Helping Millennials Thrive in the Workplace

What if I told you there existed a relatively untapped workforce that is technically savvy, outcome driven, team players, who want to make a real splash in the most efficient way possible? Now, what if I told you they were also known by a shorter name – Millennials. Although some hiring managers more often ask what to do with them like a set of lamps that clash with their décor, Millenials are quickly becoming the workplace ninjas not seen since the advent of the Internet. What’s the secret to helping them thrive? For Millennials, they need heavy doses of empowerment and collaboration.

Although this will mean different things in different workplace environments, Maria Matarelli, Founder & President at Formula Ink, on Quora offers a few ideas. “Millennials (just like every other demographic) want an environment that speaks to their interests, sure, but also ensures that they are allowed to bring creativity and their ideas to how they work…Millennials want to feel good about the work they’re doing.”

Millennials want to work, and often work hardest when they are able to accomplish tasks on their own terms. This doesn’t mean throwing out the company playbook, but often building in some wiggle room in the protocols that will help them discover ways to be most effective. Tedious, conventional frameworks should give way to creative, engaging, and efficient means to accomplish a goal in less time.

Collaboration can best be created through the Scrum Framework or Scrum as referred through the Agile approach. “It’s a very collaborative approach that engages a self-organizing team and empowers people to determine the best way they should work to complete incremental tasks that lead up to a larger goal,” Matarellie says.

Taking a page from the Farmer’s Almanac it’s easy to understand that if you plant your crop in the fertile ground you will reap a great harvest. The seeds will do their job, can you create the fertile ground?