what millennials and young professionals want

What young professionals wantDesires and expectations of the Millennial generation By Christoph Bauer

flickr / Lauren McKinnon

What young professionals want, @ChristophBauer

Foreword

This presentation is meant to be thought-provoking. You may not find all of the statements here applicable to your work environment or experience.

If not indicated differently, all quoted statistics apply to Millennials - due to the different interpretations of the age bracket, results can be contradictory at times.


Intro: Welcoming a new generation of business professionals

3


Meet the author

4

Social Business

Technology

Change Management

Christoph Bauer

Communication scientist gone consultant

Est. 1984

Fields of work

„Lot’s of Baby Boomers have similar high expectations of their workplaces. But Millennials are those who

actually quit their jobs when things don’t work out.“

Introductory quote


Work and the attitude towards it is fundamentally changing

flickr / Michael Herve

Drivers of change1. Social/ Mobile/ Analytics/ Cloud

2. Rise of the knowledge worker

3. Highly affluent society

„Talented people need organizations less than organizations need talented people.“ Dan Pink


Questions arise: What are we here for? What is „good work“?


Let’s take a step back: What characterizes these „Millennials“?

75% of the workforce in 20251

1 Projections of the Labor Force to 2050: A visual essay (2012)2 Cisco Connected World Technology Report (2012)3 Deloitte Millenial Survey (2014)4 McCann Worldgroup Study (2011)





69% don’t believe regular office attendance is necessary2





78% of job seekers are influenced by how innovative a company is3






56% won’t accept jobs from companies that ban Social Media278% of

job seekers are influenced by how innovative a company is3






56% won’t accept jobs from companies that ban Social Media278% of

job seekers are influenced by how innovative a company is3

53% would rather give up their sense of smell than technology



Millennials, meet corporate reality

Problems • Unhappy employees • High churn rates • Stagnating productivity • Loss of innovative potential

Underlying roots • Management and leadership

practices from 100 years ago • IT as a cost factor, not as an enabler • Over-standardization of everything • Lack of lifelong education

Trouble awaits here.


People

Helping employees find their way in a rapidly changing environment.

The cultural side of change

Platforms

Bridging the gap between corporate technology and the real world.

Supporting technologies

Processes

Fighting against disruption by enabling people to rapidly collaborate, fail and iterate.

Agility & flexibility

Let’s look at the challenges from three different angles


People

Helping employees find their way in a rapidly changing environment.

The cultural side of change

Let’s look at the challenges from three different angles


In a world with endless possibilities, purpose is keyPeople

flickr / Till Westermayer

6 out of 10 said „a sense of purpose“ is part of the reason they work for their current employer1

1 Deloitte Millennial Survey (2014)


Would you like some soft factors with your paycheck?People

flickr / John O’Nolan

Top 5 happiness factors for Millennials1

1 Boston Consulting Group: „Decoding Global Talent“ (2014)

1. Appreciation for your work

2. Good relationships with colleagues

3. Good work-life balance

4. Good relationships with superiors

5. Learning and career development

8. Attractive fixed salary

…


Leadership must evolve to a trustful bi-directional relationshipPeople

flickr / Dennis Skley1 Deloitte Millennial Survey (2015)

True leadership means….1

Strategic thinking

Being inspirational

Strong interpersonal skills

Vision

Passion and enthusiasm

Driven by financial results

Follow autocratic approach

0 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4

6 %

10 %

31 %

31 %

34 %

37 %

39 %Most valued answers Least valued answers


Transforming leadership by getting rid of it - an alternative?People


Excuse me, how sexy is your office?People

AirBnB Headquarters in San Francisco



AirBnB Call Center in Portland



Fujitsu Office in Sydney



Google Office in Budapest


Bauer says…

18

„Think deeply about how you design work experience as a whole. Offer different spaces for different minds

and moods.“


Platforms free from grace result in a lack of motivation

Platforms

Bridging the gap between corporate technology and the real world.

Supporting technologies


Corporate technology is an insult to MillennialsPlatforms


„I’ve got better tools at home than this“Platforms

use their own applications because corporate apps don’t meet their needs1

50%

1 Trackvia „Rebels with a cause“ study (2014)2 Ringcentral BYOD Survey (2014)

78%say workplace environment impacts their decision to stay at a job2

flickr / Florian Richter


Bauer says…

22

„Fix corporate IT equipment or help people bring their own hardware and tools. Increasing productivity

has never been easier.“


Processes

Fighting against disruption by enabling people to rapidly collaborate, fail and iterate.

Agility & flexibility

Over-standardization leads to average products and services


Rigid process landscapes or „Driving with the handbrake on“Processes

say that operational structures and procedures are the biggest barrier for innovation1

61%

flickr / DWRose1 Deloitte Millennial Survey (2014)


Flexible work arrangements beat higher salariesProcesses

say flexible work hours & freedom to work from anywhere improves work/ life balance1

50%

1 Ringcentral BYOD Study (2014)2 Mom Corps Study (2014)

37%would accept a pay cut to get more flexibility on the job2


New practices and perks for a new generation of workersProcesses

„Take what you need“ vacation policy Employees at financial advisory company „Motley Fool“ can take as many days off as they like (as long as they get their work done).

Private concierge services Employees at Johnson & Johnson enjoy private concierge services so they can focus on work. Other companies provide cleaning services at home or child-care.

Recruiting with a twist Every (!) new employee at Zappos has to spend three to four weeks in the call center. After that, you receive an offer of $3.000 to leave the company. If you stay, you are in.

Almost classics by now Free massages, free fitness lessons and studios, free food, paid sabbaticals, company-owned hospitals, free time to work on own ideas, extended holidays for volunteering work, hardware for the home office, etc…

flickr/ John O’Nolan


And even if they run away, you will still work with themProcesses

would consider quitting their existing jobs and working for themselves in the future1

80% 40%of the whole workforce will be made up of freelance employees in 20202

1 Elance-oDesk and Millennial Branding Study (2014) 2 (American workforce) Intuit Study (2013)


Bauer says…

28

„Show appreciation by trying out new forms of compensation. Small changes like fresh fruit every day

can have a huge impact.“

Thanks. Now go out and

change something.


Like my stuff? Connect with me. Hate my stuff? Discuss with me.

what millennials and young professionals want

Recruiting & HR

world technology report

deloitte millenial survey

visual essay

labor force

mccann worldgroup study

regular oce attendance

things dont

company is369