I had the opportunity to have lunch this week with representatives from the company I mentioned in my previous post. Many of their interns have already started and the excitement at the company over these tremendous young people has been inspiring. I want to share their story because I really think it is a great example of just how incredible Millennials can be if you just set them up for success!
Let me just re-cap for you this company's story. Group Dekko made a decision a few months ago to have a relatively sizable internship program this summer. In a months time they had posted their opportunities on www.indianaintern.net, interviewed and hired more than 15 students, and trained more than 30 supervisors and mentors on how to manage Millennials. That's no small task and I'm sure it took a lot of work on their end. In the last few weeks they have already set up an excellent orientation program for their interns and, as I said, most of their interns have started and are now into their 2nd or 3rd weeks.
I asked one of the women we were meeting with how things were going. I was so excited to hear what she said that I felt that I needed to share it to inspire other companies to follow the lead of Group Dekko and their summer internship program. She explained to me that the students have been far more amazing than they ever thought they would be. She said that the energy they have brought to their company has been contagious and has everyone excited about the possibilities this summer.
I want to share one story in particular she told me that I think is the perfect illustration of just how engaged Millennials want to be with the companies they work for. She told me the story of a young man who had been with their company for just a week who came to her and asked if there was anything the interns could do to help the community know about all the wonderful things Group Dekko is doing. He said the interns wanted to make sure everyone knew how great this company was! He asked this particular person how they could get involved. How amazing is it that this new group of young interns, a week into their assignment wanted to promote their new company to the world. That's the type of loyalty that I think you can get from Millennials when you just let them get engaged with and excited about your company. What a great example of Millennial involvement.
I asked her how the information presented in the Supervisor Boot Camp (we talk about Millennial characteristics and how to manage them) compared with what they were experiencing and she said that it was scary how spot on the descriptions were. Their group of interns has thus far shown themselves to be highly interactive, high achieving, and wanting to make a difference.
I think a big part of the success so far though is Group Dekko themselves. They have a great culture for all their employees and this has translated into a great program for their interns. They are a great example of a company who is doing a great job preparing their interns for a great summer and it really looks like they are going to get high productivity from them!
As I was talking to the company representatives, it struck me that the energy, enthusiasm, desire to make an impact, and ability to share their opinions is what makes Millennials so special but there is a real opportunity that the very things that are so great about them could potentially cause some workplace conflicts because of the different approaches among different generations. I thought of it this way, I think most other generations would never think to come into a job and a week later start offering opinions, requesting meetings with the CEO's, asking for the big picture about what the company is all about, or even asking the employer what they are doing to make sure the community knows about them. But this is exactly what Millennials do. I can see other employees looking at this as over the top cockiness. They might ask "Who do you think you are coming in here and trying to change everything?" I would say most of else feel that we have had to pay our dues in order to have the right to do these things.
The truth is, like it or not we really have to foster this desire to be so involved. We have to be open to the request for the CEO's time in order to share ideas. We have to be open to hearing the suggestions that Millennials have. No longer can we say, "I would NEVER do that". Just because we wouldn't do that doesn't mean it can't be done. Provide the boundaries that you need Millennials to have but don't stifle their ability to bring in new energy and life into your company.
Young people are our future and we have a responsibility to help them grow into great employees. Let them have a voice in your company and follow the lead of Group Dekko by providing them the tools and training to not only be successful, but to really have an impact on your company.
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