One of the greatest gifts that the march of the Millennials is delivering to the companies they work for is the pressure to create an engaging and collaborative environment that supports shared purpose and innovation. Millennials”™ ideal environment is a collaboratively led enterprise in which shared responsibility and consensus rule, according to Millennial Inc., a study by Mr. Youth and Intrepid.
For organizations that embrace this pressure, there is a hidden benefit: It turns out that employees across the generational spectrum both appreciate and respond well to an environment that fosters open dialogue and the sharing of ideas.
Here are five steps leaders can take to create an environment that aligns with millennials”™ collaborative instincts ”” and enriches the entire enterprise.
1. EMBRACE, MODEL AND ENCOURAGE ACTIVE LISTENING. Try this experiment next time you are in an important conversation: Casually ask someone who is talking to you to pause after a few minutes so that you can confirm that you understand what is being said. Then repeat back to them what you heard them say (in your own words). If you”™re not already in the habit of doing this, chances are it will be challenging.
Active listening requires that we make a choice to participate actively; that we create the time and space to put everything else aside for the moment, including other tasks and our own agenda or ideas; and that we slow down the dialogue so that each party”™s points are clearly articulated and understood.
2. ADOPT A PRACTICE OF REGULARLY SETTING CLEAR EXPECTATIONS AND PROVIDING REAL-TIME FEEDBACK. Millennials want communication from the boss more frequently than any other generation in the workforce, reports Unlocking Millennial Talent 2015 ”” up to 54 percent more. Another study reports that 42 percent of this generation wants feedback every week. That”™s more than twice the percentage of every other generation. Managers should consider building in regular team and one-on-one touchbase meetings into their calendars, and plan to be accessible for the more informal hallway (or IM-based) chats that keep employees aligned and projects on track.
3. MAKE ASKING FOR HELP AN ACCEPTABLE, SAFE AND EVEN EXPECTED BEHAVIOR. Just because millennials favor collaboration does not mean that it is easy for them to ask for help. There is a natural tension between being an effective team player and the desire to meet ”” and exceed ”” individual expectations. This can result in a “suffering in silence” syndrome, in which employees take on more and more without asking for help.
It is not enough to tell employees to raise their hands ”” to become both acceptable and practiced, it must be demonstrated that doing so will only make them stronger team players. A shared and visible platform for monitoring projects and workloads, like SharePoint or Basecamp, can help a team spot workloads that are off kilter and provide a forum for hand raising. Publicly recognizing both the hand raiser and those who helped will continue to build this muscle into the organization.
4. EXPAND ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND LEADERS. Technology offers a multitude of dynamic channels to support information sharing across the enterprise and to connect employees with each other and their leaders. These channels offer the dual benefits of speeding the exchange of critical information throughout the organization and amplifying the power of dialogue.
Tools like Yammer, Jive, Chatter and Slack, along with social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, connect employees and executives, facilitating the exchange of ideas in open forums. Collaborative online work sites allow associates across functional and geographic boundaries to contribute to critical workflow and projects, deeply enhancing opportunities for innovation and engagement.
5. ENCOURAGE JOB ROTATIONS OR OPPORTUNITIES FOR “CRITICAL EXPERIENCES” OUTSIDE OF A LINEAR CAREER PATH. These assignments allow associates to build their base of skills, experiences and relationships while learning more about the business and how it serves customers. Provide a forum for employees to learn about work and projects outside of their immediate team and to opt in as appropriate. Think of this as lifting the blinds between teams and projects for greater visibility and expanded learning potential.
Based purely on the pressure of their numbers, millennials may be the primary impetus for companies to embrace new strategies for engaging their workers. However, the changes they are prompting companies to make will likely transform employment expectations and experiences for the better and for all generations.
Tracy Benson is the founder and CEO of On the Same Page, a business consultancy in Katonah founded in 2002. She can be reached at tracy@on-the-same-page.com. Â
