SACRAMENTO, Calif. — In the workplace, attracting and keeping the interest of millennials – that generation born between the early ‘80s and early 2000s – can be tricky.
"They kind of expect a custom deal," said Christie Borchin, deputy director of the California Department of Technology’s Office of Professional Development at a session held Feb. 24 at the California Public Sector CIO Academy held in downtown Sacramento.
This "custom deal" comment by Borchin was in reference to a recent encounter with a millennial who requested a salary raise – to double the current salary – simply because that millennial had been able to complete every task given. "You need to really be aware of what makes millennials tick," she said, and adapting your style to meet that."
In response, millennial Crystal Taylor acknowledged how difficult her generation can be. "I know we’re tough, aren’t we," she said, noting that for millennials, there has been a change in the definition of loyalty as far as career path is concerned.
"Gen X has a sense of loyalty to institutions when that institution is responsive to their needs," said Taylor, who serves as an IT section manager with the state’s Franchise Tax Board. "Milennials don’t view institutional loyalty at all; there is a sense of loyalty to the individuals who help them."
And with that came additional guidance for not only recruiting valuable millenials in the public sector, but also holding onto them once you’ve got them.
1. Be helpful, maintain open communication
For millennials, offering help and guidance creates trust and the general sense of loyalty. Keeping in touch is key, whether it’s during the recruiting process, while they’re employed with your organization, and even after a millennial has left for another job. Borchin also noted that it’s very important to stay in contact after a job offer, to ask them questions and send background materials. "Let them know you care," she said.Taylor added that every three days during the hiring process at the FTB, she received a call from the hiring manager to say where the agency was in the process. "Emulate this for a candidate you like," she said, adding that hiring managers should ask that preferred candidates reach out to them before accepting a job elsewhere. "These folks are hungry for coaching and mentoring," she said, "so even in the selection process, say, ‘I love you, I want you, but I’m neutral enough to mentor you through this process.’"
And if your agency or department has a mentorship program, Taylor said calling attention to that during the interview process is a plus.
2. Download your knowledge
For Gen Xers, part of the learning process is to learn by doing – to "figure out" a process that others in the organization already know. But millennials have a different approach to problem solving – they don’t want to "go figure it out," Taylor said. "Why do I want to spend 2 hours figuring out what you already know? Download it to me, and I can spend that 2 hours moving [things] forward. Set aside the perception that 10 minutes of [information] download is laziness. Allowing them to take it forward will challenge and excite."3. Make work fun, challenging, exciting
For millennials, work is supposed to be fun, Taylor said. "Fun isn’t the thing we have when we leave the office; it’s what we want all day." For this generation, there’s a free flowing intersection between work and life. "Bringing joy to what they do should be celebrated and recognized," she said. And keep them engaged and challenged by giving them additional responsibilities, especially when offering a raise isn’t an option. "It makes them feel they’re moving somewhere, being challenged," Taylor added. "This is a group that loves change so mix it up for them." Also keep in mind that a millennial’s timeframe for accomplishing goals is 18 months or less – anything beyond that is incomprehensible.4. Provide frequent feedback
Millennials have a need for instant gratification, which means they’re always on point to deliver rapidly, Taylor said. But as a manager, you need to provide frequent feedback to fill this need, said Erica Salinas, workforce planning analyst with the California Department of Human Resources. "That helps them fulfill that desire for wanting information back quickly," she said. "This is their opportunity to learn, because you’re offering information for what they’re doing well and opportunities for improvement."5. Recognize the effort
When managers are delivering recognition, make sure you’re recognizing the effort, not just end result. Salinas called out a study out of Stanford University in which children – split into two groups — were given IQ tests. In one group, the children were recognized for their intelligence; in the other, they were recognized for their effort. When offered a more challenging test, less than one-third of the kids in the "intelligence" group accepted, versus more than 90 percent from the "effort" group. "You’re internalizing self-worth when recognizing for intelligence," Salinas said. "They don’t want to mess up. But when you recognize for effort, that’s an opportunity to provide coaching and mentoring."6. Focus on the greater good
This gen is particularly keen on societal mission and contribution to the global good, Taylor said, and putting the work they’ll be doing in this context is inspiring to these individuals. "You will be amazed at how much you can get from them with [a] societal mission," she said. Borchin also noted that job postings should focus on the value of work and the impact on the organization, and less on what’s in it for these individuals to apply.7. Facilitate collaboration, creativity
Create an environment for collaboration, both a location and a culture. "The physiological approach is celebrating managers who allow staff to confront them with alternatives," Taylor said, "who are open to hearing new ways of doing things and who bring that out of their staff." And from a physical standpoint, she added, agencies should have smaller interaction spaces (versus a 20-person boardroom).8. Offer individual recognition
While the collaborative approach is meaningful, millennials still expect and want individual attribution. "They want collective team-oriented tasks, but within this big project, you’re responsible for X," Taylor said. "And when X is successful, call them out for a job well done. This is very important."This story first appeared in Government Technology and govtech.com.
