenge and recognition; and we want it now. Gen Ys in turn must wake up to the fact that in these economic times, it’s an employer’s market, and the bargaining power we once had is substantially diminished. We will have to make sacrifices, lower expectations and accept things for what they are.
• Coaching & grooming - Robust mentoring and succession planning programmes are two-way streets. They fulfill our need for recognition and development, and are good practices that organisations who are thinking long-term should have in place.
• Engage us on what matters to us - We want to be heard so communicate with us regularly and open up channels for us to air our views. We also expect flexibility in our work arrangements that allow us some balance between personal and office time. The environment (and the wider scope of CR) matters to us so think green in terms of policies and programmes.
• Empower us - Given challenges, the best will rise to the occasion. Gen Ys have a unique perspective on things – you might be surprised by what we can come up with.
(source: a big accounting firm's website)
