Whether we rely on a recent Accenture survey or all what we can read all around the web, future generations will deeply change the way people work in the workplace.
Somewhere it’s an incredible chance since they already developed all the behaviors that are suitable for employees in an agile and interconnected But many studies seem to agree on a more worrying thing : their wery weak inderstanding of corporate’s issues, would it concern operative things or necessary information governance. In a few words, they are talented racing drivers who still need to take their driving test. I fully suscribe to Tom Davenport’s views : believing that companies will change at once to give this generation what it asks for is illusory. Of course things will change, but not in a snap ping.
One could telle we didn’t know more when we entered the workplace fot the first time. But I don’t thing we were carrying such a need for break which will need a mutual alignement between enterprises and new joiners.
The point is clear : using youngs in order to understand the field of possible and as levers for change, and using seniors to canalize their energy and lear how to translate their personal culture in a business context. Both those elements are necessary and that’s why I proposed the idea of a two ways mentorship.
As for companies, I’m convinced that the first thing to do, even before thinking of changing anything, is to understand a new field of possibilities, understand why some are more efficient in their private life, and try to translate in in business practices instead of being confronted top an internal split.
Some companies ask their trainees to redact what they call “amazement report”. One of my former bosses told me that it was very important to have a new, fresh, sometimes ingenuous look on its organization because it was impossible for people who’ve been in the company for years to point at what could be improved because the longer one spend time in an organization the less he can think anything else is possible.
What would a millenial answer to a question like “how do to do in you personal life to achieve the tasks you’re assigned at work ?”. A good way for new new joinders to feel useful and for companies to integrate them, taking benefits of free of the best consultancy firm on Gen Y and millenial issues : millenials themselves. There would be another positive point too : when you involve people you delay the confrontation and make it smoother.
So, what about reusing the good old amazement report ?
Whatever, companies will slowly change as they integrate these new joiners, as they alsways did, slowly but certainly.
But don’t be naive : companies will change with millenials, not for them.
