A Millennial fits into the generation born between 1980 and 2000. They are the masters of Social Media, addicted to coffee, brought up to know that they can make a difference and no that the impossible is possible if they dream it and do it. They are the future leaders of businesses across the world.
A Millennial on Instagram said that her first mentor told her to choose mentors she wanted to be like, have what they have and travelled where she wanted to travel to. She did exactly that. She followed a few mentors and always had these types of mentors at work and socially. She said that this was the best advice anyone had ever given her. She herself, is now an extremely successful young business owner.
Corporations realise the need for but underestimate good mentorship programmes especially in retaining talented up-and-coming millennial managers to serve as the new leaders in management. Quite simple: Millennials want more out of their jobs than just a regular pay check.
Millennials need more engagement. They are the masters of Social Media. Why? There is constant engagement. They love coffee and coffee shop socialising. Why? There is constant engagement. They want to make a difference in the lives of customers. Why? There is constant engagement.
Organisations who have long-standing mentorship programmes need to up their game and those who still don’t have these programmes in place should hurry up and implement it because Millennials are known for job-hopping if they don’t feel that they fit.
Here are 5 ways mentoring programmes should be used to retain talented Millennials:
- Mentoring must feel meaningful. Millennials want to see the value of the programme for them. They want to develop into the best version of themselves. Above all they want to feel like this mentoring programme will help them make a difference in their own lives and especially those of others.
- Millennials are goal-focussed. Mentorship programmes should design personal career goals (not financially or ROI wise for the company, but for the employee’s growth), and then should design ways on how to measure progress.
- Mentors should give instant feedback combined with regular interaction. Remember that Millennials are growing up in an age where there is instant gratification and feedback. They need to have constant feedback on whether they are still doing their best. If they are still on the right track, and if they make their mentor proud. Regular interaction is extremely important as mentees might feel forgotten or not tended to.
- Mentors should teach screen-focused Millennials how to communicate face-to-face. This generation spends a lot of time on their phones, tablets and laptops texting, emailing etc. Millennials should be taught to communicate and behave in meetings and through face-to-face interaction.
- Mentorship programmes should use the team-work concept. This means listening to the ideas and suggestions of Millennials and to encourage them to grow as part of the team. They need to feel like they belong to a ‘work-family’.
The Coaching and Mentoring skills course equip leaders with the tools to implement a mentoring and coaching approach to help unlock potential, reinforce strengths and counteract any negative behaviour, all with the aim of maximising the individual’s performance.
The concept and implementation of Mentoring and Coaching of individuals in business grew significantly in recent years in South Africa as business recognises the increased value of retaining and growing star performers. Regular Mentoring and coaching sessions keep individuals on track in terms of the values, vision and strategy of the business and assist in the development of people in organisations.