In recent times, performance has made its way to the top of the people strategy discussions. Life post a global pandemic has undoubtedly shifted and lifted the traditional approach to performance and we have seen a significant rise in remote and hybrid work. Leaders have also eagerly recruited talent from much further afield and adapted to performance chats online.
Employers who are proactively reviewing their performance strategy should be congratulated; however in doing so it is important not to overlook another underpinning change in employee needs based on a key emerging generation in the workplace.
It is estimated that by 2030 millennials will make up 75 percent of the workforce. With numbers like this, doesn’t it make sense to ensure that the performance process in your organisation will hit the mark?
Millennials are a demographic cohort or age group, also known as Generation Y. They're called millennials because they became adults around the time of the millennium and are born between 1981 and 1996.
The term ‘Millennials’ is sometimes thrown around like it is not an era to be proud of, however they are an integral part of the workgroup construct. Some common key characteristics of millennials inlude:
This means that millennials wont think fondly of your paper based filing system or archaic software. Employers are encouraged to stay up to date with new systems, processes and technology. Importantly, they want their business to have a strong social media presence.
Let’s face it; millennials were managed by Baby Boomers who offered constant praise and feedback. It is important that millennials understand their role in the business and how integral it is to the business strategy and success. Public praise is welcomed.
Well before the COVID-19 pandemic, millennials were on board with the concept of ‘work-life’ balance. They saw flexibility as a right and not a privilege and knew that working from home was possible as a viable option. They respect organisations that are progressive in this space and not just doing it ‘because they have to’.
Millennials have no time to ‘wait their turn’ and more importantly they don’t think they should have to. This generation have worked hard, studied multiple disciplines and know that they have the ‘will’ and the ‘skill’ to climb the ladder.
Millennials will tell you how they want to be managed and what they want out of the business; all you need to do is ask. Their transparency can be scary, but it is a gift as leaders are not left wondering.
So, you may be reading this and thinking, “Why does it matter what generation they are?”. Given that millennials are fast becoming the largest generation in the workforce, it is very unwise to ignore their preferences and needs around performance management.
Each generation is shaped by the environment that they grew up in. For example, millennials were between 5 and 20 years old during the 9/11 terrorist attacks. This means that they have grown up in a world challenged by the real and regular threat of terrorism and aspects like technology and a global economy are a normal part of life.
Conversely, Baby Boomers and Gen X have not grown up in this way but are adapting to the changing world in which they live. In the workplace, they are used to more ‘traditional’ approaches to performance management and are usually quite satisfied with the annual performance review process as it has become a work ritual over many years.
Millennials have earnt a reputation for the generation that ‘want it all now’, but are we confusing confidence with arrogance? It is important to understand that millennials are generally technologically savvy, well educated and confident in the workplace. They prefer flat management structures and expect that flexibility is provided as a core employment condition. Millennials don’t believe in ‘serving your time’ but are strong believers of progressing through merit. Understanding this helps us to acknowledge that this generation are not happy to wait for the annual performance review as they know time and feedback is precious.
Generational cohorts provide a way to understand how different formative experiences (such as world events and technological, economic and social shifts) interact to shape a generations experiences. Whilst researchers have uncovered interesting and useful findings, generational cut-offs are not an exact science and should be used to greater understand categories of employees; not replace a specific insight into individual needs or drivers.
Millennials are not asking employers to ‘throw the baby out with the bath water’, but they do want the process overhauled. The following are some key things that millennials want from their organisation’s performance process:
Millennials do not want to be blindsided in an annual performance review. They want to know in ‘real time’ what is going well, what isn’t and how they can improve. They have grown up in an era where feedback and communication is instant and they are perplexed and frustrated by leaders that save this information for the annual event.
The pen and paper review may have been cutting edge in 1986, but things have changed. Millennials use software and apps for every part of their lives, so it is to be expected that they want real time access to their performance data. Employers are encouraged to adopt a performance management software system that links to other key HR platforms such as learning, reward and talent.
Millennials don’t want to be overwhelmed by data and performance ratings. They believe that performance success is much more dynamic and agile than a data point will ever capture. For this reason, companies like GE have removed ratings altogether, opting to see performance in a more dynamic way.
Millennials have grown up in a time where information is readily available at their fingertips 24/7. Through avenues such as social media, they have come to expect ‘real time’ information and feedback. Waiting for monthly business updates does not hit the mark and millennials want to know about changes, new customers and competitors when you do. Consider using an internal social media forum to ensure communication is accessible to all employees in real time.
A recent study has uncovered that a huge 72% of millennials would like to work for themselves. This is partly because they value flexibility, autonomy and the ability to influence an outcome. Therefore, the traditional ‘manager’ model is not going to hit the mark. Consider the benefits of empowering employees to take risks and to think outside of the box – 'seek forgiveness, not permission' is a mantra that will work well for millennials.
A baby boomer may be happy to wait for an annual bonus, but millennials gets restless when the feedback dries up. They seek to know and understand when they have done well and want to be recognised for this. Whilst some employers think reward is purely about the money, others understand that there are many ‘low cost, no cost’ reward activities in a business. An obvious example of this is rewarding high performance with a project opportunity or secondment.
Baby boomers and Gen X are used to ‘putting in the long hours’ to achieve success, but millennials are proving smarter than this. They want to be measured and recognised for output and achievement and not for how many hours they ‘sat in their office chair’. Be open-minded about the benefits of making flexibility part of your workplace culture; even post the pandemic. If an employee will be more productive and successful by working from home, then be flexible enough to embrace this. If someone wants to start at 11am – what are the benefits of this? All of the research points to flexibility being a ‘non-negotiable’ for millennials in their employment proposition and they embrace asynchronous working. When this balance is achieved, there is a great link to performance success.
Millennials have strong social justice radars and they expect performance discussions to be fair and unbiased. They are not interested in someone getting a free ride or an older employee taking all of the opportunities. Remove bias and focus purely on the performance, achievements and behaviours of employees.
Some might say that millennials lack patience, but what they lack in patience they more than make up for in ambition and determination. A 2015 study run by Deloitte found that 53% of millennials wanted to be a senior leader in their organisation. This means that they want to align with an organisation that has a performance management process that is agile and rewards hard work and performance success.
Millennials want you to have a career conversation with them to talk about progression so don’t sit back and wait for the employee to raise it. Engage early in an authentic career discussion where honesty and transparency are at the forefront. Partner with the employee to help them to navigate their career, even if they want to take the express lane!
In today’s fast paced and competitive global economy, it is essential that any performance management process is agile and fluid. This need combined with the growing millennial workforce is why global companies such as Deloitte, Netflix, Google, Accenture, Amazon and GE have chosen to chosen to ‘bench the traditional review’ in favour of a more fluid system where the leader can respond quickly to the behaviour and performance of employees. The voice of millennials it seems has now been heard ‘loud and clear’ with a growing number of organisations seeking to enjoy the many benefits of an agile performance culture.
For assistance with your workplace matters, Members of Ai Group can contact us or call our Workplace Advice Line on 1300 55 66 77 for further information. Ai Group has an extensive performance management section offering members a range of tools, resources and support to optimise and manage performance.
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Georgina is Senior HR Content Editor – Publications at Ai Group. She is an accomplished Human Resource professional with over 25 years of generalist and leadership experience in a broad range of industries including financial services, tourism, travel, government and agriculture. She has successfully advised and partnered with senior leaders to implement people and performance initiatives that align to business strategy. Georgina is committed to utilising her experience to create resources that educate and engage and is passionate about supporting members to optimise an inclusive workforce culture that drives performance.
