What today’s employees want?
I have worked with over 100 managers and teams, which includes building around 40 high-performance, self-managing teams. From this work, I have learnt that there are common reasons why managers and teams fail and why both do not develop to their full potential. The reasons are simple and are relatively easy to correct, making you a better manager with a dedicated, loyal, self-managing team.
Today's millennial generation, unlike the baby boomers before them, are vocal about what they want their workplace to look like; they will not accept old-style methods of traditional management, which they view as managing, administering, stifling, unreasonable and unwarranted. They want managers and workplaces that recognize them for their efforts and that are collaborative and supportive.
Millennials want meaningful work, a job that isn’t just about paying the bills but is connected to a purpose that makes them feel fulfilled and valuable. Today’s employees care deeply about diversity and do not want to be treated as employees but as colleagues or partners. They believe that they should be promoted every two years, regardless of performance and want to feel like they have an open and honest relationship with their manager and co-workers. They want to know that their opinion is valued and receive a good deal of feedback.
The more their manager creates shared goals, the more they will feel a sense of being part of an ‘in group’. That’s important to today’s employees because they believe it creates more accurate sharing of information, better collaboration, and motivation. They are passionate about autonomy; they love it when they have choices; for them, it creates a sense of having more meaningful work, making them feel more in control.
Managers need to be better listeners, coaches, and collaborators. They need to help employees learn and grow, recognize them for doing great work, and make them truly feel cared about. In environments like this, workers become totally engaged. Businesses with engaged workers report 23% higher profits when compared to businesses with disengaged workers. Engaged workers are less likely to be absent at work, leave their jobs, or experience an accident at work. And, tellingly, engaged workers also experience higher levels of customer loyalty and job satisfaction.
Unfair treatment at work is the leading source of employee disengagement, followed by an unmanageable workload, unclear communication from managers, lack of manager support, and unreasonable time pressures.
The root of this disengagement lies with managers, who must focus on "making work more rewarding and more meaningful for their people".
Employees everywhere don't necessarily hate the company or organization they work for as much as they do their boss. Employees, especially the stars, join a company and then quit their manager. It may not be the manager's fault so much as these managers have not been prepared to coach the new workforce.