Managing Millennial Generation

Managing Millennial Generation

Introduction:

Millennial generation, also known as Generation Y, Net Generation and Echo Boomers and the term refers to the generation following the generation X. the dates for starting and ending of this generation are not specified though, mostly individuals during late 1980s, 1990s and 2000 are included in the group. The generation Y is different from Generation X because the former was born when boom in technology had already gained pace, and there were products of IT scattered everywhere. Bill Gates, Macs and Laptops PCs, have been a part of their lives since ever, and they never encountered the manual procedures that the previous generations used to cope.

Both born with all these facilities and products of technology all around, this generation differs greatly from the previous generation (Generation X) in a number of ways. Generation Y is more into information technology and is quick in learning ways of using as well as manipulating technology. Owing to these characteristics, the ways of managing this generation also differ from the management of Generation X (Burmeister, 2008). Following are the methods and techniques that are known to make management Millennial Generation easy and more practical:

Why is Millennial Generation difficult to manage?

The ability to understand the needs of employees and responding to them in an efficient manner is considered to be an important quality of any manager. Same goes for management of Millennial Generation. These differ from the previous generation in various ways and thus need different tactics for their management as compared to Generation X. the change has just occurred, as millennial generation has just entered the field and now managers realize that traditional ways can no longer be used.

Putting it in simple words, the traditional methods of management and the typical hierarchy is not being useful for management of the millennial generation and the need for changing methods of communication and management has arisen already.

The major differences between the two generations are:

Millennial Generation is more Technology Savvy—as mentioned earlier, the generation was born with PCs and Internet around, they did not have to learn the use of it like the previous generation did and thus are more comfortable with these products (Winogard and Hais, 2011). Consequently, they prefer working with these products and also do not hesitate in making use of IT products for negative actions. For instance, the employees might use internet to manipulate their work and devise short cuts to minimize effort and get done with the task in minimum time.

Similarly, millennial generation is always networked in one way or the other, and is never alone in the true sense of the word. Even when there is no one around, they are somehow connected and thus have more chances of getting assistance for outside sources. The concept of 'doing it yourself' has almost died with the emergence of Millennial Generation as they have all the facilities and means of getting help at any moment. Due to this connectivity and constant links, they are also better able to work ...