Within a year, 50% of the workforce will be Millennials. By 2025, Millennials will be 75% of the global workforce.  Generation Z, the following generation entered the workforce in May 2019.

If you’re not a Millennial why does this matter to you?  Those statistics mean either you will be working alongside people from this generation or marketing to them.

Last week I wrote about the underestimation of young talent.  This week I focus on the value young professionals bring to an organization. Like the above statistic implies, Millennials and Gen Z’s, you can’t ignore their influence nor would you want to.

When differentiators are obvious to people, they focus on what makes the other people different rather than what makes them similar.  It happens with races, cultures, generations, sexes.  Those differences in recent times are criticized.  What about if they were celebrated?  What if those differences were actually talents?

Here are the talents to of those born in the Millennial years and why they’re worth celebrating:

• Young professionals are supportive team members. They like to collaborate. They value working together and learning from each other. This makes for a stronger team spirit and effort.
• Because they’ve grown up around technology, they are exceedingly tech savvy about software, social media, applications and hardware/gadgets. They are very comfortable thinking of unique ways to do something faster, better, more efficiently and effectively. They enjoy the puzzle of discovering a better way of producing the same results or better.
• They are well versed in navigating and processing constant sensory impact. More than other generations, they’ve grown up with it. They’ve learned what to ignore, what to pay attention to, what is helpful to get something done and what is not.
• Related to the last two skills, through fast moving and intricate challenges that exist in today’s business environment, young professionals can navigate easier through complexity to simplicity. They are more accustomed to processing a large amount of information to reach a solution or conclusion. This makes for more efficient problem solving, seeing the forest through the trees.
• Junior talent wants to be connected to their work. Junior talent is curious and want to understand rather than take things at face value. They want to know why things are so, so that they can feel more engaged to the purpose of their work. They want to understand the connection from what they do to other departments, bosses, colleagues and customers. The connection makes for an employee who wants to put more of their soul into their work.
• Young talent is open to learning and new ideas. Due to their lack of ingrained experience and habits, they are less jaded about how things were done prior or even currently; they are more open to changing and learning. They are not set in their ways.
• They can problem solve in a unique way. Less experience and rigidity, allows them to think outside the box in solving challenges, bringing new ideas or improved ways of doing something.
• Younger talent’s desire for transparency makes for better and more inclusive communication. Inquisitive by nature, this group does not take things at face value nor do they understand unwritten rules or assumptions. They tend to ask for better explanations so they can understand. This allows for better more clear communication from and to their team or boss.
• Obvious, yet important, they understand their generation. Because they grew up in the Millennials or Gen Z time period and have been surrounded by others like them, they understand this growing market, their desires, values, and how to reach people like themselves. As mentioned in the statistic above emerging professionals and their impact in the marketplace will only grow.

Don’t get me wrong, seasoned people have experience and wisdom that emerging talent does not.  Yet, with all that young professionals have to offer, now is the time to recognize their potential. And, they are waiting for that chance. They want to be developed into the leaders they are capable of being.

 

How is your team or business operating with multi-generations?  If you are not benefiting from the full abilities of all your professional employees, email me and let’s talk: susan@susangoldbergleadership.com