4 Top Mistakes Managers Make With Millennial Employees

The millennial generation has grown to become to most populous generation in the U.S. workforce. With over 53 million workers in the United States in this generational category, there are bound to be challenges when understanding the mindset and work ethics of a new generation. For marketing experts like Eyal Gutentag, who has also gained notoriety for understanding how to manage millennials, it isn’t about making the right choices in managing this new workforce but avoiding common mistakes during the process.

Mistake #1: Ignoring Millennial Motivations

When it comes to managing millennials, there is a different motivation that just getting a paycheck. These individuals prefer to find value in their work and want to be appreciated. While they do appreciate the paycheck and want to be well-compensated for their efforts, the real motivation to go to work every day is when they find engagement with their careers and jobs. The whole picture of motivating millennial employees involves looking at their intrinsic purpose rather than just salary and benefits. They want to work for a larger purpose and have a mission.

Mistake #2: Not Getting Personally Involved With Motivation

Millennials want to the institution and mission to mean something in their line of work, but they are also looking for leadership that takes a personal interest in them. One-on-one interaction or a focus on mentoring millennial’s is the hands-on role this younger generation is looking for in the workforce. Senior leadership members that work as mentors can provide younger employees with feedback that will help them advance and improve professionally. Millennials crave that attention and have a hunger to improve their performance, making mentoring a key way to motivate employees to increased performance.  

Mistake #3: Assuming the Worst in Tech-driven Employees

There is no doubt that millennials love their smartphones and tech-driven devices, but they aren’t just using them to access their social networking platforms. While they do tend to check their social media apps over 11 times day, millennials use their technology for more than just playtime. Millennials know that technology can make their jobs easier and produce more accurate results. A manager that doesn’t give their millennials opportunities to explore tech-improvements in the workforce can actually stifle creativity and productivity.   

Mistake 4: Labeling All Millennials as Alike

There are a lot of generalities thrown around concerning millennial behaviors and attitudes, and one of the worst things you can do as a manager is to assume that all millennials are alike. When it comes to directing the younger work population, there are significant differences between the millennials and those in Generation Z. The up-and-coming generation is being called the Generation Zers, and these individuals are generally less collaborative than their millennial counterparts, more individualistic, and highly entrepreneurial. You can’t lump all your younger employees into the same motivational basket. Working with individuals according to their personal motivations is how you can avoid creating low morale and poor workplace engagement.

These are four of the most common mistakes that managers will make when trying to take leadership over their millennial employees. Rather than addressing them in terms or habits that are comfortable with you, make sure you work to lead them according to their personal motivations and behaviors.