These questions can all be applied when thinking about Millennial workplace communication. I think its critical to note exactly what thought processes and behaviors millennial workers have and how it differs from the generations of their coworkers, supervisors and upper level management and use that to their advantage. This is because all companies should aspire to work efficiently and cohesively, even if it requires being non-traditional and against-the-grain. For starters, we can pin-point that Millennials have shorter attention span (think about Vine and Twitter and how they like to stay short and sweet). They also tend to enjoy social media. They also are drawn to visuals. It is interesting to note that Millennials, with their access to large quantities of information with the help of mobile internet, can focus more on broader concepts rather than simply memorizing minute details. I think we can use all of these characteristics to our advantage and create a different, more cohesive work environment if we embrace these differences in our communication. This can be applied to job training, providing news, or even group discussions. Forbes discusses the differences in the Milennials from the older generations, with some interesting data on communication methods:
Communication Styles
How do you most like to communicate at work?
Face-to-face:
Ages 55+: 60%
Ages 25 to 34: 55%
E-mail/Text:
Ages 55+: 28%
Ages 25 to 34: 35%
Phone:
Ages 55+: 12%
Ages 25 to 34: 10%
These samples (not surprisingly) indicate a changing dynamic in communication. Managers should make haste to embrace this difference, not for their convenience, but rather for the nature of the work environment (Management Theory Y, not X). Forbes also discusses in detail in, another article, how managers and employees can adjust their communication for cross-generational audiences. When communicating to a millennial audience, Forbes says:
1. Make training and mentoring a priority
2.Set clear objectives----from the start
3.Consider the medium
4. Provide feedback early and often
5. Pause before reacting
Personally, I think it is best that managers embrace the Millenials' unconventional communication style. I think they should embrace the concept of a work-place blog (and expect the subordinates to check it) rather than rely on mass-emails and mass-texts as it is apparent that young people have a tendency to pay less attention to it. I believe it is an excellent idea to embrace visuals (charts, graphs, stats, videos, pictures) in communication with millennial audiences, especially in Sales, Marketing, and R&D departments. When it comes to job training I think Panera Bread communicates with Millenials the best, featuring an interactive training video/game.
What other indicators of a Millenial audience can be utilized when communicating cross-generational?
What new, modern technology mediums can be used for a better workplace environment and better communication?
What is the best medium to communicate with you?
I fully agree with your statements on the differences of age groups and how it relates to our preferred use of communication. I totally agree that why waste time meeting with someone when the same information can be relayed almost instantly through sources such as email and text messages. The only part I may not fully agree on is the fact that some of these old forms of communication are becoming obsolete and need to not be pursued in further business ventures. While I agree that things such as letters can and should be written off into history, many important business transaction should still require, in my opinion, a good face to face conversation whether it be in person or via the internet. This is a method of communication that will be used forever, and proper face to face conversations are hard for some to grasp so I believe that this method will be used forever.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with everything here. It's crucial that any business adapt to the constantly changing dynamic of electronic communication. Any company that fails to do this will be seen as "out of touch" or "behind the times". I was surprised to learn from your research that both generations veer away from talking on the phone, and I'm curious as to why. This also made me wonder what kind of communication dynamics might change for the next generation.
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