Why is it critical to create a millennial-friendly culture for a company’s success?

From an employee’s perspective, company culture plays a crucial role in defining their motivation to add value and contribute to organisational goals. Quality services, innovative marketing techniques, and profitable sales are factors we often measure a company’s success with. However, the people who make all that happen are often overlooked.

A company with a sound and progressive culture treats its employees not like mere resources but as potential cheerleaders for their organisation and its values. Motivated employees committed to company values and goals often stem from a culture that has set policies regarding the well-being of said employees.

What do millennials bring to the workplace?

No doubt millennials are and will be an incredibly potent force in the professional ecosystem. Those with the right skillset and the right mindset will most definitely be in high demand. What sets them apart from the previous generation is their ability to skilfully use technology and their affinity with the digital landscape. 

However, the digitally-sound millennial population is often seen pursuing more entrepreneurial endeavours instead of enrolling in the workforce. The rigid and hierarchical structure of the corporate culture, at first glance, does not appeal to the millennial generation or their personal goals. The competitive nature of the field also proves uninteresting to millennials who rather search for other roles to benefit themselves and the community. 

As digital sees a massive boom, earning capital has been made rather easy and something that can be done from the comfort of your own home.

Since millennials essentially grew up as digital was coming of age, they are relatively well-versed in the capacities of the technological sector. Their knowledge and expertise in the field also make them incredibly potent employees in this current digital age. 

Millennials are often described as a highly technology-driven generation and often displayed as lacking any real talent. However, this familiarity with technology makes them the perfect fit for modern digital-driven jobs. That, coupled with their frankly contagious drive and high risk-taking abilities, millennials turn out to be incredibly receptive to feedback and highly adaptable to changes. 

The oncoming millennial workforce is largely open-minded too. They are driven and guarantee professionalism while at the same time actively display a flexible approach to learning and work.

The only thing millennials require is a strong company culture that engages them, allows them space to display their ideas, provides the right balance, and a flexible approach to work.

They want to make sure their work is worthwhile and are often driven by this fact. They are willing and acute learners, and with regular feedback, they can display massive improvements. 

Some employers even stated that millennial workers had the easiest transition during the pandemic when workers moved to work from home. They are versatile individuals who value diversity and are often seen mixing well with people from all walks of life. They thrive in a challenging work environment with their adaptability in full swing.

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Millennials and the workplace

As most of the current and upcoming workforce comprises of young millennials, fostering a culture that most appeals to this generation and allows them to add value is the clear path forward. Employees and millennial entrepreneurs have also taken roots deep in the corporate landscape and are already making necessary changes to cultural practices within their organisations.

The end result might be a complete shift towards constructing the correct company values that appeal to millennials and acts as incentives to boost millennial productivity in the workplace.

On a scale of 1-10, millennials rated the importance of workplace culture at a staggering 8.5. While in terms of career goals, data shows that 29 percent of global millennials are high learners and are willing to learn new skills.

Whereas 52 percent of employed millennials consider career progression crucial when it comes to sticking to an organisation. This clearly suggests that millennials are willing to be helpful to their employers, despite being considered one of the most unambitious generations of all time.

Research suggests that millennials value company culture more than any other generation. Their prime motivation is to foster an environment that facilitates their inclusive, transparent, and innovative workplace requirements.

Millennials, research shows, are willing to give up a chunk of their yearly salary to work in an environment that treats them better. This is a significant change from the earlier generation, which considered salary the primary factor in choosing a job.

Which cultural practices do millennials value?

Millennials consider the workplace environment heavily before taking up any prospective job. As employers, it boils down to you as culture propagators to speak about the proper cultural practices and effectively exercise them at all organisational levels.

Millennials are becoming a larger share of the workforce. Since they emphasise corporate responsibilities, the purpose of effort, flexibility, transparency, and recognition, organisations must turn a new leaf in terms of their visible practices.

A recent study by Cone Communications describes how millennials consider genuine effort on the part of the organisation as their primary driving force. Recognition, a work environment that promotes teamwork, diversity, and inclusivity are also critical cultural values millennials often look forward to.

When employees find their personal values align with their organisation’s values, they become representatives of the culture you wish to propagate. This allows you to create a positive brand image and enable employees to actively contribute and participate in said culture.

Diversity and inclusion are also a massive part of the millennial culture. With exposure and experience being the primary agendas, millennials often promote diversity in the workplace and consider working with a diverse range of people a value addition to their own personal betterment.

A healthy work-life balance has also proved highly positive in boosting millennial productivity in the workplace. Studies show that millennials wish to work in an environment that prioritises their health and happiness.

Organisations that value targets over employee well-being might find it challenging to bring in an effective millennial workforce.

Growth, engagement, and a sense of purpose might be subjective but is constant in millennial prerequisites before joining a workplace. Considered idealistic for the most part, millennials are more likely to work for a company that nurtures their professional development and provides constant constructive feedback to drive personal growth.

Conclusion

Building a company culture revolves around building trust and confidence within the organisation. Since a considerable part of the workforce is millennial-driven, organisations must actively display cultural practices that appeal to the generation.

If, as an employer, you wish to attract a reliable millennial workforce, company culture is a crucial part of team building and organisational success. As we have already started discussing the importance of an effective and viable culture within organisations, it is only bound to become even more critical in the upcoming future.

The current state of the internal affairs within organisations might prove to be a stepping stone to future company practices. It could potentially set an example for the required change in cultural practices that boost employee productivity and allow for a much more satisfied workforce.