WATERSTONE MILLENNIAL REPORT THE PURPOSE GENERATION

Transcription

1 WATERSTONE MILLENNIAL REPORT THE PURPOSE GENERATION

2 Google the word Millennial ; you are instantly inundated with over 10,000,000 links to studies and information on the generation that is said to be reinventing everything. Millennials, also known as Gen Y, were born between the years of 1979 and 1993, and range in age from 21 to 36. Statistics Canada tells us they represent 7.2 million Canadians today or 20% of the population. It is predicted that within 10 years, nearly 75% of the workforce will consist of Millennials ensuring they will soon enough dominate the workplace. So all of this begs that we ask the following questions: what impact are Millennials having on organizational culture today and what does this mean for Canadian employers as this group moves up the management ranks? In our executive search work at Waterstone Human Capital, not only are we are placing more and more Millennials into leadership roles we are also now adapting our practices and processes to effectively recruit them. We are also assisting our clients and winners of our Canada s 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures program with the reorganization of their people systems and approaches to ensure they have cultures that attract and retain Millennials. In other words, Millennials are redefining the future of the workplace. OUR RESEARCH In the autumn of 2014, we spoke to a number of Millennials across Canada using in-depth focus groups. We asked them a number of questions including why they chose the companies they work for, what makes them want to stay there, what is most meaningful about their current work, when do they look for a change and how do they envision the future of the workplace. are similar to those we have uncovered through our Canada s 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures program. Annually, for Canada s 10, we review hundreds of submissions from leading organizations across Canada. These submissions reveal how both private and public-sector organizations of various sizes across industries and geographies have designed their cultures to better meet the needs of the changing Canadian workplace, whether it be through recruitment, retention, compensation, training and development or corporate social responsibility. The overriding observation from our research is that Millennials are having a noticeably different impact on organizations compared to any generation before them. This is centred on some key psychographic differences and their need to be treated both as individuals and as a group. Their impact and presence is re-defining the way organizations attract, retain and engage their employees and in doing so they are making corporate culture an organization s greatest competitive advantage. Some clear insights were uncovered and appeared quite consistent across the nation. We were fascinated with how these themes

3 CONNECTION: THE ME AND WE GENERATION Millennials are more socially connected than any generation before them. They were raised exclusively in the digital world, and are the creators and pioneers of the social media movement. Not only that, but they leverage social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) to build their personal brands. Our research tells us that the generation raised by Baby Boomers was for the most part raised with tailor-made experiences. As part of smaller families with higher net incomes, they received heaps of individual attention as well as more access to travel, fine restaurants, and the best schools and coaches. Millennials were raised in a participative environment where almost everything was negotiated and agreed upon before being actioned. As a result, they tend to have a broad array of interests and their approach to life is based on cooperation and participation. They value team work and see their individual contribution to the team as important. Millennials are a paradox of sorts as they are both socially adept and connected but also highly individualistic. At the same time, they realize that some see them as being lazy, narcissistic and entitled. Thus today organizations are being challenged to update many human capital systems, such as total rewards and onboarding processes, to address both individual needs as well as alignment to broader team membership. This is a tall order.

4 THE IMPORTANCE OF PURPOSE Millennials want to be aligned with a company s purpose and with the purpose of other affiliations that they hold dear. They want to be a contributing factor and enjoy relating to and being responsible for how things get done. Millennials may communicate differently in the workplace but they also expect more personal fulfillment from it. They have high expectations that extend to the workplace and professional commitment is not just the norm as it was for previous generations. Individual and team goal setting is particularly important for Millennials so there is alignment with the unique value they bring to their organizations. Company vision and mission statements take a back seat to purpose e.g. why the organization exists. And connecting to the purpose is a priority for Millennials who want to work for a company that they can be proud of but more importantly associate with and connect to. Millennials are also aware that they have a reputation for being workplace jumpers. Our research found however that given the opportunity to explain this, Millennials told us that when they connect to an organization s purpose, this has a direct impact on their loyalty and tenure. WORK/LIFE INTEGRATION: Millennials are not worried about work/life balance to the extent that some may think. To them it s about work/life integration. Millennials value their lives (as they are the product of the Boomers, who have inherited more wealth, retired earlier and enjoyed the good life unlike any other generation before). Family, friends, quality time, travel and freedom are very important to Millennials. Mobility, shared spaces, home offices and the possibility to create your own hours make work present anytime and everywhere. Millennials crave flexibility and as long as the instructions are clear and targets are realistic, they value a culture that gives them the freedom to figure out how to get to the end goal. Mr. Lube Canada, winners of the 2012 Canada s Most Admired Corporate Cultures in the mid-market category, has developed a unique way to attract and retain people. The idea of the One Life philosophy is such that life and work are not mutually exclusive but should operate as a whole. In simple terms, sometimes life has to make allowances for work and work has to make allowances for life. At a recent Canada s 10 event, Stuart Suls, the CEO of Mr. Lube, explained that they give people the flexibility and freedom to make good decisions based on what makes sense in their own lives. As long as they understand their work objectives, they can get it done when they can. He suggested that he s seeing a dinosaur model in other companies, and if they could teach that it s ok to be at work or not be at work as long as the work gets done, that people will be happier and productivity will increase. Another great example is the Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE), created by Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson. The core ideas centre around rethinking our relationship with time and holding people accountable for results (e.g. remove timekeeping and mandatory attendance altogether). It is less of an ask and more of a courtesy that employees will want to inform their teams if they have a dentist appointment or would prefer to work from home that day. That said, how they do their work, where they do their work and when they do their work is up to them. The most important piece is to measure completion of the project on time. The outcome of feeling empowered and respected is happiness and that happiness turns into wanting to deliver the best results possible for their company. Millennials are more often to choose a company that demonstrates flexibility, autonomy and the opportunity to work in a collaborative environment. We see work/life integration as possibly having the single greatest impact on the cultural change being experienced by organizations today due to Millennials. Organizations that can capitalize on this will attract the best of the class in the Millennial generation.

5 FEEDBACK Millennials value frequent and real time feedback whether positive or negative. This is challenging traditional performance management structures that are built on quarterly or bi-annual feedback. We learned that this feedback should be direct and emphasize how behaviour and contributions are having a positive impact on the business, highlighting their improvements in these areas. It was suggested that this feedback can be in groups and not only in one-on-ones. Many organizations are using brief daily and weekly huddles providing employees with time to share their successes, receive accolades and ask for help where required. PROJECT-BASED PROGRESSION According to a 2011 study by PWC on the career decisions of Millennials and what they look for in potential employers, opportunities for career progression ranked first in terms of priorities ahead of compensation and total rewards. Millennials see growth differently growth is about broadening skills and taking on diverse challenges. They want to understand what they need to do to get the most from their work, and how quickly they can take on new opportunities within the organization. We have found that Millennials look at their career development differently than anyone before them they see their careers as a series of projects or challenges to be taken on, and value horizontal/lateral movement as much or more than traditional vertical steps. Millennials told us that they feel their leaders biggest challenges are to unlock their potential and help align their natural talents to the organization s purpose. Millennials value upward mobility as well but they believe that by moving across projects they gain a variety and depth of experiences. Organizations that allow Millennials to take on side projects, or to try a role in a different department or geographic location, will benefit from longer tenured team members. Millennials want, and in many cases expect, to be challenged to come up with ideas. CONCLUSION Millennials have transformed the discussion of culture and performance into the mainstream. They are convinced that culture is an organization s greatest asset and it truly is what sets companies apart from one another. As we heard from one Millennial, culture is your competitive advantage and our alignment to that culture is critical to organizational success. More than any generation before them, Millennials value this and choose organizations whose culture speaks to their values and aligns with their purpose and goals in life. They want to be connected to the purpose of an organization and do not see their professional or personal lives being mutually exclusive. With 75% of the workforce consisting of this generation in the next 15 years, Millennials will continue be a focus for Waterstone. Our plan is to continue to be at the forefront of this research, in order to help our clients recruit and retain what is becoming the most important and unique demographic: The Purpose Generation, as we call them.

6 ABOUT WATERSTONE HELPING BUILD GREAT ORGANIZATIONS WHERE CULTURE IS COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE By helping our clients with cultural talent management services, we help organizations unleash the power of their corporate culture, to drive performance and growth. Our cultural assessment, executive search and recruitment, succession planning, cultural alignment and assessment and coaching and human capital advisory services set us apart as the leading North American-based cultural talent management services firm. For further information, or to discuss how to best recruit and retain the Millennial generation in your workplace, please contact: Marty Parker Chief Executive Officer Waterstone Human Capital Kathryn Ducey Research Associate Waterstone Human Capital x223 Canada s Most Admired recognizes the top companies and leaders that Canada has to offer. Creating a benchmark of success for all those who are nominated. Learn more at