The Millennial Worker and his/her contributions

     Our firm recently attended a large aviation conference where part of the program was on the workforce of tomorrow.  One of the main topics at the conference was millennial workers, those workers that are between 22 and 40 years of age..

      Millennial workers are different than baby boomers.  They are very tech savvy, ask all kinds of questions and when used to their advantage, become very high energy workers.  Sadly, many baby boomer managers are “put off” and dismissive of millennial workers.  This is a tragic circumstance.

       Millennial workers want to make a difference and want to be valued.  When they are treated dismissively, they tune out and in many cases, walk out, finding a new job opportunity, leaving the company with another staffing vacancy to fill.

        How do you address millennial workers?  You listen to them, seriously consider their ideas and suggestions and are NOT dismissive of their inputs and ideas.  You have to allow them to speak up, share counter positions.  When those counter positions are shared, a good manager needs to carefully consider what he/she is hearing.  Failing to listen and act will result in employees who will tune out and eventually, walk out.

         Millennial workers are fun to work with, can move the firm to heights never before thought possible, however, they will do it in ways that you may not have envisioned.  Now is the time to carefully review the millennial worker.  He/she is a valuable team member who wants to make a contribution to your team.