Do we really know the Millennials?

Media has mentioned them thousands of time: the “We” generation, the multi-task masters, the smartphone generations, etc. They are Millennials. In this blog series for November, let’s zoom in the generation which has already garnered a lot of attention for their “invasion” of the global workforce.

There is no precise dates for when this cohort starts or ends but generally, “Millennials” are those whose coming of age is at the beginning of this new Millennium. They take up approximately 35% of current global workforce and are entitled to such characteristics as tech-savvy, change and purpose-driven or innovative. In Vietnam alone, Millennials grow up with the development of Vietnamese economy, the rising coverage of Internet and of course, globalisation. And as previous generations are gradually backing off from the main stage, the young are on their way to take over leadership positions and bring freshness to organisations.

Such an ironic situation. We acknowledge their role, their importance but we misunderstand their needs, their wishes. This eventually leads to the mismatch between what we provide them (environment, support or even challenges) and what they are expecting from us, making job loyalty something even harder for them than it has already been up to now. When being asked “What do Millennials prioritise in their job?”, they and their managers come up with different priority. High pay is not the most important element in an offer for Millennials but their managers deem this factor the first priority of young generation. In fact, it’s the meaningful work and the feeling of being valued by the employers are what this cohort concerns the most at work. Besides, they also appreciate opportunities for development and career progression as well as flexibility at work and frequent feedback on their work. Sadly, only less than 20% of their managers get this expectation right.

This misalignment also suggests a hypothesis that we might be making wrong evaluations of this generation simply because of stereotyping. But it’s the story for next week. This week’s key takeaway is, for sure, a warning to the employers. If you have spent time getting to know the young, let’s put those information into action to help their best qualities thrive in your organisations!

Next time, our latest series will come back with another discussion about this generation. But first, let us give you a quick question: “In your opinion, how to recruit the most effective team consisting of young, energetic people?” We look forward to receiving your thoughts!