Growth

Looking at Business through the Eyes of a Millennial: Here Are the Secrets of Optimising Workplace Productivity

Millennials make up the largest part of the workforce today, and the number is expected to rise and hit about 75% by 2025. This group, alongside generation Z, come with unique traits that make it an uphill task for many managers to work with them. For example, the average millennial checks his/her phone about 150 times every day and prefers communicating electronically. These attributes can easily result in conflict, but because this is the largest working cohort, the big question for managers is “how do you work with them to optimise workplace productivity?

Important Statistics about Millennials that Every Manager Should Know 

  • Millennials will make 75% of the workplace by 2025. 
  • Of the millennials at work already, 29% are very engaged, 16% disengaged, and 55% not engaged. 
  • Approximately a quarter of millennials are motivated by recognition at work. 
  • 42% of millennials anticipate job changes every one to three years.
  • 59% of millennials indicate they greatly value every opportunity to learn and grow. 
  • 75% of millennials would prefer to work away from the office, such as home or any other place where they feel most productive.

Special Tips for Optimising Productivity when Working with Millennials 

According to Adrian Cheng of the New World Development, your modern business must also factor in technology and focus on innovation to stay ahead of the competition.

From the statistics and numbers we have shared above, businesses should realise that millennials come with a different mindset compared to previous generations. Therefore, companies should have strong value propositions to be able to optimise productivity. Here are some of the most useful tips to employ for optimising productivity when working with millennials. 

  • Make the Workplace More Flexible 

Millennials are flexible and believe they can work from anywhere. This idea of virtual offices was recently reinforced by the COVID-19 pandemic, which showed us that it is possible to work away from the conventional office and achieve optimal productivity.

Now, millennials want to be able to enjoy a similar type of  freedom, and you should craft a method of providing it. 

One way of doing this is defining targets for your staff and lines of communication so that some are allowed to work away from the office. For example, your accountant, marketer, or strategic advisor does not have to travel to the city office. Instead, you can provide secure login where staff can access the company files and work. You will be surprised to realise that the output of each will be impressively high because of the added flexibility. 

  • Be Open to Changes 

Creating a collaborative workplace can come in handy in not only attracting new millennials but also retaining them at your workplace. Therefore, be open to changes by redefining the office and workplace culture. As they work and interact with peers globally, the ideas they gather and propose for adoption should be considered for changes.

So, ask them to do more research on them and help spearhead the targeted transformation. 

Being open to changes and supporting new changes can help to build a more engaged workforce. Ultimately, your company will enjoy higher productivity. 

  • Provide Purpose-Driven Work 

Studies done on millennials have established that they prefer a purpose-driven environment that allows them to deliver meaningful results both at work and away. They want to see their companies moving rapidly from one level to another because such successes will also elevate their careers.

Therefore, you should consider providing clearly defined work for them and paths for career development. 

Make sure to also include training and development to help them build on their careers. From your accountants to general managers, they will love to see their profiles improve.

This means that at any moment, they are moving up their career paths. Purpose-driven work, in this case, acts as a crucial driver that will see your millennial workers surpass pre-set targets. 

This post has demonstrated that for your business to be more productive and successful today, it is paramount to change the way of doing things. The strategies we have listed are particularly crucial when working with millennials.