Products of the Reagan era or later, millennials have little if any memory of the Soviet Union and the Cold War. For most or all of their lives, they have been “connected” by computer and wireless phone, have lived in an age of instant reality (with satellites providing real-time coverage of world events) and have been coddled by hovering “helicopter parents” anxious to provide them with every possible competitive edge in today’s flat world.
During their formative years, signs on their parents’ cars warned “Baby on Board,” while bumper stickers asked less considerate parents, “Have You Hugged Your Child Today?” Their moms and dads even went with them to college orientation week, helping them select the right courses and sometimes demanding to interview their teachers.
Wisconsin’s Beloit College for some years has published its famous “Mindset List,” which attempts to help its faculty understand the event horizons of incoming freshmen (i.e., what they have always known to be true). The entire list of 75 unique frames of reference can be found at www.beloit.edu/~pubaff/mindset/index.html
Some examples:
- This year’s entering class grew up getting lost in “big boxes.”
- They have never heard anyone “ring it up” on a cash register or sound like a “broken record.”
- A coffee has always taken longer to make than a milkshake.
- “Google” has always been a verb.
- Disney theme parks have always been in Asia and Europe.
As the college observes, the list is neither critical of anyone nor all-inclusive. For example, there is likely to be a Beloit student who owns an “antique” typewriter or eight-track tape player. Equally true, not all Millennials are fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to have had helicopter parents always at their side—or money to spend on the latest iPod model and hottest Razr phone. And countries today that place PCs on every student’s desk are educating a far different generation from those in countries with few or no computers for their schools— creating a chasm known as the “Digital Divide.”
Ideal ways to integrate Millennials
- Reverse mentoring—Young Millennials coach senior employees in the use of technology.
- Create rationale as to why tattoos and suggestive attire are not appropriate in your workplace.
- Review your current organizational style (traditional vs. flexible).
Skills needed to manage Millennials
- Flexibility
- Ability to challenge them continuously
- Organizational interest in technology
- Willingness to look at organizational issues in new or different light
Continue Reading:
Managing Millennials (PDF)
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