Why It’s Time To Stop Bashing Millennnials

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Why Its Time To Stop Bashing Millennnials
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• Admit it. Your personal biases regarding the
  millennials have come up in professional
  conversations. You couldnt help yourself. (Or,
  could you?) Perhaps you were triggered by a
  comment, behavior or situation at work. Or you
  may be oblivious to the fact that the disparaging
  lens you use to view them, or indeed any team
  member that is different to you, is reflecting on
  your leadership style and your business.

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• Whether you are reacting consciously or
  unconsciously, the time has come to stop bashing
  millennials.

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The economic cost to your employer brand

• Your employer brand conveys your organizations
  identity in the eyes of prospective talent.
  Therefore, to label an entire demographic who
  happened to be born in a specific time frame as
  lazy, entitled, selfish, arrogant, narcissistic,
  self-absorbed, impatient, etc. (terms often used
  to describe millennials) does nothing to advance
  your reputation and appeal to a sought-after
  generation of workers.

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• Competition for their skills has never been
  greater, especially when you realize that
  millennials now represent the largest cohort of
  the workforce in North America. By 2025, they
  will represent three-quarters of the global
  workforce.
• Millennial bashing, either overtly or covertly,
  will repel them from interviewing with your
  enterprise, no matter how attractive the
  compensation and benefits.

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• Can your organization afford to dismiss
  opportunities to recruit millennials when there
  is compelling evidence of a shortage of
  professionals, knowledge workers and those with
  bachelor (or higher) degrees? Many industry
  sectors struggle with heightened demand and
  diminishing supply of available talent. Employer
  biases only serve to add undue pressure by
  limiting the ability to efficiently manage
  expenses allocated to your recruitment and
  employer brand strategy.

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The negative impact on your workplace culture

• In addition to the external business consequences
  of stereotyping millennials, there are also
  internal ramifications, for example, the
  destabilization of your workplace culture.
  Jessica Kriegel, author of Unfairly Labeled How
  Your Workplace Can Benefit from Ditching
  Generational Stereotypes, uncovered countless
  injustices emanating from categorizing workers
  by specific demographic groups.

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• Consider this example Mark, a client I coach, is
  a brilliant sales person for a company in the
  competitive agricultural business of
  manufacturing, supplying and storing grain. He
  has a deep understanding of the industry as a
  third generation farmer, acquiring first-hand
  experience in his familys business. Mark has a
  degree in agricultural engineering, possessing
  extensive knowledge regarding current and future
  trends in his industry.

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• He has many business contacts and is highly
  respected by his co-workers and clients. As a
  millennial, however, Mark feels that he does not
  have the complete trust of his employer when it
  comes to closing lucrative six or seven figure
  deals. The owner of the company will often step
  in to the final phases of the selling process,
  isolating Mark from the conversation and client
  negotiations.

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• Other non-millennial members of sales team have
  not experienced the same level of intervention.
  Although Mark has expressed his concerns
  regarding age discrimination, his employer
  dismisses Marks disquietude, downplaying his
  assessment of the situation. As a result, Mark is
  now questioning whether he will remain with the
  company.

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• Many millennials are voicing similar sentiments
  to Marks. Kriegels research indicates that
  millennials are unfairly portrayed and have been
  singled out more than any other group in todays
  workforce. Millennial bashing not only
  perpetuates disharmony between co-workers and
  managers, it may serve as grounds for litigation,
  with ramifications far greater than HR
  departments can manage.

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• Preserving a healthy, congenial workplace culture
  ought to be a top organizational priority, with
  leadership setting the example of exemplary
  attitudes and behaviours regarding their
  workforce.

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Limiting opportunities for business growth

• Marketing to millennials is a multi-trillion
  dollar proposition (1.3 trillion in consumer
  spending in the US alone). If your business is
  not positioned to promote and sell your services
  to millennials, to say you are missing out is an
  understatement. This year is predicted to be the
  biggest in terms of millennial spending power,
  yet many retailers are failing to keep up and
  cash in on the massive opportunities and on-line
  alternatives sought by these savvy consumers.

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• Weve recently witnessed the demise of renowned
  retail brands in the new economy due to their
  inability to stay ahead of the technology curve
  and grasp new customer realities. Your business
  leaders can avoid their mistakes by first
  adopting a mindset that embraces open-mindedness
  and a willingness to change obsolete marketing
  habits.

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• It is worthwhile to keep in mind the extent to
  which millennials use their devices to make small
  and big-ticket purchases, fully expecting to find
  products and services instantly. They are
  especially attracted to an authentic experience
  and connection as a customer. In studies
  conducted by Elite Daily and Crowd Twist,
  researchers found

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• that 62 percent of Millennials are more loyal to
  brands that engage directly with customers on
  social media, debunking the notion that
  millennials have little interest in building
  allegiances and long-term customer relationships.
• Businesses need to come to terms with the fact
  that millennials are here to stay they are our
  customers, our employees and the business leaders
  of the future.

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• When companies allow biases to cloud their view
  and stereotype a whole segment of the population,
  not only do talented employees feel the brunt,
  but eventually, organizations themselves will
  struggle as a result of myopic, close-minded
  attitudes. The way millennials work and play may
  seem foreign to some, but we need to remember

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• underneath the myopic labels, such as entitled
  or impatient applied to this generation, they
  possess values we admire in our employees as a
  whole. Many are hard workers who dont deserve to
  be pigeonholed. Leaders can either choose to have
  an open mind, embrace millennials and help them
  realize their full potential or get left behind
  and miss out on opportunities to work with and
  learn from them.

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