A Guide for Managing Millennials - Delegation

My last blog post on Helicopter Parents in the Workplace ignited a firestorm of feedback about the Millennial generation and the difficulty of recruiting and managing this demographic. If your company depends on Millennials for its future success in maintaining and increasing market share, then you may need concrete tactics for managing and communicating with them.

This next series of posts will focus on providing those tactics to support you in your goals and to ease management's pain. It will cover Delegation (here), Performance Feedback, and Decision Making.

We'll start first with tips for delegating effectively to Millennials.

A common complaint of managers is that Millennials do not follow through on projects assigned or do not complete tasks to satisfaction. When delegating to Millennials follow these rules:

• Connect the dots between task and mission by explaining the importance of the project to the organization
• Define the job enrichment opportunities involved in the project 
• Be specific in the results you expect and provide step-by-step instructions for achieving these results 
• Communicate your expected timeframe for completing the project and consequences to not getting it done on time
• Mentor on potential roadblocks and how to get around them  
• Build in frequent check-ins via 10-minute meetings or text messages to reinforce expectations and answer questions as they arise

These tips may seem like extra work to the Generation X and Baby Boomer bosses of Millennials, but I guarantee their success in increasing productivity and eliminating "re-do's" on the back end. Give it a try, and if you are still struggling reach out for help.

Amy Hirsh Robinson, Principal, Interchange Group

Workforce Strategies for the New Economy

Embrace Your Helicopter Parents

Recent press on Helicopter parenting in the workplace has revived a collective sense of dismay over the Millennial generation. Helicopter parents are Baby Boomer moms and dads who exhibit an excessive degree of parental involvement, "hovering" over their 20-something kids. Universities responded first to this phenomenon by establishing Offices of Parent Relations and separate orientation programs for parents of incoming students. Now that Millennials have entered the workforce, a reported 20-40% of their parents are calling HR to obtain employment information, send resumes, schedule job interviews, negotiate salaries and debate questionable performance reviews on behalf of their grown children.

Employers and managers of Millennials are flabbergasted by what they view as the intrusive conduct of Helicopter parents. They attempt to deter the behavior, which only causes resentment from both Millennial employees and their parents. Employers should instead focus on strengthening relationships with parents to increase acceptance and retention rates of top young talent and improve their employer brand. Here are some specific tactics to that end:

• Co-market employment opportunities to Millennials and their parents (the U.S. Military has a great example of this strategy at www.todaysmilitary.com)
• Offer to send employment packages to parents of interns and accepted applicants
• Invite parents of new hires to the office and provide parent tours of the company
• Train managers and HR staff on how to handle parent interference productively
• Publish parent newsletters or allow parents to opt into company newsletters to stay informed
  

If your company's success is dependent on a Millennial workforce you must build parental involvement into your recruitment, management and retention practices. Older generations may balk but I'm a realist. My clients compete daily to attract, retain and manage top Millennial talent. Their business models and strategies depend on it. Do yours?

Amy Hirsh Robinson, Principal, Interchange Group
Workforce Strategies for the New Economy

The Rocky Transition from Intern to Full-Time Hire

To compete in the “New Economy,” companies are seeking employees with an aptitude for technology and innovation. Many, believing that the Millennial generation has these core competencies, have beefed up their college intern programs as a way to fill the talent pipeline. Such programs are successful in developing and motivating Millennials. The problem, however, is in the transition to full-time hire. Specifically, the experience new graduates receive as interns contrasts sharply with what they experience as full-time employees. For example:

• Interns are urged to meet new people and explore the company, while full-time hires are discouraged from actively networking
• Interns receive messages such as “our doors are always open,” while full-time hires hear “know your place”
• Interns enjoy explicit career-pathing guidance, while full-time hires receive little or no career development
• Interns work for managers invested in their experience, while full-time hires report to whomever has headcount, regardless of that manager’s “people skills”
  

Companies that do not invest in a seamless transition from intern to full-time hire will experience high attrition, damage their reputation as a desirable place to work, and lose competitive advantage. What does the transition from intern to full-time hire in your organization look like?

For additional insight and strategies on this topic, feel free to download my white paper, “The Rocky Transition from Intern to Full-Time Hire.”

Amy Hirsh Robinson, Principal, Interchange Group
Workforce Strategies for the New Economy

Tell Your Story In 2012

As the New Year approaches, consider the stories you would like to share in 2012.

Stories entertain us, but they also act as a vehicle for passing memories, values and rituals on from one generation to the next. That's why the Interchange Group supports StoryCorps, one of the largest oral history projects of its kind. Since 2003, StoryCorps has recorded and archived over 35,000 interviews of Americans of all ages and backgrounds. Each conversation is preserved at the Library of Congress and available to enjoy on StoryCorps' Listening Page. Interviews are also featured every Friday on NPR's Morning Edition.

As a gift to our clients and community, the Interchange Group is donating to StoryCorps this year. I invite you to listen to some of the interviews, organized by categories such as work, romance, friendship, September 11 and Hurricane Katrina. And, if you'd like to conduct your own interview, StoryCorps will help you do that. Their Great Questions List is wonderful for getting a good conversation started.

Happy New Year!

Amy Hirsh Robinson, Principal, Interchange Group

Workforce Strategies for the New Economy

Millennials & Work Location

There are many myths about Millennials and urbanization: Their attraction to cities for the “hip” factor; Their preference for mass transportation as a commitment to being green. But the majority of Millennials actually live in suburban environments. In fact, 43% describe suburbs as the “ideal place to live,” compared to 36% of Generation Xers and 28% of Baby Boomers.¹ As Millennials transition into their 30s, their preference for low density, non urban living is predicted to increase even more. Here’s why:

• Affordable Housing - 64% of Millennials say it’s very important to own their own home, and suburban homes generally costs less than their urban counterparts.²
• Job Opportunities - Suburban regions with low unemployment currently boast high percentages of recent college graduates in the U.S.³
• Family & Community - Millennials, many of whom are about to start families, want to raise children in the same suburban settings of their own youth.⁴

Millennial migration is significant to companies’ strategic planning. Attracting and retaining this large demographic of future workers impacts not only talent strategy, but also planning in corporate development, real estate and facilities management. Housing, telecommuting, and mass transit patterns also play a role.

By 2014, the bureau of labor reports that Millennials will make up 1/3 of America’s labor market. How and where organizations find young talent in the future will become important drivers of competition. Have you entered these factors into your planning?

Amy Hirsh Robinson, Principal, Interchange Group
Workforce Strategies for the New Economy

¹Winograd, Morley and Michael Hais. Millennial Momentum. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2011. Print.
²Winograd, Morley and Michael Hais. “Are Millennials the Solution to the Nation’s Housing Crisis?” NewGeography.com. Web. 17 July 2011.
³Kotkin, Joel. “America’s Biggest Brain Magnets.” NewGeography.com. Web. 10 February 2011.
⁴Winograd, Morley and Michael Hais. “Are Millennials the Solution to the Nation’s Housing Crisis?” NewGeography.com. Web. 17 July 2011.

Is Ageism Real?

The recession swept through America, leaving scores of unemployed Baby Boomers in its wake. Millions have been unable to find work since. It’s now gotten so bad for the unemployed over 50, that President Obama is proposing legislation to make discrimination against the unemployed illegal.

So is ageism in the workplace real? You bet it is. But the situation is complicated by these competing truths:

• Many older workers do not have the skills and competencies that employers need to compete in the new economy.
• Some younger managers are afraid to hire older workers because they don’t know how to manage them.
• Sometimes older workers cost more to employ. Sometimes they cost less.
• Productivity can decline with age, but younger workers are not always more productive, nor more reliable.
  

To be over 50 and unemployed carries a terrible status in our country, and we are ALL complicit. My challenge to hiring managers is to check your assumptions when screening candidates and look for the competencies most critical for the role. My challenge to Baby Boomers is to prove your relevancy to the new economy, adapting your skills and offerings to meet these changes in the market.

It is in everyone’s best interest for organizations to attract and retain top talent. What are you doing, as a hiring manager or potential employee, to help or hinder that goal?

- Amy Hirsh Robinson, Principal, Interchange Group
Workforce Strategies for the New Economy

9.1% Unemployment & Open Positions?

On Friday the Labor Department reported that America’s unemployment rate held steady at 9.1%, resulting in 0% job growth for the month of August. Yet for the same month, employers also reported a sharp increase in difficulty recruiting for open positions (SHRM Leading Indicators of National Employment).

How is it that companies can’t find the talent they need when so many people are looking for work? The answer lies in what economists refer to as “structural discord in the labor market." Plainly put, the competencies of our current workforce do not match what organizations need to stay competitive in the new economy.

When the economy actually improves, companies will have an even harder time attracting and retaining key employees, especially those from younger generations who view their employers with a consumer mindset. As a result, many organizations are starting to define and strategically position themselves specifically for the talent they want to hire and keep. Often referred to as Employee Value Proposition, the perceived rewards and benefits employees get in exchange for performance is becoming a selling point and key business strategy for companies wanting to stay ahead of looming talent shortages.

Don’t let the unemployment statistics fool you. It will continue to be difficult to find good talent. Are you prepared? Do you know how to define and market your Employee Value Proposition?

- Amy Hirsh Robinson, Principal, Interchange Group