Meagan Johnson - Generational Speaker

Solve Your Challenges and Bridge the Gap between Generations at Your Multigenerational Workforce

Meagan

Millennial Employee Retention

What does the Millennial Employee Retention mean and what is the strategy to achieve it?
What are Millennials looking for when they start their career paths?

I’m a professional speaker, generational expert, and generational humorist.

I speak to groups, associations, and corporations like yours about the ever-changing generational dynamic that is blowing through our workforce, our corporations and our offices today.

The Generational Signposts

Recently, I had a member of an audience that approached me before the presentation and she said to me “Is your presentation going to be all about generational stereotypes?”, she said. “I do not like stereotypes!”

I have to agree with her, I don’t like stereotypes either.

I like generational signposts. Generational signposts explain how events, technologies and economic forces shape various groups of people.

People born during a certain time period or a certain timeframe have experienced similar situations and can be differentiated from other generations. You can use this information when you are working with multiple generations.

Well, let’s take the Millennial Generation everybody’s talking about.

The Millennial Generation

These are people born after 1980. When I have lots of Millennials in my audience and I ask the Millennials “How old were you in 2002?” and I get ages from 12-17 years old. Basically in 2002, the Millennials of today being in their late teens, they have influenced three to four hundred billion dollars of the family spending! Over 80 percent of the family apparel choices, and over 50 percent of the family car choices – that’s before they could even drive!

Baby boomers – you have brought teamwork into the family and you encouraged to have conversations with your millennial children. You talked about where to go out to eat, what type of electronics to buy, and where should you go on vacation. Not only did you have these discussions with your children but their opinion mattered.

And that is one of the reasons many Millennials are strong collaborators.

Millennial Employee Retention

Millennial Employee Retention

74 percent of Millennials rank collaborative work environment as their number 1 or number 2 most important characteristic of a rewarding place to work.

So…What does that mean?

We need to offer Millennials multi-layered career paths!

Millennials really have turned away from that traditional corporate ladder. In fact, the corporate ladder has disintegrated and when we say things to Millennials like “You need to pay your dues before you climb the ladder” is a total disconnect.

Look for ways to be able to encourage your Millennials to have different experiences at your organizations.

Opportunities for Millennials to Grow and Experience

I recently spoke for the Association of Chiefs of Police in Colorado.

Here’s my own bias. I assumed that because these were law enforcement people, that they would be very rigid. Thinking, they’re not going to be very open to new ideas. I was wrong. See, that was my own stereotype.

In fact, one of the Chiefs said to me “You know, in the past, it used to be that someone wanted to be a detective forever. They became a detective and they were a detective. But that’s the old way of thinking and the new detectives that are entering the force today, a four to five-year stint, that’s about as long as they want to be a detective! So we’ve had to change and we move people out of the role of a detective after four or five years.”

Rules are like in burglary. They have even shorter stays – three to four months, the officer said. The drawback is that they’re losing a good person but the benefit is they have somebody new, with a fresh perspective coming on board.

They are offering these multi-layered career paths, different opportunities for Millennials to grow and experience.

Embrace and Intrigue the Millennials

An industry that can do this very well is the construction industry.

Ironically the construction industry is struggling to find millennial employees as the older employees age. An industry where you can have an apprenticeship or a craft training, this is an industry where you can learn.

You can hit the ground running and you begin your career with no student debt. It is opportunities like these that really embrace and intrigue the millennial.

In my next video, we will talk about the ever-changing generations in the workforce and what we can do to communicate and enhance our relationships.

How to Attract and Retain Millennial Employees

How to attract and retain Millennial Employees in your company or organization?

Let me show you how…

How to Attract and Retain Millennial Employees in the Industry that isn’t Sexy?

The insurance industry, medical coding, procurement, manufacturing, construction…

What do all these industries have in common?

All of them report attracting and retaining millennial employees difficult, challenging and almost impossible. Why? Because their industry is not considered sexy!

Now, I’m gonna sound like an ‘old person’ when I say this “…but when I graduated college”…

Seriously, when I graduated Arizona State University, a long time ago, my first job out of college was working for Quaker Oats – the oatmeal company. You know the guy with a great hat sells oatmeal, however, quicker oats is a big company.

I wasn’t in the oatmeal division. Oh no! This college grad ended up in the Chilean canned bean division.

I love canned beans just as much as anybody. After all, they are the musical fruit, however, I do not think of them as sexy.

I snapped up that job and I was happy to take it.

But…

Millennials are different.

Millennials will shop a job much like they will shop for a product or an item. 80% of job seekers will research an employer online before even deciding to apply for the job.

So what is the good news?

The good news is that traditional companies, traditional organizations and industries like construction, manufacturing, insurance, all of them serve a purpose. When organizations identify that purpose and promote that purpose as a lifestyle, the likelihood that they’re gonna connect with Millennials will increase. They will attract and retain millennial employees much easier.

Motivating Millennials – Is there a Secret Formula?

There’s an organization called Tuft and Needle. They’re a mattress company.

I’ve never thought about buying, selling or distributing mattresses as very flashy or exciting. However, Tuft and Needle are different!

Visit their website at https://www.tuftandneedle.com/

Attract and Retain Millennial Employees

This company was started by two Millennials. Two guys named JT and Daehee. Both of them had discouraging experiences when it came to buying their first adult purchase – a mattress. So they decided to disrupt the industry.

They have the very best company story videos I have ever seen! It is entertaining and informational. Also, it works really well as a connectivity tool both for potential employees and customers.

What really caught my eye, however, was their career page.

The career page reads like this: “Don’t just work here – Grow here!” They describe themselves as being much more than a mattress company.

How to Attract and Retain Millennials as Employees?

They are a team of creative minds. Minds that are disrupting the industry through purposeful design, continued learning, and meaningful connections.

Tuft and Needle have identified the purpose and the service they provide. They tied it into a lifestyle.

Traditional organizations and industries need to identify the purpose they serve. The service they provide their customers. And turn that into a proposition to Millennials! A lifestyle they can lead by working with these organizations. That’s when they will really begin to connect with the Millennial employee.

In the next video, we will discuss how to further connect, contain and capture all that talent that Millennials bring to the workplace today.

Generational Issues in the Workplace

Generational Issues are not uncommon – they happen often. We need to understand what happens, why it happens and what we can do to avoid it. 

Generational issues in the workplace
Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash

As a professional speaker and generational humorist, I am lucky to hear and witness some incredible generational stories and anecdotes. I am allowed to be a bit of a voyeur…in a good way. Clients and audience members graciously share with me their generational “skeletons in the closet.”

The following is an example of a multi-generational situation that flummoxed everyone involved. I have summoned a multi-generational panel to examine and discuss this dispute.

The panel consists of three different generations with varying levels of professional and retail experience.

The panel members are Baby Boomer Bob, Gen X Geoff and Madison the Millennial. Following the situation, the panel members will chime in with their opinions and viewpoints.

The Generational Issue in the Workplace

Reegen & Mary: Millennial & Baby Boomer

Mary has worked at My Sole Belongs To You shoe store her entire adult life. She began working at the store over 40 years ago, shortly after the original owners opened their doors. Mary is always impeccably dressed and addresses everyone, co-workers, and customers, by “Sir,” or “Ma’am. Long-term clients love her. Mary has a strong, albeit aging, a consistent book of business. Rumor has it, Nordstrom department store has tried to poach her more times than she will admit. She remembers small details in people’s lives and never stops smiling.

The store Mary has called home is a small neighborhood shop that has seen many changes in the surrounding community. There is a new owner and it’s not a secret that the new owners’ goal is to build awareness of the store in the surrounding business sector and capture the attention of the younger, new families moving into the neighborhood. This is why Reegen, an enthusiastic new Store Manager, was hired from a popular catering company to manage the store and its marketing efforts.

Reegen announced during the first staff meeting that she wanted to transform My Sole Belongs To You into something “more twenty-first century – for the Internet generation.”

There is increasing tension between Reegen & Mary. Even though Reegen has more experience with social media and technology, Mary knows more about the customers, products and day-to-day retail operations.

There have been a couple occasions when Mary corrected Reegen and her product knowledge. Reegen seems intent on demonstrating her position at the store by being very direct and dismissive to Mary.  You recently witnessed Reegen bark at Mary that she was moving too slowly and she must stop doing what she was doing to address her issue ASAP.  Mary has responded to Reegen’s attitude by intentionally ignoring her comments and suggestions.

Their conflict is beginning to disrupt the morale of the entire staff.

The Panel Comments on the Generational Issues

Baby Boomer Bob

“WOW, this situation is really ‘Harshing my mellow.’ (Translation; making a situation go from enjoyable to uncomfortable.)

I feel the owners dropped the ball by not discussing their intent to drive the store in a new direction with the entire staff prior to hiring Reegan. The risk leadership runs when it treats people like mushrooms (Translation; Keeping people in the dark and not sharing pertinent information.) is employees like Mary retire on the job. They may come to work every day but they feel so displaced they lose their passion for the job and begin just going through the motions.

I will be the first to admit I was slow to jump on the Social Media bandwagon. Asking people to Friend You and Follow You seemed a bit creepy at first. However, I was fortunate enough to have a younger associate ask if I would like a one-on-one tutorial. I just wished I had asked sooner!

I believe that if Mary was given the same consideration she would discover that Social Media is not as daunting or intimidating as it first appears. She may learn that not only will she be able to enhance her product knowledge, something that seems important to her but also connects with her long-time customers on a new platform.

Perhaps the new owners did not realize what an institution they have in Mary but by not involving Mary in the hiring process of Reegan and the new store objectives from the beginning, they created a situation that was an uphill battle from day one…which is so uncool man. (Translation; nothing to do with temperature.)

Gen X Geoff

“I am going to be honest, it seems like everyone should take a step back and as Frankie Goes to Hollywood says ‘Just Relax!’ (Translation; Frankie Goes to Hollywood was a hit band from the 80s.) From my perspective, it appears you have two people trying to protect their turf.

My attitude with my team members has always been, ‘do your job, if there is a problem figure it out and when the day is over it is just business. We don’t have to like each other.’ I do not see any reason I need to be involved unless the store is burning down or someone has died.

I have, however, been accused of not being a team player. I was surprised to learn, several years ago, that my solitary approach did not always resonate with older employees who place a high value on teamwork or younger employees who thrive in a collaborative environment.

I would hope that in the situation with Reegan and Mary I would step out of my comfort zone and call a meeting with the two of them, preferably away from the store.

I would ask them to perform a SWOT analysis of the situation, Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Employees would create their own SWOT analysis of the situation prior to the meeting. We would then examine the analysis and comment on each. Ideally, we would find common points in the analysis. Where one SWOT recognizes a weakness, another SWOT has a strength to combat the other’s weakness.

Hopefully, by participating in the SWOT analysis Reegan and Mary will develop a respect for each other’s skills and a plan for handling the conflict…. Which would be totally awesome! (Translation; extremely good.)

Madison the Millennial

“Sups Awk! (Translation; Super Awkward.) It is not always easy being the youngest person in the room, much less, being tasked with the challenge of asking someone old enough to be your mom or dad to change their behavior.

Early in my career, my insecurities often led me to behave like Reegan. I felt that if I got the upper hand first, nobody would question my authority. The reality was the more I tried to push my agenda down the throats of the people around me, the less interested they were in what I had to say.

It was an eye-opening moment when a mentor told me ‘you can’t captain an empty ship.’ Meaning, I needed everyone on board to keep the boat upright and sailing.

I will admit, it was hard in the beginning to take a breath and ask seasoned personnel how they would solve a problem when all I wanted to do was shout out, ‘Come on, let’s try something different!!’

Nothing makes me more Cray Cray (Translation; Crazy.) than hearing someone respond to a new idea or approach with the phrase, ‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ or ‘we tried that before and it didn’t work.’

Can you imagine if Steve Jobs thought to himself, why invent the iPhone? Flip phones work just fine.

I realize, however, that all the good ideas in the world are not going to do anyone any good if nobody wants to try them. When I began asking senior staff members how they did their jobs or their opinion on how to get things done, it was the beginning of them lessening their resistance to my new ideas.

Additionally, I learned that if my idea had been tried before, there was a reason it didn’t work. A reason of which I would never have been aware of if I had not taken the time to ask questions before taking action.

I believe the panel has given some interesting insights into the situation with Mary and Reegan. As the generations continue to evolve, we must change with them if we desire multi-generational success. I have listened and watched some generational challenges that appear insurmountable only to be surprised by people’s ability to look beyond their own generational perceptions and walk in another generations’ shoes. (Pun intended.)

Make Way – The New Generation Z is here!

Generation Z, iGen, Those Darn Kids.

Whatever you call them, Generation Z – the youngest generation is changing the rules, challenging our boundaries and recreating a generationally cohesive workforce!

Generation Z
Photo by Kendra Kamp on Unsplash

My first job in high school was working at a grim bagel shop called the Bagel Baker. This was pre-Starbucks, where being a barista has an element of cache’. This was pre-premium baked goods and sleek surroundings to sip your gourmet coffee while streaming the next Youtube sensation. The place I worked was dirty, (it was later closed by the health department) the chairs were not comfortable and the tables were cracked.

My manager did not believe in building employees’ esteem. Her management style was intimidation and her idea of words of encouragement was insults directed at my appearance or my lack of ability to mop properly. As an adult, I would often compare poor work environments or management styles to the Bagel Baker. I nicked named it Bagel Baker management style. I was fifteen – the same age as the newest generation entering the workforce is now.

Generation Z, also referred to as iGen or Post-Millennial are the youngest generation in the generational timeline and are just now dipping their toes into the workforce. (My co-author and I called this newest generation the Linkster Generation in our book, Generations Inc., but for simplicity sake, I will refer to them as Generation Z or Gen Z throughout the article.)

Who Are They?

Generation Z are people born after 1996.

The oldest Gen Zs are in their early twenties; the majority of this generation is still in their teens. The bulk of Gen Z are part-time employees working around their school schedules and interns. According to Monster.com’s survey of Gen Z, over 75% are still in school. Currently, Gen Z is 65 million people strong and in four years they will be 40% of U.S. consumers.

The majority of the Millennial Generation has Baby Boomers for parents. Generation Z marks the transition from the Baby Boomer parent to Gen Xer and older Millennial parents.

Similar to Millennials, however, Generation Z looks to their parents for career guidance. Generation Z reports their parents have the biggest influence when it comes to job and career decisions and greater than 80% are striving to become leaders.

Leading Millennials – What can you do today to lead Millennials?

Leading Millennials

How do I know what Leading Millennials look like? I am not a Millennial … not me. I am a Gen Xer. (Gen Xers also known as Generation X are people born between 1965-1980.) My generation is the smallest generation. We are the “middle child” in the generational lineup. If this were the 1970’s hit TV show The Brady Bunch, Gen Xers would be Jan. Like Jan, who was stuck between her cute baby sister Cindy and her more popular sister Marsha, Gen Xers are squeezed between two behemoth generations: Baby Boomers and the New Millennium Generation.

As a past Gen X employee and now a Gen X business owner, my belief has always been “no news from management is good news.” I always felt, along with many of my Gen X peers, “just tell me what you want done, give me the tools to do it and then leave me alone!” The less I saw or heard from my team leader the better.

As a Generational Speaker and Humorist and as an employer of Millennials, I have discovered the Gen X, Lone-Wolf leadership style does not often resonate with Millennials (NM Gen).

The NM Gen is the 80 million people born between 1981 and 2002. Their numbers have surpassed the mighty Baby Boomers and they are expected to represent 40% of the workforce in five short years.[i] They continue to baffle organizations and turn “the way we have always done it” on its head.

Leadership is no different. The NM Gen is reinventing leadership and demanding the corporate world does the same. Does this mean we sacrifice the multiple generations in the workforce to meet the demands of the younger workforce? No, but what it does mean is we all have to challenge our own leadership styles to help everyone reach a little higher and achieve success.

Photo by Climate KIC on Unsplash

Leading Millennials

What are Millennials Looking for in a Leader?

The NM Gen does not define a leader in the traditional sense. My leaders, when I first entered the corporate world, practiced a top-down approach. Their style was, to say the least, autocratic. They did not appreciate having their expertise questioned and they definitely had zero interest in my life outside of work.

Today the NM Gen describes a good leader as: approachable, authentic and a team player. According to Deloitte’s fourth annual Millennial Survey: “greater than 65% of the NM Gen feel a good leader’s focus should be on interpersonal skills, strategic thinking and inspirational qualities vs. financial results.”[ii] Moving forward, successful, multi-generational leaders will be a hybrid; a coach, mentor and a leader all rolled into one.

What can you do today to lead Millennials?

Give them an opportunity to participate ASAP. The NM Gen has been participating in family decisions and has had tremendous influence over household spending from an early age.

In 2002, when the 20 somethings and early 30 somethings of today were in their early to late teens they influenced 300 to 400 billion of the family spending. They influenced over 80% of the family apparel purchases and over 50% of the family car choices…this was often before they could drive.[iii]

Baby Boomers brought teamwork and consensus building into the family and encouraged their NM Gen children to participate. They took part in family discussions that ranged from dinner plans and vacation destinations to technology choices and what kind car the family purchased.

In school, the NM Gen experienced a greater emphasis on group projects and team-oriented tasks compared to older generations. This has given the NM Gen not just an expectation they will hit the ground running but also a genuine interest to engage and a real talent for collaboration. (This is VERY good news!)

As a leader, the more involved you can get the NM Gen in projects, discussions or meetings the better. Do not let your perception of the NM Gen’s greenness keep you from allowing them to engage early on.

Matt Khair (NM Gen) began working at CRBUSA, https://www.crbusa.com, an engineering, architecture, and construction firm before he graduated from college. He was offered a full-time position following graduation and has been at CRBUSA for over nine years, much longer than the average 3 years an NM Gen stays at one place of employment.

Says Matt, “What surprised me the most going from a full-time college student to an FT employee @ CRBUSA was the culture of responsibility. CRBUSA’s culture does not let age or experience determine how much responsibility you will be given. Early in my career, I was given responsibility my peers at other organizations were not given until later in their careers.

One of the projects I was given was creating a business plan, presenting it to the Core Team Leaders and receiving feedback. I was 21years old, a recent college graduate and I was in a meeting listening to what the company leaders were discussing. I was floored! I thought I should not even be in this meeting!!”
Matt Khair

CRBUSA recognizes the importance of getting the NM Gen involved quickly. CRBUSA also does not allow age or job tenure to influence the level of responsibility they bestow upon their young talent. This does not mean the company disregards seniority. The organization successfully gave Matt an immediate sense of purpose at the company and gave him an opportunity to learn from senior management.

Recognize my existence.

The NM Gen is a more transient generation than previous generations. Very few will experience lifetime employment with a single employer and as stated earlier, the average NM Gen job tenure is three years. There is a misconception that the NM Gen’s migratory nature has led to a deterioration of the importance personal relationships have at work.

According to LinkedIn, greater than 55% of the NM Gen feel buddies at work increases happiness and 50% believes it improves motivation. On the flip side, Baby Boomers feel friendships at work do not impact happiness or motivation.[iv]

When it comes to friendships at work, there is an obvious generational divide. As a leader, it is not your job to be everyone’s friend. As leaders of the NM Gen, however, it will behoove us to demonstrate some interest the lives of our young compatriots.

Malika Coleman, NM Gen, is an ISD Analyst at Navy Federal Credit Union. (https://www.navyfederal.org) After earning her series 7 license at JP Morgan Chase, Malika moved to Navy Federal CU, because she felt more connected to the credit union’s vision statement, “Be the most preferred and trusted financial institution serving the military and their families.”[v]

Malika describes her boss at the CU in the following way; “I love my boss. She is open-minded and really took me under her wing. In the beginning, my boss and I met once a quarter. I felt disconnected, meeting with such infrequency. I discussed it with her and now we meet once a week. I admit that sometimes I feel needy but I want to build a relationship with the people I work with. My work will not suffer if we spend some time learning about each other. I want to know your kid’s names and what you like to do when you are not at the office. It is a two-way street.”
Malika Coleman

A good leader is not the NM Gen’s next BFF. A good leader does, however, make time for conversations with their younger co-workers that go beyond a text and delves deeper than just market share.

When Leading Millennials, Treat them Like a Leader too!

The NM Gen perceives themselves as leaders and they want their careers to include leadership roles.

According to training company, Virtuali over 70% of Millennials regards themselves as a leader even if their title does not reflect a leadership position.[vi]

The NM Gen has not only experienced a life of collaboration and consensus building, they have also had a powerful voice from an early age.

Social Media has given the NM Gen the voice and the ability to take the imitative, lead change, lead frequently and get big results often all before getting out of bed in the morning. Via Social Media, the NM Gen can fund a start-up, popularize a new restaurant or find a bone marrow match for a sick friend.

As leaders themselves, the NM Gen wants to help others and make an impact. According to The Millennial Leadership Study, close to 50% of the NM Gen describe leadership as “empowering others to succeed” and greater than 60% want to imbue people with a “sense of purpose and excitement.”[vii]

How do you help the NM Gen further develop and nourish the leadership skills they already possess?

1.Give them a variety of opportunities with in the organization.
Colorado Police Chief John Camper rotates his detectives and officers into different departments or positions. Some rotations are every few years; some rotations are as short as a few months.

2. Encourage the NM Gen to take on leadership roles in their volunteer organizations.
When it comes to volunteering, NM Gen wants to donate their time and use their skills. Greater than 75% of the NM Gen will volunteer if their skill set benefits a cause.[viii]

3. Tell them about your past mistakes.
Transparency is a vitally important trait to the NM Gen. (read a past article I have written – https://meaganjohnson.com/failed-to-be-transparent/) Deloitte’s global study found that the NM Gen feel “openness” is one of the top traits they look for in a leader.[ix]

“My boss told me about a situation where she had made a mistake. I really value the fact my boss will share with me on a case-by-case basis her past successes and failures. Those discussions are more helpful, insightful and inspiring than any online-course.”
Malika Coleman
Navy federal credit union

No matter where we fall on the generational time line, we all have a responsibility to be conscientious leaders. The beauty of the NM Gen is they want to learn from our past stumbles, tell us who they are and lead us all to a changed future.