Millennials, sometimes referred to as Generation Y or Gen Y, are people born between 1981 and 1997, making them employees aged between 17 and 34 this year. With over 50 percent of the world’s population under the age of 30, they are, by far, the largest generation knocking on doors for work that we’ve ever experienced. If you are a Baby Boomer (born between 1946 and 1964) or Generation X (1965 to 1980), you might be feeling slightly uncomfortable with the way they will influence the world of work.
According to research conducted by Microsoft, millennials are ambitious and self-assured. They want immediacy and convenience, and are happy to share their ideas in exchange for roles with meaning. With the likelihood of holding 13 jobs throughout their career, 73 percent say that they are motivated by career progression.
We need to find solutions to grow, utilize and achieve maximum return—in shorter periods of time—from millennial talent, and can no longer
suggest that employees take 12 months to learn the role and then see how to best deploy their skills. Induction programs must be accelerated, rapidly testing competence and capability, and projects stretched, ideally to three to four month chunks.
Liz Wiseman, author of Rookie Smarts, reminds us that “we are often at our best when doing something for the first time. Rookies are more likely to ask for help seeking five times more input than an experienced person and consequently harnessing the power of collective thinking.”
COLUMN - What's Next?
BY HAZEL JACKSON
what's next?
46 | TRAINING MAGAZINE MIDDLE EAST FEB 2014
mILLENNIALS