Millennials in the workforce
Image: Mooshny/Shutterstock

How to get the most out of millennial employees

19 Oct 2016

With more millennials entering the workforce every year, here’s how you can get the most out of their unique characteristics.

One of the key traits found in millennial employees, compared to those from older generations, is their ability and desire to embrace digital tools and new technology.

Because millennials continue to make up a growing percentage of today’s workforce, it’s essential that employers take this into account when moving forward with digital tools.

Millennial employees are not as rigid as the older generation. They’re more likely to change jobs, professional growth and development is extremely important to them and, while most workers of all ages believe the latest digital tools to be vital to their job, it is the millennial employees that are the most tech savvy.

This is where they are the most distinctly different from their older counterparts, and where employers should look to capitalise on their traits.

Millennials are digitally stronger

A study from IT research company Gartner shows twice as many millennials are comfortable working in public as older employees. Therefore, file sharing and appropriate social media apps are important for younger employees to maximise their productivity.

This also signifies millennials’ desire for flexibility and change. They are not the type to be chained to a desk all day. Introducing IT systems and technologies that will allow them to work remotely will increase their productivity.

A lot of millennials also boast about having the latest personal devices. For employers, this means millennial employees are more up to date with the latest technologies, including digital tools that offer business solutions. They’re also more likely to have the most experience with these tools.

millennials in the workplace infographic

Be flexible to increase productivity

“Millennials have the reputation of complaining about the technologies their organisations provide them for their work,” said Whit Andrews, VP of Gartner. “In fact, they’re satisfied with the technologies they’re given, but are heavy users of organisation-tolerated technologies that may not be approved, and also technologies that are not officially allowed at all.”

Employers should take into account the number of millennial employees when making technological decisions for their company.

Millennial employees also want to be challenged. They want to learn and they’re happy when they’re given responsibility and independence. They want to be consulted and asked for opinions, and as the most tech-savvy generation in the workforce, bringing them into tech conversations in the organisation will have them in their element.

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Jenny Darmody
By Jenny Darmody

Jenny Darmody became the editor of Silicon Republic in 2023, having worked as the deputy editor since February 2020. When she’s not writing about the science and tech industry, she’s writing short stories and attempting novels. She continuously buys more books than she can read in a lifetime and pretty stationery is her kryptonite. She also believes seagulls to be the root of all evil and her baking is the stuff of legends.

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