Why You Should Coach Millennials

Leadership

Jan 19

Millennials are a hot topic; combine that conversation with the need and desire to retain talent and most business owners, executives and managers are overwhelmed. It may be tough to coach and retain at the same time – regardless of generation - but with the right actions you can build a culture of engaged, effective, and powerful Millennials.

Let’s start with some important facts about Millennials:

Talent Retention for Millennials: #jobjumping

According to the Bureaus of Labor Statistics the median job tenure for workers age 20 to 24 was less than 16 months and workers age 25 to 35 was three years. Most Millennials love the freedom of not being tied to a single employer; “job jumping” is a way for them not only to try new roles, but also fail forward – which is a great concept to learn, appreciate, and lean into at a young age.

This new thinking is quite different from what the Baby boomers and Gen X did. Most Baby boomers made a career in a company because it was the right thing to do for them, their family and the company. Most Gen Xers were focused on getting to the top so job jumping just for the sake to learn would have never worked.

Personality Traits of Millennials: Driven to be Recognized

There’s a part of each of us that loves recognition and reward – especially in our professional careers. Millennials are no different – they value recognition highly. According to Hogan, so far are trending in the direction of high in recognition because of a deep desire to be a part of something or part of a team where they can make a difference.

With that said, Millennials generally tend to value meaning over money. Studies show that 55 percent of them make job choices based on companies’ corporate causes. According to a Deloitte survey released this year, 47 percent of Millennials believe that the “purpose of business is to improve society/protect the environment.” Eighty-three percent of the 3,000 MBA students polled by the non-profit Net Impact said they would take a 15 percent salary cut “for a job that makes a social or environmental difference in the world.” (Source: Pat Wadors)

So what do we do with all this information and this generation? We coach them.

And here’s why:

**Coaching Will Improve Your Business Results**

Numerous studies reveal that employees who have had manager coaching:

Outperform peers (+27%)
Are significantly more engaged (+25%)
Apply more discretionary effort (+18)
Are 11% more promotable

Coaching is a Top Talent Retention Strategy

In First Break All the Rules, Buckingham and Coffman state that when high performers leave organizations, they do so as a result of the relationship with their immediate supervisors. They leave managers who don’t care about them as people, or recognize their innate need to be understood and valued.

Coaching is the Personal Touch This Generation Values

In addition to the business case, there is also a personal case for coaching.

We’ve all had someone in our lives who has helped us to recognize our potential and see greater possibilities for our personal and professional lives. This is your chance to become that person for those you coach. It’s two-fold, too; there is personal fulfillment that comes from seeing people you have coached reach their goals, earned a promotion, or launched a new business’s.

So if Millennials are looking to be a contributing team player with the power to make a difference and be heard, you can provide that. Provide the platform for their personal success by serving as a coach; business owners, executives and managers have a greater opportunity to attract these Millennials and build an effective and cohesive team when we’re able to identify what drives this generation’s success.