Digital Since They Were in Diapers

Millennials: Privileged & Pompous or Innovative & Revolutionary?

TABLE OFCONTENTS

Introduction

The Simon Sinek Version: Millennials in the Workplace

Encroaching the Modern Business World: Recruiting & Retaining Millennials

Encroaching the Modern Business World: The L&D of Millennials

Parting Note: We Aren’t That Bad…

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We live in a world of technology. We breathe its essence on an everyday basis. We have allowed it to become a part of us. Some might call it being cybernetic, even. Yes, food is only one online delivery away, packages are a day’s delivery away with the new Amazon Prime, and all of this is but the tip of the iceberg.

It’s a powerful world we live in today, to the point that technological breakthroughs and innovation are about as commonplace as cattle in a farm. But there’s something even more impressive at hand, right here and now in 2017 – a changing of the guard.

We’re talking about Baby Boomers and a dominant era of influencers on everything from how we worked and played, to what we consumed. They reigned with workaholic tendencies and a work-to-live attitude, which bordered on the infinite fleetingly.

Yes, when proud boomers continued to work past retirement, many pondered the thought of an old king and a struggle to hold onto power. But that’s a thing of the almost past now.

PricewaterhouseCoopers moved to a millennial powered workforce 80% strong by the end of 2016. Other companies are expected to catch up with the new generation projected to take over 75% of the workforce by 2025. [1]

Hi There,

2015 2025

53% 75%

Millenials already form a majority of the workforce. This number is expected to go to 75% by 2025.

I N T R O D U C T I O N1

Unless you’ve lived without the internet for the latter half of 2016 and much of early 2017, you must be familiar with Simon Sinek’s video on the millennial generation in the workplace. It’s a short clip, and has been viewed over 50 million times since its inception. You should certainly give it a watch, if you haven’t already.[2]

Simon Sinek, the British-American author, motivational speaker and marketing consultant does hold millennials in high regard. Who wouldn’t? They are a remarkable generation, smarter than any other before them, and as author, typing that out did feel great. But we aren’t just blowing smoke or conjuring words of trickery.

In fact, there’s a lot to learn from millennials, and the select few who did utilize their untethered access to free information. These are undeniably the brightest prospects to look at on a global scale, business or otherwise. It’s beautiful to look at, this free world concept of knowledge that birthed a generation with an insatiable hunger to learn – an unteachable instinct.

Despite the praise, however, millennials have also often been subject to accusations in the form of being narcissistic, self-interested, unfocused and lazy. Needless to say, they also feel entitled. They confound in leadership, and when asked of their desires by giants in the business world, it’s hardly surprising to find answers along the lines of purpose and impact.

The Generation & Technology: A Noteworthy Love A�air

Millennials are the first generation of digital natives – those born immersed in technology. It’s only natural that their adeptness with the same ranks superior to their boomer predecessors. This holds true for even Gen Xers, the inventers of said technology.

Text messages became a matter of top talk in the late 1980s, and social media platforms such as Myspace or YouTube galivanted through our minds within the early 2000s. Guess what generation bracket millennials fall under? It’s a rhetorical question, of course.

We’ll give you the answer – 1982 to 1999.

In a way, this is tech ubiquity of the highest order. Yes, millennials are beyond us when it comes to personal or professional decipherment. But when people raise one of the most asked organizational questions about the generation, millennials are often put under the microscope either positively or – well, mostly – negatively.

Is it their unpreparedness for today’s workplace that bothers us or our unpreparedness to handle their wave of fresh energy?

I N T R O D U C T I O N2

Unless you’ve lived without the internet for the latter half of 2016 and much of early 2017, you must be familiar with Simon Sinek’s video on the millennial generation in the workplace. It’s a short clip, and has been viewed over 50 million times since its inception. You should certainly give it a watch, if you haven’t already.[2]

Simon Sinek, the British-American author, motivational speaker and marketing consultant does hold millennials in high regard. Who wouldn’t? They are a remarkable generation, smarter than any other before them, and as author, typing that out did feel great. But we aren’t just blowing smoke or conjuring words of trickery.

In fact, there’s a lot to learn from millennials, and the select few who did utilize their untethered access to free information. These are undeniably the brightest prospects to look at on a global scale, business or otherwise. It’s beautiful to look at, this free world concept of knowledge that birthed a generation with an insatiable hunger to learn – an unteachable instinct.

Despite the praise, however, millennials have also often been subject to accusations in the form of being narcissistic, self-interested, unfocused and lazy. Needless to say, they also feel entitled. They confound in leadership, and when asked of their desires by giants in the business world, it’s hardly surprising to find answers along the lines of purpose and impact.

Unprepared for the Workplace

Contrary to general opinion, Meredith Mason of Bentley University believes that millennials are prepared, open to new experiences, and driven to succeed.

Part of this stems from the economy, and Millennials know how hard it is to get a job. They’re trying as hard as they can.

“

“

MEREDITH MASON,News & Communications Coordinator at Bentley University

CHARLIE SHAW,Executive Producer at Outthink

Studies show that millennials are still intimidated, or experience self-doubt when hired. This stems from an immersive environment that negated almost all human contact, meaning formal communication or open dialogue with supervisors became awkward.

Baby Boomers to a certain degree also support the incoming generation. Charlie Shaw of Outthink has nothing but kind words.

I N T R O D U C T I O N3

Needless to say, the digital native generation are more than confident when it comes to their ability to use technology. But what of the views from the flipside of the coin?

They’re serious and not lackadaisical. This comes from good overall preparation. Technology allows them to manipulate words, images and websites thoughtfully and creatively.

However, the baby boomer had to admit that despite preparedness, millennials still required on-the-job training. All interesting insights, but this is merely the beginning. From start to end, we hope to keep you with us and on this eBook. It’s about time we unearth something of significance about the 1982-1999 birth bracket.

Unless you’ve lived without the internet for the latter half of 2016 and much of early 2017, you must be familiar with Simon Sinek’s video on the millennial generation in the workplace. It’s a short clip, and has been viewed over 50 million times since its inception. You should certainly give it a watch, if you haven’t already.[2]

Simon Sinek, the British-American author, motivational speaker and marketing consultant does hold millennials in high regard. Who wouldn’t? They are a remarkable generation, smarter than any other before them, and as author, typing that out did feel great. But we aren’t just blowing smoke or conjuring words of trickery.

In fact, there’s a lot to learn from millennials, and the select few who did utilize their untethered access to free information. These are undeniably the brightest prospects to look at on a global scale, business or otherwise. It’s beautiful to look at, this free world concept of knowledge that birthed a generation with an insatiable hunger to learn – an unteachable instinct.

Despite the praise, however, millennials have also often been subject to accusations in the form of being narcissistic, self-interested, unfocused and lazy. Needless to say, they also feel entitled. They confound in leadership, and when asked of their desires by giants in the business world, it’s hardly surprising to find answers along the lines of purpose and impact.

The Simon Sinek Version: Millennials in the Workplace

M I L L E N N I A L S I N T H E W O R K P L A C E4

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

Unless you’ve lived without the internet for the latter half of 2016 and much of early 2017, you must be familiar with Simon Sinek’s video on the millennial generation in the workplace. It’s a short clip, and has been viewed over 50 million times since its inception. You should certainly give it a watch, if you haven’t already.[2]

Simon Sinek, the British-American author, motivational speaker and marketing consultant does hold millennials in high regard. Who wouldn’t? They are a remarkable generation, smarter than any other before them, and as author, typing that out did feel great. But we aren’t just blowing smoke or conjuring words of trickery.

In fact, there’s a lot to learn from millennials, and the select few who did utilize their untethered access to free information. These are undeniably the brightest prospects to look at on a global scale, business or otherwise. It’s beautiful to look at, this free world concept of knowledge that birthed a generation with an insatiable hunger to learn – an unteachable instinct.

Despite the praise, however, millennials have also often been subject to accusations in the form of being narcissistic, self-interested, unfocused and lazy. Needless to say, they also feel entitled. They confound in leadership, and when asked of their desires by giants in the business world, it’s hardly surprising to find answers along the lines of purpose and impact.

Unless you’ve lived without the internet for the latter half of 2016 and much of early 2017, you must be familiar with Simon Sinek’s video on the millennial generation in the workplace. It’s a short clip, and has been viewed over 50 million times since its inception. You should certainly give it a watch, if you haven’t already.[2]

Simon Sinek, the British-American author, motivational speaker and marketing consultant does hold millennials in high regard. Who wouldn’t? They are a remarkable generation, smarter than any other before them, and as author, typing that out did feel great. But we aren’t just blowing smoke or conjuring words of trickery.

In fact, there’s a lot to learn from millennials, and the select few who did utilize their untethered access to free information. These are undeniably the brightest prospects to look at on a global scale, business or otherwise. It’s beautiful to look at, this free world concept of knowledge that birthed a generation with an insatiable hunger to learn – an unteachable instinct.

Despite the praise, however, millennials have also often been subject to accusations in the form of being narcissistic, self-interested, unfocused and lazy. Needless to say, they also feel entitled. They confound in leadership, and when asked of their desires by giants in the business world, it’s hardly surprising to find answers along the lines of purpose and impact.

got high percentage grades not because we earned them, but because teachers did not want to deal with parents.

This is the good part though. Some of us, if not most of us, got participation medals. They got a medal for coming in last. Think about the science behind it, the real science. It devalues the medal, and the reward for those who actually work hard.

Subconsciously, these people are embarrassed because they know they didn’t deserve the medal. It makes them, or rather, made them feel worse. You take this group of people, they graduate, get a job, and are instantly thrust into the real world. But this is not nice. The real world couldn’t care less.

This right here is when millennials realize they are not special. Parents can’t get them a promotion, they get nothing for coming in last, and they can’t have anything they want just because they wished it. Are you surprised when millennials find their self-image shattered in the adult world? Well, now you know why it’s commonplace.

You might be beginning to wonder why we’re saying this. How has this got anything to do with how effective a millennial employee turns out to be? It does. When we talk about why Psychometric Assessments are important, this is precisely why. Your nature and

nurture is what defines your ethics, both personally and professionally.

Are you driven? Credit to your parents. Are you lazy and ignorant? Credit to your parents. Are you strong and independent? Credit to your parents. Are you sheltered and stupid? Well, you know the answer.

Yes, an entire generation is growing up with lower self-esteem through no fault of their own. They were simply dealt a bad hand. Add technology to this, and you see a different problem. While people and professionals raved about digital proficiency, the result that stemmed from such an environment opened a rather unexpected door.

We want to work in a place with purpose.

We want to make an impact.

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Parenting,

Technology,

Impatience, and

Environment.

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This, to be more specific. But every now and then, you might also catch them saying they want free food and bean bag chairs. And before you applaud my sense of humour, this was from Simon Sinek as well.

At the end of the day though, despite companies moving mountains to keep their newer workforce happy, the taste of dissatisfaction continues to linger on the millennial palate. There are four pieces to it:

No offense to the tons of people we are going to undoubtedly offend. But the millennials, too many of them, grew up to failed parenting strategies. We are told that we’re special all the time, and I use the word “we” because I am one myself. Yes, I did mention this once before.

Special wasn’t it, though. We were told that we can have anything we wanted in life. Some of us got into honours classes not because we deserved it, but because our parents complained. Some of us

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T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

The Curse of a Digital Generation: Bad Parenting

We have an entire generation growing up with lower self-esteem than previous generations.“

SIMON SINEK,British-American Author, Motivational Speaker & Marketing Consultant

Unless you’ve lived without the internet for the latter half of 2016 and much of early 2017, you must be familiar with Simon Sinek’s video on the millennial generation in the workplace. It’s a short clip, and has been viewed over 50 million times since its inception. You should certainly give it a watch, if you haven’t already.[2]

Simon Sinek, the British-American author, motivational speaker and marketing consultant does hold millennials in high regard. Who wouldn’t? They are a remarkable generation, smarter than any other before them, and as author, typing that out did feel great. But we aren’t just blowing smoke or conjuring words of trickery.

In fact, there’s a lot to learn from millennials, and the select few who did utilize their untethered access to free information. These are undeniably the brightest prospects to look at on a global scale, business or otherwise. It’s beautiful to look at, this free world concept of knowledge that birthed a generation with an insatiable hunger to learn – an unteachable instinct.

Despite the praise, however, millennials have also often been subject to accusations in the form of being narcissistic, self-interested, unfocused and lazy. Needless to say, they also feel entitled. They confound in leadership, and when asked of their desires by giants in the business world, it’s hardly surprising to find answers along the lines of purpose and impact.

got high percentage grades not because we earned them, but because teachers did not want to deal with parents.

This is the good part though. Some of us, if not most of us, got participation medals. They got a medal for coming in last. Think about the science behind it, the real science. It devalues the medal, and the reward for those who actually work hard.

Subconsciously, these people are embarrassed because they know they didn’t deserve the medal. It makes them, or rather, made them feel worse. You take this group of people, they graduate, get a job, and are instantly thrust into the real world. But this is not nice. The real world couldn’t care less.

This right here is when millennials realize they are not special. Parents can’t get them a promotion, they get nothing for coming in last, and they can’t have anything they want just because they wished it. Are you surprised when millennials find their self-image shattered in the adult world? Well, now you know why it’s commonplace.

You might be beginning to wonder why we’re saying this. How has this got anything to do with how effective a millennial employee turns out to be? It does. When we talk about why Psychometric Assessments are important, this is precisely why. Your nature and

nurture is what defines your ethics, both personally and professionally.

Are you driven? Credit to your parents. Are you lazy and ignorant? Credit to your parents. Are you strong and independent? Credit to your parents. Are you sheltered and stupid? Well, you know the answer.

Yes, an entire generation is growing up with lower self-esteem through no fault of their own. They were simply dealt a bad hand. Add technology to this, and you see a different problem. While people and professionals raved about digital proficiency, the result that stemmed from such an environment opened a rather unexpected door.

M I L L E N N I A L S I N T H E W O R K P L A C E6

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

Unless you’ve lived without the internet for the latter half of 2016 and much of early 2017, you must be familiar with Simon Sinek’s video on the millennial generation in the workplace. It’s a short clip, and has been viewed over 50 million times since its inception. You should certainly give it a watch, if you haven’t already.[2]

Simon Sinek, the British-American author, motivational speaker and marketing consultant does hold millennials in high regard. Who wouldn’t? They are a remarkable generation, smarter than any other before them, and as author, typing that out did feel great. But we aren’t just blowing smoke or conjuring words of trickery.

In fact, there’s a lot to learn from millennials, and the select few who did utilize their untethered access to free information. These are undeniably the brightest prospects to look at on a global scale, business or otherwise. It’s beautiful to look at, this free world concept of knowledge that birthed a generation with an insatiable hunger to learn – an unteachable instinct.

Despite the praise, however, millennials have also often been subject to accusations in the form of being narcissistic, self-interested, unfocused and lazy. Needless to say, they also feel entitled. They confound in leadership, and when asked of their desires by giants in the business world, it’s hardly surprising to find answers along the lines of purpose and impact.

The Curse of Technology & Impatience: We Don’t Understand People

Repeated studies have proven that engagement with social media and cellular phones release a chemical called dopamine.[3] There’s a reason we feel good when we get a text, and there is no denying this sensation. We feel it undeniably, albeit in varying degrees.

In a 2012 study, Harvard research scientists reported that social media activates a pleasure sensation in the brain usually associated with food, money, alcohol and sex. It’s why we count the likes, and why we go back ten times to see if the interaction is growing.

Just as how social stress, financial stress, career stress drives an alcoholic to drink, we are becoming hard wired to run to a device more than a human being. This is important, very much so. Simply because, we often fail to form deep, meaningful relationships. No strong relationships with peers, managers, leaders, and even friends. We run to social media for temporary relief.

The science is clear, especially when we know that people who spend more time on Facebook suffer higher rates of depression that people who spend less time on the same.[4] Of course, these things balanced are not bad. We’re not here to push blame, merely inform. Alcohol is not bad, too much is. Gambling is fun, too much is dangerous. Nothing wrong with social media, but the imbalance.

Then again, who can blame the millennials. We have age restrictions on smoking, drinking, and gambling, but none on social media or cellular phones. They all produce dopamine to the same effect, but that one decision is the equivalent of opening a liquor cabinet to stressed teenagers.

Is that all there is to the curse though? No, not even close.

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T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

Unless you’ve lived without the internet for the latter half of 2016 and much of early 2017, you must be familiar with Simon Sinek’s video on the millennial generation in the workplace. It’s a short clip, and has been viewed over 50 million times since its inception. You should certainly give it a watch, if you haven’t already.[2]

Simon Sinek, the British-American author, motivational speaker and marketing consultant does hold millennials in high regard. Who wouldn’t? They are a remarkable generation, smarter than any other before them, and as author, typing that out did feel great. But we aren’t just blowing smoke or conjuring words of trickery.

In fact, there’s a lot to learn from millennials, and the select few who did utilize their untethered access to free information. These are undeniably the brightest prospects to look at on a global scale, business or otherwise. It’s beautiful to look at, this free world concept of knowledge that birthed a generation with an insatiable hunger to learn – an unteachable instinct.

Despite the praise, however, millennials have also often been subject to accusations in the form of being narcissistic, self-interested, unfocused and lazy. Needless to say, they also feel entitled. They confound in leadership, and when asked of their desires by giants in the business world, it’s hardly surprising to find answers along the lines of purpose and impact.

The Curse of Technology & Impatience: We Only Understand Instant GratificationLower self-esteem and zero ability to cope with stress. These are merely one part of the problem. For you see, technology brings to you access to free and powerful information. One could be well learned if one wishes to be. But that of course adds a sense of impatience.

We’ve grown up in a world of instant gratification. You want something, go on to Amazon and it arrives the next day. You want to watch a movie, log on and watch a movie. There’s no need to check movie times. You want to watch a TV show, binge on Netflix.

Everything we want is instantaneous now. Instant gratification for all except job satisfaction and strength of relationships. There isn’t a shortcut for those two things; they are uncomfortable, slow, messy, meandering processes.

Millennials are wonderful, idealistic, hardworking, and smart, most likely to have only recently graduated college. But often asked of their entry level jobs, one conversation makes its way into the spotlight from the Simon Sinek chronicles.

Leader: How’s it going?

Millennial: I think I’m going to quit.

Leader: But why?

Millennial: I’m not making an impact.

Leader: But you’ve only been here 6 months…

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INSTANT GRATIFICATION. But for the sake of proving a point more appropriately, assume that we’re standing at the foot of a mountain with an abstract concept called impact – the summit. Us millennials fail to see the mountain itself. It matters not if we go up the mountain with faster or slower steps, the mountain still exists, very much so.

And so, what we require as a generation is to learn and understand the concept of patience. Some of these things really matter – love, job, fulfilment, self-confidence, skillsets, and joy. More importantly, these things take time. Sure, we can expedite some of these processes, but the overall journey is arduous and long, difficult if you don’t ask for help.

I bet it won’t just be the older generation reading all this. Hi there, millennials. How do you feel right about now? Great? No? Well, from one millennial to another, let me assure you that without the necessary skillsets or help, you will fall off the mountain. Just ask for help.

The best-case scenario, we end up with an entire population growing up and going through life never really finding joy. It’s very likely, in fact, that we might never find deep fulfilment in either work or life. Is it really worth wading through life feeling just fine?

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The Curse of Environment: Corporations

Millennials, as mentioned before, are undoubtedly an amazing group of young, fantastic people. It feels like we ought to keep reminding you guys, especially since we’ve mostly been walking the negative walk, talking the negative talk. Again, they were just dealt a bad hand through no fault of their own.

More importantly though, we are thrust into the corporate world with zero preparation. It is an environment that cares more about the number game than the people game. Yes, they care more about short-term gains than the life of a millennial. We are thrust into a world that does not help build our already low self-esteem and confidence.

Recruiting & Retaining Millennials

The Art of L&D with Millennials

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We are hardly mentored on the skills of cooperation. We aren’t coached to overcome the challenges of the digital world and find more balance. We aren’t taught to avoid instant gratification and understand the impact of fulfilment that comes from working hard on something for a long time, something that cannot be done in a month or even a year.

The worst thing is that we think it’s us. We blame ourselves. We think it’s us who can’t deal, and that makes it so much more worse. It really isn’t us; it’s the corporations. It’s the environment, a lack of great leadership.

We were dealt a bad hand, and it’s the company’s responsibility to pick up the slack and work hard to find ways to build our confidence and teach us the social skills we’re missing out on. Teach us the importance of building relationships, of building trust, of the slow, steady consistency that creates mechanisms for little innocuous interactions.

And let me be clear here. By not so great leadership or not so great environment, I mean how corporates remain stuck in the glory of the past. But the old guard is dying out, and how the old guard handled things shouldn’t have to be how we handle things.

We were dealt a bad hand, and you were dealt us. Whether you like it or not, there’s no choice in the matter. You have the responsibility to make up the shortfall and help this amazing, idealistic, fantastic generation build their confidence, learn patience, the social skills, and find a better balance between life and technology.

Quite frankly, because it’s the right thing to do both for your organization and us. But down to the nitty gritty, we could dive a little deeper and talk a little more about:

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I hope you’re excited to keep this story moving. Come on, let’s stay progressive.

Encroaching the Modern Business World: Recruiting & Retaining Millennials

In the United States alone, Millennials represent the largest share of the labour market.[5] Of course, this is a trend likely to hit the world soon. Deloitte’s multi-generational workforce already mirrors that demographic with millennials occupying a cool 50% of their employee strength.

But as I continue to tirelessly mention through the previous chapters, the digital generation appears to have a new view on not only working, but the work itself. In fact, according to the fifth annual Millennial Survey, many millennials already have one foot out the door – a lack of employer allegiance – representative of the seismic talent challenge among business leaders.[6]

R E C R U I T I N G & R E T A I N I N G M I L L E N N I A L S1 1

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

That doesn’t appear to be the only problem though. Parents, and a separation of dependence that once marked the rite of passage into adulthood for the generations of old, seem to have lingered on.

A story comes to mind, one of a recruiter at a well-known Fortune 10 company deep into her preparation for a phone interview with a fresh college graduate. When she dialled into the number at the scheduled time however, an older woman made her presence felt on the line.

The female caller identified herself as the applicant’s mother, adding, “I know you were expecting a call with Donald – obviously not his real name – but he’s tied up in another interview at the moment. Fortunately, I know him well and can do the interview for him. Do you mind?”

Understandably, the recruiter minded. And if you identify this conversation as an anomaly, well, you should really continue reading this eBook. It’s the new reality. Yes, parents are increasingly involved in their millennials’ decisions.

One study cites that more than a third of millennials prefer parents as mentors.[7] In another study, when asked to list the most influential people in their lives, 61% named their parents ahead of political leaders, news media, teachers, faith leaders, celebrities,

and coaches. Proud moment for a parent, an odd challenge for a business leader.

And wait until you learn that about 36% of the digital babies we’re talking about still live with their parents.[8] To know that a single group yields so much influence on your future workforce, that’s something. It just might make your job designing strategies to attract and retain a tad easier.

As a millennial man myself, I would love to highlight that I value my mother’s opinion – a strong business woman – in greater regard than the founders themselves of the company I work in. That’s a strong statement to make, isn’t it? But surprisingly, a good number of my millennial colleagues relate to the stance.

Additionally, you ought to take my word for it when I say, “Parents may just be your secret weapon in convincing Millennials to join or stay at your organization.”

In the United States alone, Millennials represent the largest share of the labour market.[5] Of course, this is a trend likely to hit the world soon. Deloitte’s multi-generational workforce already mirrors that demographic with millennials occupying a cool 50% of their employee strength.

But as I continue to tirelessly mention through the previous chapters, the digital generation appears to have a new view on not only working, but the work itself. In fact, according to the fifth annual Millennial Survey, many millennials already have one foot out the door – a lack of employer allegiance – representative of the seismic talent challenge among business leaders.[6]

That doesn’t appear to be the only problem though. Parents, and a separation of dependence that once marked the rite of passage into adulthood for the generations of old, seem to have lingered on.

A story comes to mind, one of a recruiter at a well-known Fortune 10 company deep into her preparation for a phone interview with a fresh college graduate. When she dialled into the number at the scheduled time however, an older woman made her presence felt on the line.

The female caller identified herself as the applicant’s mother, adding, “I know you were expecting a call with Donald – obviously not his real name – but he’s tied up in another interview at the moment. Fortunately, I know him well and can do the interview for him. Do you mind?”

Understandably, the recruiter minded. And if you identify this conversation as an anomaly, well, you should really continue reading this eBook. It’s the new reality. Yes, parents are increasingly involved in their millennials’ decisions.

One study cites that more than a third of millennials prefer parents as mentors.[7] In another study, when asked to list the most influential people in their lives, 61% named their parents ahead of political leaders, news media, teachers, faith leaders, celebrities,

and coaches. Proud moment for a parent, an odd challenge for a business leader.

And wait until you learn that about 36% of the digital babies we’re talking about still live with their parents.[8] To know that a single group yields so much influence on your future workforce, that’s something. It just might make your job designing strategies to attract and retain a tad easier.

As a millennial man myself, I would love to highlight that I value my mother’s opinion – a strong business woman – in greater regard than the founders themselves of the company I work in. That’s a strong statement to make, isn’t it? But surprisingly, a good number of my millennial colleagues relate to the stance.

Additionally, you ought to take my word for it when I say, “Parents may just be your secret weapon in convincing Millennials to join or stay at your organization.”

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I had no idea how valued my daughter was at work. It makes me so proud.”“

A mother from the event.

Take Your Parents to Work Day: A LinkedIn Success Story

In November of 2013, LinkedIn held their first BRING IN YOUR PARENTS DAY. It was engineered to help bridge the gap between parents and their professional children.[9] The effort was something unique – something that helped not only expand personal bonds, but also the network of parents ready to experience an enhanced relationship with the company.

Our modern-day careers stump parents. My parents, despite their professional accomplishments, continue to mildly struggle with digital jargon. In fact, LinkedIn’s global research revealed the following:

UI Designer, Actuary, and Data Scientist ranked amongst the 3 most misunderstood jobs,

35% of parents surveyed are unfamiliar with what their child does for a living,

59% of parents surveyed would love to know more about what their child does for work, and

50% of parents surveyed believe they could be of benefit to their offspring by having a better understanding of their career.

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The trial in LinkedIn’s Dublin office, where over 100 parents walked in to learn about the company netted overwhelmingly positive results.

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There’s a lot to learn from cases such as LinkedIn, even more so when you learn that they continue to encourage their offices from across the globe to do the same. But little things do matter, including maybe getting parents involved in the company’s communication strategy.

For example, and this one is a personal favourite, Qualcomm employees are automatically registered to receive an online lore each week for their first year. The stories start with the founding of the company up until the present day, describing the history of the company’s technological successes and failures.

It also expressly reveals the rationale behind key decisions, memorably fortifying the company’s culture through history. Parents would most likely enjoy reading this as much as – perhaps even more – their children, aiding in their ability to mentor the same.

It’s a personal hunch, but you must agree that none of these strategies lie on the expensive side. Yet, these largely simplistic efforts could go a long way in attracting and retaining millennials. Think about it. By merely acknowledging the importance of parents in the lives of these digital babies, you already stand out from your competitors.

Embrace this change. Take this from a millennial.

Millennial Expectations: Why They Should Matter

We can’t help our need for instant-gratification, nor our thirst to make an impact. We need someone to constantly coddle us until a lush of confidence overrides the need for constant feedback. Yes, that’s who we are. And again, yes, that’s who you got.

Help us grow! That’s our war cry. Understand our personal and professional goals. Give us assignments that drives in us a sense of movement, of moving toward something with a variety of experiences. But maybe that’s too vague. A little help?

Well, if there’s anything I’ve learned along with many colleagues in our time in the corporate world is that there are four things we cherish more than anything else, annoyingly so.

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Leaky Bucket: Millennial Attrition

Tell Us How We’re Doing: We love and value frequent feedback, it satiates the narcissist inside us. But what you view in negative light, we view as a gateway to more confidence and empowerment. Honest feedback in real time, that’s all we ask for.

with the amount of time it takes to work up the career ladder. No, we don’t mean for you to promote everybody willy-nilly. Reward our high performance, become meritocratic.

2 Set Us Free: You see, we appreciate clear instructions and concrete targets. We also appreciate flexibility. If you know what you want done by when, does it really matter where and how we complete the task? Home, coffee houses, offices? Let us decide where we’re most productive. Set deadlines, and if we meet them, don’t worry too much about us clocking little hours in office.

3 Let Us Learn: I mentioned our access to free and powerful information. It makes us knowledge starved. Trust us when we say that we’re the kind to bite a lot more than what we’d like to chew. So, if your organization is more focused on developing high potentials, or more senior people, then you lose us in the form of future talent. Engage us.

4 Let Us Advance Faster: Asking for too much? Yes, historically, career advancement was built upon seniority and time of service. We don’t think that way. We value results over tenure, and our impatience frustrates us

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I did mention that you miss out on future talent with disengagement. An IT giant, one of Mettl’s top clients, endured a severe 10% drop-off among candidates hired through Campus Drives. This resulted from the stipulated delay between the offer letter and date of joining, which hovered at around 4-5 months in the Indian IT/ITes landscape.

1 The Highest Scorers Joined ImmediatelyThe coding simulator’s built-in auto-grade feature meant that Project Managers needed to merely define test cases. If a candidate succeeded in executing said cases, he or she would be graded instantly and without human intervention. A performance card of everyone tested ensured the IT giant got a hold of the talent they desired most.

2 Engagement FiltersCandidate engagement with the platform informed the company about interest levels. Infrequent engagement raised red flags for the hiring team, assisting them in instantly gauging said candidate for his or her state of mind about the organization.

In a joint effort, the company used Mettl crafted coding simulators to engage candidates post hire but before the onboarding process. The two gigantic benefits?

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The most recent campus hiring season witnessed drop-offs recede from 10% to 4.56%. Prior this, there was no way for the company to gauge technical acumen spare an interview. But as a solution that stemmed from the digital age, it touched our millennial babies with great effect.

You still with us? You ought to be. There’s still the matter of

how best to teach digital toddlers. Keep the pages turning.

Encroaching the Modern Business World: The L&D of Millennials

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And so, we finally come to the title of the eBook: DIGITAL IN THEIR DIAPERS. It’s a full circle, and I really wanted to lead you, the readers, into it with a big bam. For those of you, who aren’t millennials, remember a time of cricket and football on the streets? Go a little further back, and maybe seven stones, sticks, dodgeball? Nostalgia sure is good, isn’t it?

Our childhood differs in drastic proportion to that vision though. We were introduced to smartphones and Facebook. Our games hovered around digital breakthroughs, consoles such as the PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, and more. And as said before, this has distanced us from human beings.

If a millennial is faced with a question, he or she is more likely to Google it than ask a peer or mentor. Their relationship with technology is a positive one, and a large percentage think that it helps utilize their time more efficiently.

In a 2008 Millennial Study – wow, that’s an awfully old piece of research to reach out to – Accenture noted that more than 20% of those surveyed cited employer-provided technologies as weak. It did not meet expectations. Even back then, early millennials chose their place of employment based on how accommodating said companies were to personal technology preferences.[10]

When I referenced Simon Sinek, I also talked about how millennials are addicted to technology. We are dopamine junkies, and the digital world, well that’s our poison. With company investments in new applications or programs, it’s imperative to consider the need for mobile access. Pew Research Centre cites that more than 4 in 5 people with cell phones sleep with the phone on or near their bed.[11]

But in conclusion, you must admit, millennial or not, mobile usage has taken over as the primary means of accessing the internet.

Addicted to the Mobile

Platform

Changing the Learning Spectra: mLearning is Great!

Just as how we mentioned it in the recruitment section, we love frequent feedback to enrich our subconscious narcissist. We love enrichment, fulfilment, and the flexibility to achieve that lifestyle on our own terms. Money does matter to us, but that flexibility – that matters a lot more.

But there’s a common mistake most people associate millennials with. Yes, we are eager to learn. But, at the same time, we do survive on the attention span of a humming bird. Easily distracted,

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Broken Attention Span Elaborated: Goldfish Theory

It’s essential to break the learning down to bite-sized YouTube videos as opposed to traditional hour long lunch and learns. Consider different learning methods throughout the course to keep millennial minds fresh and peppy.

Why go through the effort? Well, on average, our generation can switch attention between tasks and technology in and around 27 times per hour. Compare this to the mere 17 times per hour of the generations that preceded us, and you know that we’re constantly connected. Yes, you have only a brief period to capture our attention.

In fact, the average human attention span in this day and age is now shorter than that of a goldfish.[12] Don’t you just enjoy our fun facts now? According to the study, the prime reason for our diminishing ability to hold thoughts are smartphones. It’s not all bad, though. Our mental ability to deviate did help us become better multitaskers than our predecessors.

At the end of the day, it’s important to keep this in mind and attack us with growth wherever and whenever possible. We’re obsessed

easily dejected, easily bored. It’s not enough to nourish us with a platform of convenience, you must appeal to us aesthetically as well.

Ooh. Shiny stones. I’m engaged.

Simply put, we are largely visual learners. Increasingly, we find ourselves more engrossed with comic books, manga, and graphic novels than regular books. Start with design. You’ll grab our attention with something slick, modern and niche, representative of the apps and programs we’re used to.

Don’t expect us to dance nonsensically with happiness because of a mere opportunity to learn. We expect to be spoon fed; that’s who we are. We’re privileged snobs who want things served to us in a platter, and in a way that suits us best.

It might pay dividends to think like a marketer here. Treat us as a marketing expert would a target audience, and make us want to use your product.

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The Part That Ought to Refresh You

We’ve constantly asked you to remember the good old days before us; of the boomer and Gen X era. But what of the bad that came with them? Have you not heard groans at the mere mention of training and development? A resistance to change? You’re far less likely to hear them from us digital babies.[13]

In fact, per a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers, millennials rated L&D as the most highly valued employee benefit, outstripping

with social media, to the point that we forsake the delicate line between our personal and professional life.

Oh, and fun fact: millennials have no shame. Trust us when we say that a good number of us friend our managers and co-workers on Facebook.

But the point we’re trying to make is that we love to deliver an illusion of perfection. We like to share on social media that we’re doing great for a sense of personal accomplishment. This is why corporate LMS providers are now increasingly integrating social platform technologies to meet a millennials’ desire for engagement.

monetary bonuses by over 300%. We could add one more to this point.

Even if I have a job, it’s important to have a side project that could become a di�erent career“

78% of Millennials surveyed by MTV

We’re employees that actually want to be part of your L&D to better ourselves as part of the company. That right there, that’s what you ought to be dancing about for. WE MAY BE SHORT ON ATTENTION, BUT WE SURE AS HELL ARE LONG ON AMBITION.

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Greasing An L&D Engine: Mettl Mechanics in Play

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One of our biggest clients suffered from a rather corrosive L&D enginśe. Yes, for obvious reasons, we can’t name the client here. But, without a doubt, we were looking at poor diagnostics in terms of inaccuracy in learning requirements, vague clarity between on-job performance and employer expectations, and crippling Return on Investment metrics.

Having written this, I realize that I did talk a bizarre amount about L&D, but precious little about the RoI behind its magic. Perhaps this case study could help. Our solution included:

1 Research & Development: Know the Problem and the War is WonA thorough job-role analysis, which led to the development of assessments tailored to tackle the problem at hand.

2 Assessment & Feedback: Taking the Hammer to the ProblemThe assessments were first deployed on the existing workforce of the company to better understand and identify gaps in skill. The qualified delta was later reported for intelligence.

3 Continuous Recalibration & Improvement: The Only Constant is ChangeMettl Reporting enabled an accurate L&D roadmap for each employee. This ensured a holistic growth for the company and its employees via constant recalibration of the data-driven benchmarks in place.

But this is too little to go on. Try reading the entire case study to derive some solid insights. You’ll find the link to it down in the references section – [14].

Having said that, I must add a wow. You made it all the way here. My fingers grow numb, but to have kept up with our vanity for as long as you have – kudos. It’s coming to an end. One more chapter to go, and this promises to be a short one.

Don’t stop now. Keep the pages turning.

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Parting Note: We Aren’t That Bad…

It looks like we’ve come full circle here – a beautiful thing, isn’t it? About five thousand words later, I’m left to wonder if this eBook frightened more than helped you. Do you really want to change so much, put as much effort as requested for a generation about to walk in? Wouldn’t it be a lot easier to simply whip us into traditionalists? Unlikely, I suppose. We’re a stubborn, proud bunch.

The words spoiled, obnoxious, privileged, entitled; millennials sure are garnering a lot of hate in the media right about now. Let’s be honest though; this merely is a rite of passage. We’re the generation everyone loves to bash right about now, but hasn’t that always been the case between predecessor and successor historically.

It’s a lot worse for us. Even the New York Times profiles us as a

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generation bound to show up and ruin all the fun, everywhere we go.[15] They called it the Millennial Way, and apparently, we live it proudly, crashing through life in our usual entitled fashion. All this, unaware of the damages and havoc that follows in our wake. More importantly, they remark that we don’t care.

But I’m sorry. This has not been my life experience. This has not been the experience for several of my colleagues. I do enjoy bashing the privileged snobs, and yes, on occasion, I may have been one myself, but that doesn’t deviate from the countless others in the same age bracket who aren’t.

It’s almost impossible to summarize us based on a string of stereotypical traits, and for that reason, we’re clear on one thing. We won’t ever adapt. Through that sense of entitlement and inflated self-esteem you so cherish on us, we promise to make the modern workplace adapt to us. And, you will thank us for it.

Progress has often defined the separation of mankind as an evolution apart from the Kingdom of Animalia. Why become traditional now? Why halt the progress? Buckle up, because you only live your life once – professionally and or otherwise. You can’t ever be lazy with a generation that requires constant baby-sitting.

And as I mentioned before, we probably won’t all be that way; some more self-sufficient than the rest. But you can’t ever depend on that. Oh no. That’ll make this eBook a wasted effort. Though, who knows? Perhaps history will mark this piece of literature as the catalyst for change in the business world. Perhaps not.

I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see. But for having walked with us some 6000 words now, the Mettl team sincerely thanks you. There’s nothing that makes this millennial author happier than to add value to your professional or personal knowledge pools.So, here’s to adding value. And more importantly, Godspeed!

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Mettl is a Saas based assessment platform that enables organizations to create customized assessments for use across the entire employee lifecycle, beginning with pre-hiring screening and candidate skills assessment, training and development programs for employees/students, certification exams, contests and more.

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