Employing a millennial mindset

Paul Rataul is a career expert on millennials. Photograph by Ted Baghurst.

The millennial generation is the first to grow up immersed in digital technology. These internet natives, born between 1980 and 2000, communicate, learn and engage with others differently from all previous generations. Challengingly for employers, this is often alien to traditional ways of managing people.

Millennials come in for criticism as slackers and social media time-wasters, but millennial career consultant Paul Rataul thinks this generalisation is mostly unjustified. He and his peers worked hard to achieve well at school and university, and he believes that whereas millennials do spend more time online, this is often because they're working.

"There are many new careers on platforms such as YouTube and Instagram. I conduct much of my business through webinars, and there can be a misconception among older generations that this is not real work because it's not office-based," he says. "There will be slackers in every generation, but I see millennials as being especially socially conscious and wanting to make a difference in the world."

Rataul acknowledges a disconnect between a preference for in-person communication among older generations, and millennials' love of digital communication. "The world is moving exponentially faster, and although I agree that face-to-face contact is more powerful than social media, it is becoming unreasonable to expect that we should communicate in person instead of digitally."

However, to combat a potential loss of these soft skills, Rataul says they need to be specifically incorporated into education. "I want to disrupt traditional education by promoting emotional intelligence - things like communication skills, leadership and self-knowledge - as key in our education system."

Many current managers have lived through decades where the prime objective was to make money. However, a 2015 PwC report revealed that 96 per cent of millennials feel it's important to participate in volunteering, and Rataul says this huge swing in mindset has caused a disconnect between millennials and their managers.

"Millennials are driven to create a positive difference in society and thus their values are often not fully aligning with their employers. I see this in many corporates that are failing to attract or retain the best millennial talent, and I believe there needs to be a massive revolution in how corporates do business if they are to survive. The firms that will thrive are those building on a strong set of core values that have a heart, are socially conscious, and promote a happy and productive work environment. This will bring lower recruitment costs, increased brand differentiation, lower employee turnover, increased work satisfaction and higher innovation and productivity."

Rataul says some managers have already taken heed of the changes in society, however a majority are stuck in their old ways, which will ultimately be to their detriment as they bleed top talent.

But Rataul believes millennials shouldn't be let off the hook. "We need to be very clear on our core values and the skills we wish to develop in the workplace. Millennials will be able to contribute massively to their employers only if they have first developed their own leadership and teamwork skills, and know what they stand for."

Trust has long been a roadblock to flexible working, but with 91 per cent of millennials keen to work from home, employers will need to trust them to work independently. Rataul says it comes down to core values. "If employers are transparent and a joy to work for, millennials won't be incentivised to waste company time and money."

Rataul's clients tell him they want an employer who is making a positive impact on society, and has an inspiring vision and set of values.

"They also want stimulating work and not to just be data-monkeys, and to be part of encouraging teams. They want authenticity, a fun and dynamic workplace, career growth and exit opportunities. They want to work flexibly and be well remunerated and they want to trust and feel at home with an employer, but be challenged to grow while making a positive difference to society."

Rataul is consulting with organisations about how they can adapt to the modern workforce and harness millennials' potential.

He says employers first need to develop or recommit to a unique culture based on their core values and then ensure their leaders' core values are wholly aligned with those of the firm.

"This will require much reflection, vulnerability and honesty to ensure that everyone is on the same page."

Rataul believes employers need to view their employees as part of a "family" and this will mean revolutionising recruitment and marketing strategies.

He says the nature of job applications needs to change, as CVs, cover letters and interview questions are too one-dimensional.

"Employers need to dig deeper into the core beliefs and values of their millennial employees to ensure alignment. They also need to be more flexible and allow employees to focus on "passion projects' in their downtime."

"A stimulating and fun culture will attract millennials and they will be more productive and less likely to leave."