Fast-working
The hidden skills of work consumers
Say all you want about millennials and their phones, the age of communication is here to stay. Everything goes faster, and the minds of the younger generations are already adapted: fast-food, fast-dating, fast-fashion, and now, fast-work.
Long gone are the days of the worker sticking with the same job for life before retiring quietly. Today, the younger workforce is not one to keep with the same company for life, and internet is partly to blame. Social media lets them compare wages and benefits with their peers. Their resumes are out in the open for head-hunters to see, and they are always one offer away from dropping everything for the next exciting opportunity that might propel their career to new heights.
“Live life for now”, they’ll tell you. That’s just one of the things we can learn from this new generation of professionals.
Here are six more lessons we got from these work consumers, for a better relation between your senior staff and these young internet addicts.
“Take advantage of our amazing talent for multi-tasking”
Don’t be surprised if they are hunting for a part-time job, for a seasonal contract, or if they are juggling two or more jobs. That’s because they like to be involved in more than one thing at a time. This makes them a real asset when it’s time to manage several clients at once, to get more than one type of task done, or to adapt to a new environment fast. Useful!
“Let us work from home”
Work-family balance is out. Work-family integration is what it’s all about now. Young parents will be much more open to overtime if they feel like they can still pick up the kids from school. With internet, there’s no real reason to not give your staff this option whenever possible.
“Forget discipline and make work a fun place”
It’s proven that employees who love their workplace and have fun while they work are more productive and loyal. Young people are actually pros at team-work, and they value jobs where they don’t feel like they are working. Think of setting up some sort of reward system or a friendly competition every day, to hit the sale goals for instance.
“Don’t expect us to blindly obey authority”
For this generation, who generally distrusts institutions, a real leader will trust their team and know every member’s strengths. Don’t underestimate these work consumers, and explain to them the reasons behind the norms and standards in place. They will happily follow the rules if they seem logical.
“Appreciate our knowledge of social media”
Love them or hate them, social media is ubiquitous and any business who leaves them out in 2018 is doomed to fail. Your younger staff knows this. Let them guide your senior staff through the steps of a successful social media strategy, and they will feel useful. The sharing of ideas and the transfer of knowledge are things millennials value. Which brings us to the next point…
“Do like us and don’t shy away from technology»
Official contracts signed on tablets (pens might be on their way out, too), video conference apps used to do business abroad, and more: work consumers aren’t afraid to use their mobiles to make things easier and to save time. There are so many new tools out there that let you create employee schedules online, apply to jobs, reach out to other workers, and more!
Speaking of, have you heard of Wirkn? Work consumers swear by it. Like Tinder for love and Twitter for ideas, Wirkn makes looking for work and finding staff super easy. It also comes with a ton of managing tools.
Into it? Check it out: www.wirkn.com