Engaging the Millennials
From personal experience, I’ve always noticed how the account executive and account manager positions at the company are stepping stones. More young college graduates work for PFS Marketwyse approximately six months to a year and then give their resignation. They thank me and my staff for all they learned and move on to their next opportunity. The millennials are a very hard group to engage. I’ve experienced similar situations with my clients who also see the immediate need to engage this next generation work force.
If there’s one thing that we do know about this group, it’s that they live for social media. They are the generation that grew up with computers; they are early adopters and collaborative beings, as evidenced by the many social networking statistics available today. This generation definitely grasps social media applications easily and they expect to communicate in this manner whether it’s with their friends or as a part of their work experience.
When I think about engaging employees, I see that a lot of companies are savvy about using multimedia including Flash, audio, and video to create internal communication campaigns and messages to excite the millennials. However, how many companies are using social media as an engagement tool; to keep the millennials satisfied and collaborating in the workplace. If 8+ hours are spent on the job every day, then the job should mimic and mirror some of your employees’ personal communication behaviors.
An internal social media program will not only engage your employees and keep them interested in what’s going on within your company, but it will also help them to perform better in their work functions. In my last post, I wrote about engaging within, which gives an employee the education to have a voice both internally and externally. But if you take this one step further, the engagement will lead to be more than a temporary investment in your company. Through social media engagement, employees will become committed and join your team as a long term asset.
May 16, 2008 @ 9:40 pm
I do not think that employers have given much thought to the importance of social ties for preventing employee turnover. Keeping employees connected to each other through social media or otherwise may actually be financially beneficial.
At Universities, freshmen who have stronger ties with their peers are more likely to return.
May 17, 2008 @ 2:03 am
Hi Manny, thanks for visiting my blog and for commenting! You make a great point. It’s evident that the social media and networking creates strong ties and if employers provided these types of forums it would be financially beneficial. I think the larger organizaitons are realizing the value of social networking and creating internal platforms for their employees. We will definitely see more of this in the future.
May 19, 2008 @ 8:17 am
i completely agree with your point, being a millenial myself 🙂
Here in the Philippines, it will take some time before management and the IT department could provide the necessary social networking capabilities for the new breed of professionals. Many still struggle through the idea of lifting firewall for Internet use, limiting access only to Intranet and corporate email. This is set-up drives talented gen y talents away, and when word spreads around, the company becomes less of an employer of choice.
May 19, 2008 @ 12:21 pm
Hi Deidre:
I enjoy reading your blog. Very informative
May 19, 2008 @ 1:27 pm
Thank you! I really appreciate the feedback 🙂
May 19, 2008 @ 1:37 pm
Hi Barry,
Thanks for commenting! You make such an important point. There are companies who are reluctant to adopt social networking because of generational or cultural reasons, and then there are those that just are not ready to provide the technology. I could see how the Millennials would turn away from this type of organization or choose not to accept a position. That’s really tough on a firm that is looking to attract and retain the best young talent. Thanks for bringing this insight to the table!!!
June 3, 2008 @ 12:50 pm
Hi Suki, thanks so much for commenting on the Twitter Addiction. I actually thought of you and our many discussions about Twitter when I wrote part II of my post. I agree with you, no matter how frustrated I get with Twitter, I will not stray. I’ve made great friends and it feels good to belong to a really smart, fun community. I’m very happy that we met on Twitter!!