Issue link: http://psai.uberflip.com/i/805200
Attracting, Retaining, and Managing Millennial Workers: What Can Employers Do? ...continued • Help them grow: Managers need to really understand the personal and work - related goals of millennials. Put them on special rotational assignments more frequently to give them a sense that they are moving toward something and gaining a variety of experiences. Challenge them to come up with new ways to streamline processes and to exercise creativity. Every opportunity should also be taken to mix teams generationally. • Let them know how they're doing: Millennials want and value frequent feedback. Unlike the past where people received annual reviews, millennials want to know how they're doing much more regularly. Give the m honest feedback in real time — and highlight positive contributions or i mprovements on key competencies. • Set them free: Millennials want flexibility. They often work well with clear instructions and concrete targets, and then they want room to do things their own way to meet the targets. Obviously this means something different in a route - based environment than an office, but think about aspects of the job where you can let them 'figure it out" and do it their own way as long as they meet your specific ex pectations. Where you can, don't worry so much about how they do it as long as it gets done safely, on time, and on budget. • Let them learn : Millennials want to experience as much training as possible. If your organization is more focused on developing high potentials, or more senior people, then you could risk losing future talent if you fail to engage millennials with development opportunities. Build and measure the effectiveness of mentoring programs alongside other learning and education . • Let them advance faster : Historically, job advancement has been built upon seniority and time of service. Millennials don't think that way. They value results over tenure and are sometimes frustrated with the amount of time it takes to work up the ladder. They want advancement much quicker than older generations are accustomed to. So for the high achievers who do show the potential to rise up the ranks quickly, why not let them? A relatively simple solution, such as adding more levels, grades or other 'badges', coul d be enough to meet their expectations. • Expect them to go : It's inevitable that the rate of churn among millennials will be higher than among other generations, especially since many have made compromises in finding their first job, and this should be buil t into your plans. It's a lot easier to handle the turnover if you expect it and proactively make allowances for it. D o you have suggestions for working successfully with millennial workers in the portable sanitation industry? Tell us about them and we'll print a list in a future issue of Association Insight. Don't worry – unless you want your name associated with it, we'll pass along the suggestion without naming your company specifically. Send your ideas to karleenk@psai.org. W EEKLY EDITION MAR 29, 2017 P AGE 4