The Writing on The Wall

The writing is clear and concise. Can you read it?

Organizations have no alternative but to take note and respond. Deloitte Consulting recently published their 2016 survey about Millennials. The survey continues to support several trends among Millennials that I have been discussing for years in my presentations. If you want to successfully recruit and retain this generation, companies must build a culture that:

1. DOES GOOD AND DOES WELL

Millennials do not have their heads in the clouds (as many money-motivated Baby Boomers would like to think). Millennials understand that profit to a business is like breathing to a human being – it is necessary for life, but it does not define a meaningful life. In other words, profit is a minimal standard for a company to survive, it does not prove success.

Success comes when an organization can build a culture with a meaningful cause. In the Deloitte survey, 40% of Millennials surveyed indicated they were planning on staying with their current employer beyond 2020 because they believed their employer has a strong sense of purpose (cause) and financial success.

2. FACILITATES BLENDED LIFE

Baby Boomers were well known for dedicating their life to work in order to retire. They often worked 70-80 hours a week to develop the wealth they enjoy today.

Gen Xers created the concept of work-life balance. They wanted to enjoy their lives in middle age, be a part of their children’s lives at school and after school. They separated work life and home life, holding each with equal priority.

Gen Ys want blended life. They simply believe that if everything they do has meaning, significance, purpose, and cause, then work doesn’t feel like work. Which means it matters less where things get done than that things get done. And they live these values. In the Deloitte Survey, 49% of Millennials said they would refuse to do a task they were asked to do if it went against their values. For Millennials in senior positions, that number was 61%.

3. ACCELERATES GROWTH

The Deloitte Survey found that 63% of Millennials want their companies to focus more on their leadership development skills. That number was 71% for Millennials planning on leaving their companies in the next two years.

The good news it that what they want is very clear: Opportunities for leadership development, connection to mentors; to be measured on performance so that they can better blend their lives; flexibility that can allow them to determine when, where, and how they get their job done; a sense of control over their skill set development; and a culture that encourages and facilitates open communication, ethical behavior, and inclusiveness.

The writing is indeed on the wall. Read it. Act on it. Create the future success of your organization.

Keep cultivating your culture!

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