ATD 2016: Focused On Millennials? You’re Doing It Wrong.
Older generations are often frustrated with millennials. They don’t think they should teach millennials the basic etiquettes of the workplace. The expression, “They should know that!” already comes to mind for many workers.
In 2011, I bought my first car. I was commuting to work and needed to upgrade my father’s old hand-me-down car that was dying a slow and painful death. It was the first time I had made such a large purchase. Through all my research, I settled on the choice of a Hyundai Tucson (silver, of course) and hoped my decision was a good one.
Now, I consider myself an intelligent woman. I have a graduate degree. But I was utterly dumbfounded when I received something in the mail from the Massachusetts RMV. It was a small, green sticker with a large “14” on it. I didn’t know what to do with it, so I asked my dad.
“Um, Dad, the Mass. RMV sent me this sticker. Do you know what to do with it?”
He stared at me, also confused, and started to laugh. “How do you not know what that is?”
Eventually, Dad led me out to my car and showed me a similar 2012 sticker on my license plate. All I had to do was to stick the “14” over it, he said. Simple as that.
As we were heading back into the house, my dad once again asked me why I didn’t know what the sticker was.
“Dad, before today, I had no clue this existed.”
I tell this story to illustrate the importance of Knowledge Transfer in the workplace. At the ATD 2016 session, “Focusing on Millennials? You’re doing in wrong” speakers Megan Gardener and Amanda Marschall of LEGO Systems Inc., and Richard Rittmaste from MTS Systems explored the reasons why millennials have such a bad reputation in the workplace — and some solutions for how to bridge the gap between different generations.
The speakers, all members of the millennial generation, were clearly passionate about the topic. They’ve experienced the bias towards millennials in the workplace and were trying to make a better name for their generation.
Older generations are often frustrated with millennials. They don’t think they should teach millennials the basic etiquettes of the workplace. The expression, “They should know that!” already comes to mind for many workers.
But the question is this: Are millennials ignorant, never having experienced these “workplace norms?” Or are they morally impotent, meaning they know what they are supposed to do, but they just don’t care?
Like the experience with my car’s sticker, millennials may be ignorant as to what’s expected in the workplace. To them, they are already connected with leadership – LinkedIn invitations, for example, have made organizations seem flatter. They have already developed casual relationships and don’t understand the formality of what happens when the CEO walks into a room.
If you want all generations to respect each other and appreciate one another’s unique traits, the speakers encourage organizations to set up a Knowledge Transfer. Here, each generation can act like a “subject matter expert” and teach the others lessons they have learned. Millennials can educate older employees about social media. In return, older coworkers can explain how to correctly give an update to the CEO.
Knowledge Transfers motivate individuals to share and build intrinsic motivators in the workplace. Now, rather than seeing “yet another millennial,” older workers can meet Tom and appreciate that he also shares a love for gardening. Knowledge Transfers deepen relationships between employees, and also acknowledge the areas of expertise everyone has.
Good Knowledge Transfers can yield experience maps, where older generations educate the younger workers about what skills are needed to move up the ladder at an organization.
The speakers closed discussing the importance of all generations, not just millennials, generously reaching out to each other to understand different viewpoints. For any worker, the more you know about what drives your fellow coworkers, your manager, and leadership, the more successful you’ll be.
Millennials, want to know how to relate to senior leaders? Ask the question “What’s In It For Them?”. You can read more here.
