What people want from their careers has been changing over generations. With traditionalists seeking job security to baby boomers valuing relationships to Gen X valuing rewards/titles to millennials valuing purpose, we have witnessed a gradual shift of people’s motivation towards self-actualization. 

As millennials are dominating the workforce today, engaging and motivating them has become a priority for managers. It is therefore, important to understand what they value and how as managers one can drive them. Some key takeaways from the talk.

Work Life Blending: As technology has blurred the boundaries between work and personal life, millennials are looking for greater integration of work and personal life. Need-based work from home options, remote-working and access to social networking sites are few benefits which they really value. 

Purpose: Millennials want to know what difference they make in the bigger scheme of things. They focus on the quality of work they are doing and want to know how they would grow in their careers.   

Self-expression: The Facebook generation believes in expressing itself and doing creative things. They believe in networking and sharing their opinions.

As managers one should not only focus on giving instructions but also on understanding their opinions on things. 

Attention and Achievement: This generation has been brought up with a feeling that they are special. They need more attention. Friday engagements are no longer sufficient, they need more one on one conversations and a better understanding of where they are heading towards. 

Real-time feedback: The zeal to do better also makes millennials yearn for real time feedback. The feedback should of course be constructive and should be coupled with appreciation of good work and reassurance in their potential. 

Informality: Millennials seek more freedom. They expect their managers to be open and authentic to them rather than sugarcoating the realities. 

Digital Natives: Millennials are born in the age of technology and they use it extensively to collaborate and stay informed.

As managers one should adapt to new technologies and make our processes more technology dependent. 

Simplification: Smaller attention span can no longer appreciate whole day workshops. Learning has taken a whole new meaning all together. People prefer Ted talks, you tube videos, storytelling as newer ways of learning. 

Follow your heart: This generation values experience as rewards. Through informal conversations managers can make out what their people value and reward them accordingly. One team member might enjoy SPA service while other might like watching movies. Instead of cash, one could give them these small gifts which would also show our thoughtfulness to them.

(This article has been curated from the session - Masterclass: Manager's Toolkit for Millennial Engagement by BI WORLDWIDE - Speakers: Pooja Lal & Sanoj Kumar)