How to communicate with Generation Y
Identify the 5 key elements of generation Y to hone your communication style to meet their wants and needs.
by Diane Gayeski, CEO, Gayeski Analytics
The “Nexter Generation” – more commonly known as Generation Y or Millenials – is highly wary of the job market. This is possibly because they grew up amid corporate scandals and downsizing and saw their parents suffer because of difficult work situations.
They're also especially wary of large corporations, and don’t believe they will remain with one company for life.
As a result, they research organizations extremely carefully – online, by visiting many different websites and blogs, which may be quite critical and inaccurate; and also by researching employees through personal contacts or via the internet to discover what it’s really like to work at the company. They also look for value alignments before they affiliate with a company.
Generation Y’s values are on two levels:
- Individual values: They expect the company to value the individual and to communicate honestly with them, and they will examine the leadership and character of the company before joining.
- Wider values: Other issues, such as environmental, peace and labor issues are also taken into consideration.
Using technology to communicate personality
Nexters establish close virtual friendships through mediums such as social networking. Through this technology
they've grown up accustomed to hearing not only what people are doing but how they're thinking, and they
will expect the same type of communication with their executives and supervisors.
Technology can be the tool to allow executives to display more of their personality, but only if it doesn’t look overtly slick or staged by communication professionals. There is a need for the communication to be genuine and to be seen to come from the individual.”
To resolve this, communicators need to coach executives to speak and write candidly in their own voices and to bring out their own personalities and histories – communication pieces need to be seen to come from a real person rather than be faceless “stories.”
The importance of face-to-face communication
Face-to-face communication will always remain important in the workplace and Nexters
embrace diversity and teamworking, so informal networking opportunities will be appreciated by them.
Social occasions are very important to this generation – not all are extrovert however – many feel very comfortable chatting online.
They aren’t confident in their ability to succeed, with few expecting to achieve the same level of success as their parents.
What shapes this generation?
I believe the 5 key elements of generation Y are:
- They thrive on immediate feedback, so communicators should keep them up to speed on their own and the company’s progress.
- They are very idealistic.
- They aren’t confident in their ability to succeed, with few expecting to achieve the same level of success as their parents, although they have been given tremendous opportunities. Although some researchers have named them “trophy children”. I disagree. Many parents have tried to give them the best possible start by taking them to different after-school activities. Their lack of confidence could stem from global competitiveness and awareness or how challenging today’s business world is.
- Many aren’t as willing to sacrifice as much as the Baby Boomers for their work. This could possibly be because of the increases in divorce rates, and as a generation they're very family-orientated and prize the time and ability to pursue their other activities.
- Paradoxically, in one way they aren’t willing to sacrifice everything for their work, but in another if they're engaged with their work and feel it's aligned with their values they can be very hard-working and very enthusiastic.
Different approaches taken
I'm unaware of companies formally segmenting by generation, but corporate trainers and
designers are sensitive to the different generations and try to build in their different values by providing examples
relevant to all generations.
I've also seen companies offering the same communication in many different formats and introducing new types of communication technology such as blogs and podcasts.
Four generations, one workplace
The main difference in the modern workplace is that Veterans and Baby Boomers are remaining at
work longer, resulting in more older workers in the workplace than ever before, and this will continue to rise.
The knock-on effect from this will be the gap in technological knowledge, different sets of values, workplace expectations, contexts and life experiences, and internal communicators will need to be sensitive to these by offering, for example, communications in multiple formats, which can make messages easier to access and understand given different work situations and learning styles.
Not everyone works at a computer, so short messages can be delivered by text message
or web-enabled cellphones, and podcasts distributed via iPod can work well for a field-based workforce. As
employee communication is rarely perceived as urgent, they could be totally ignored unless they can be accessed
while multi-tasking, such as waiting for an appointment or driving a car, so Nexters are more likely to access
materials available in portable, short formats.
However, older workers may not have the skills or devices to access these new forms of media, so keeping traditional media, such as print, is also important.
How employers should handle learning disabilities
Unlike previous generations, Nexters have had considerable and individual attention paid to their learning
disabilities. Students who in previous generations would have been ignored have had their learning disabilities
defined and acknowledged.
For example, at many competitive colleges such as Ithaca College, where I teach, 10-15% of students have formally identified themselves as having learning disabilities – some of these are the brightest students – and the professors need to accommodate them.
US employers are legally bound to accommodate disabilities in the workplace, and this affects communication. If you’re providing information in a way that doesn’t work for an individual, you're limiting their opportunities. This generation expects to be accommodated, and most organizations have no idea that this is happening or how to handle it.
Employers must give new employees the opportunity to self-identify any kind of learning disability which needs to be accommodated, and to work with them to come up with an accommodation plan. This might include various ways for employees to access information, such as the intranet or internet via a text reader if they have visual impairments.
Don’t limit the Nexters: allow them to remain in touch
Nexters have grown up with technology, using it as part of their everyday life. Many employers worry that
allowing their staff to use appliances such as instant messaging is distracting, but I believe that as this
generation has a strong ability to multitask, employers shouldn’t shut these tools off.
Nexters will probably feel frustrated and anxious, so it's better to give them the tools they are accustomed to. This generation enjoys being able to maintain these types of social contact so employers shouldn’t close down these channels.
This article was adapted from Melcrum's Mastering audience segmentation report, 2006.
Have your say
Do you agree with Gayeski on all the points she raises about Gen Y? What different conclusions have you reached about what characterizes and motivates Millennials? Share your thoughts with us below.
Recommended resources:
Melcrum report: Mastering audience segmentation
PODCAST: Ways to engage generation Y
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