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Understand How to Effective Manage Millennials

southern-california-healthcare-staffing-agenciesThe workplace can be a generational melting pot, including young people, people in the middle of their careers, and people who are nearing retirement. Everyone must get used to each other and learn how to work together. Millennials, loosely defined as people born between the late 1970s and 2000, now represent a large portion of the workforce. What should managers know?

They Want to Feel Connected

Although it’s impossible to paint an accurate picture of an entire generation, there are certain generalities that can be very helpful when it comes to working with or managing millennials. For example, they yearn to work for managers who treat them fairly and respectfully, to form positive connections with colleagues and feel proud of what they do and its impact on the world. As a result of growing up with technology, they are digital natives…poised to unleash innovation – when given the right environment, support, and autonomy.

How do managers establish those connections and create the right environment, support, and autonomy? Kendall O’Brien of Johnson & Johnson advises managers to substitute a business lunch for…five-minute breaks…with millennial employees. Encouragement doesn’t always [require] a substantial time investment…a few minutes can help…employees feel valued and strengthen company ties.

Teams Are Important

Millennials are very good at working in teams. It’s important to note that, as this generation of workers moves into leadership positions, they will bring the team aspect with them to that level, as well. They will lead with a greater emphasis on teamwork, facility for the use of technology and sensitivity to needs for work/life balance.

How do managers of today manage this generation? The key is leadership. Don’t even try to manage millennials, the largest generation in the workforce. Lead them. They must be inspired and enabled through BRAVE leadership. BRAVE is an acronym for behaviors, relationships, attitudes, values and the environment.

Share Information

In many companies, in many situations, for many years, employers have assigned projects to employees, and the employees have completed the projects. This can play out differently with millennials, who want to understand the project before getting started. This…can make [them] look disrespectful or like a know-it-all. But that’s not the case. One recommendation is to contextualize your decisions – for all of your employees. This can have other benefits: You never know when they might have good suggestions or input.

Sharing information is important in other ways, as well. Talking in theory can make for an interesting conversation, but coaching specific items and tying expectations to measurable (and attainable) results yield the best outcome. This is especially true when working with millennials, since they have less working experience. Just as it can be helpful to contextualize decisions for all employees, rather than just for millennials, it can be helpful to do this for all employees, as well.

We’re Excited to Work with You

At 365 Healthcare Staffing Services, we specialize in the recruitment and placement of healthcare professionals in per diem, travel, and permanent assignments in healthcare facilities across the country. We appreciate workers from every generation; we value their experience and help them put it to work providing excellent patient care. We’re ready to work with you, so give us a call at 310.436.3650 today!

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