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Managing Millennials
By: Mindy Terry
Posted: March 4, 2010, from the March 2010 issue of Merge Magazine.
Abstract: The millennial generation—people born between 1980 and 1999—is starting to become a more dominant force in the American workplace, and managing it comes with different opportunities and challenges. From knowing what drives this generation to complete a project or stay with a company to discovering what hidden talents it has and how to help it really shine, getting to the know the millennials and their habits can be a boon for your practice.
If you need someone to manage your Twitter and Facebook pages, call in the millennials on your staff. If you desire strategic thinking and loyalty for the long haul, bring on the Gen Xers and baby boomers.
Regardless of what you call them—Gen Y, millennials or Me First—the younger generation of employees carries with it a new set of rules for those who are managing your medical aesthetics business. And, as the fastest-growing segment of today’s workforce, if you are not currently managing a millennial, chances are that you will be doing so soon. Born between 1980 and 1999, the news service Reuters reports that some 40 million millennials work in corporate America, a figure expected to hit 58 million by 2014.
Motivating the millennial generation
After more than 18 years of training at least 1,000 wellness and spa professionals, I’ve had the chance to work alongside the various generations, learn from each and figure out ways to help them work together effectively.
My experience has shown me millennials are not motivated by the same things that attract Gen X and the boomers. For Gen Y, work is simply a means for them to be able to play, so managers have to be flexible with schedules and not expect a typical 8 to 5 workday commitment. Whereas, the older generations have a great deal of pride in their careers, and many times their loyalty and pride helps them stay with the same company for decades of 60-hour work weeks.