The media has a new whipping boy, and it’s not the new POTUS.
It’s the up and coming generation of westerners born (depending on whom you ask) between 1982 and 2004.
Millennials.
I hate that word.
The label millennial has some pretty unflattering connotations: lazy, entitled, and whiney, to name a few.
Why millennials matter
I (Patrick, a “late-boomer,” if you’re interested) recently attended a conference where a successful CEO lambasted millennials without mercy. I can’t help but wonder how successful he’ll remain in the coming years if he doesn’t have a change of heart.
Young adults of the tech generation are a tough crowd. (Here’s an interesting look at the challenges Mr. CEO will have marketing to them without understanding them.)
- As we at Varay engage millennials as both clients and team members, we’re finding the following strengths in this generation:
- Entrepreneurial drive
- Valuing collaboration over competition
- A passion to make the world better
Boil all of these strengths together with the previous generations of seasoned IT veterans, and you’ve got a recipe for long-term success. Naturally, though, we have to make the effort to understand each other if it’s going to work.
Differences make us stronger
Of course there are differences across the generations. That’s the way of the world.
But at Varay we’ve found that while this younger generation has some different values and motivators than, say, the baby boomers, they also have some incredible potential in the workforce and the tech realm.
And being flexible to accommodate different perspectives to maximize efficiency and value is what we specialize in at Varay anyway.
A change is gonna come
Instead of finding annoyances to turn up our nose at in the iPhone and Google generation, we’ve chosen to embrace the unique ideas and tools they bring to our field.
And we’ve adapted our work environment in response to our team members in the 20s-30s age bracket. And I have to say the changes have gone over really well for Varay.
- Here’s a look at what we’ve done:
- Ripped out the traditional annual review system
- Brought in a weekly performance feedback system
- Introduced some motivating performance-based incentives
- Made performance feedback visible to other employees to encourage team unity
- Started respectfully mentoring team members to make SMART goals
Change can be great. And so can working with millennials.
Staying current to serve everyone
What the millennial-bashing CEO at my conference missed is that his business won’t be able to maintain relevance unless he embraces the generation he’s dismissed. You can’t do business with people you don’t understand.
One of Varay’s founding principles is to build long-term relationships with our employees and clients.
So naturally we have to become skilled at building relationships with employees and clients from the internet generation — and making changes to stay relevant to them.
We’ll stay flexible to meet the needs of our team and clients, and that’s going to set us apart in continuing to offer relevant content and services.
Want to work with a team that embraces your generation?
Are you passionate about networking systems or building customer relationships?
Are you are driven and ready to be part of something special and exciting?
At Varay your passion for new, exciting, and innovative answers for today’s technological problems is highly valued.
Our drive for excellence in everything we do is supplemented by our support of the development of each of our team members.
Brush up your resume and submit it on our career’s page.
We look forward to meeting you.
