7 Reasons Why Millennials Can Make You Millions On Projects

The current workplace, including the project management environment, is changing. This is due to more than just the introduction of new management philosophies or new technology.

The workforce itself is changing. Millennials or Gen Y (like myself) are people born between 1981 and 1996. Millennials are no longer the newcomers in the professional world. According to Eric Bergman, vice president at Changepoint, "By 2020, Millennials will make up half the global labour force, and by 2030, they'll account for 75%." He adds that "Millennials' aversion to hidden agendas, rigid corporate structures and information silos coupled with a willingness to explore new opportunities will basically change the nature of work or severely cost businesses."

Why is the change in workforce significant to project management? Because Millennials have the numbers. Furthermore, as with past generations, they'll change the way in which projects are managed. Most senior project managers are Baby Boomers  and will have to manage the project teams consisting of Millennials at some point. Understanding and managing employees from all generations is critical to ensure project success.  

Generational Divide - Millennials and Baby Boomers

Baby Boomers and Millennials often struggle to understand, communicate and cooperate with each other in the workplace. They both tend to rate the other generation poorly across the board, according to the 2015 State of Enterprise Work Report.

While the Baby Boomers recognise Millennials as tech-savvy. They further identify the generation as entitled complainers, who are easily side-tracked and shy away from responsibility. On the other hand, Millennials identified Baby Boomers as uncooperative, resistant and uncreative. Baby Boomers prefer to take their time to examine ideas more thoroughly. While Millennials can easily adapt to rapid change and are much more open to new ideas.

In order to maintain a healthy work environment, companies and project managers have to be consider the needs of all generations sharing the workplace.

7 Ways Millennials Contribute Towards Project Success 

Every generation has their strengths and weaknesses. Millennials are offering new perspectives to the old tried and tested way of managing projects. Listed below are some key benefits of Millennials and how they can contribute towards a project.

High Technological Proficiency

Due to Millennials' timely births, they are usually well versed in technology. They were rated the highest in creativity and tech-savviness, based on the 2015 State of Enterprise Work Report. They are not only familiar with current programs and systems, but they can learn and adapt to new technology much quicker than their older colleagues can. Need to learn video editing? Give them 2 days, a laptop and YouTube. Haven't figured out how to upgrade the website? Check back after a week. Their rapid technology uptake rate can't be ignored.

Multi-Tasking Experts

Although balancing 100 things at once can be viewed as a blessing. It can also be seen as the Millennials' generational curse of being easily distracted. Nonetheless, multi-tasking is a valuable skill, which Millennials are well versed in. They are comfortable using various programs and devices to get their work done effectively and efficiently. They will find the best program, software and/or device for the task at hand. This includes project management software that coordinates all the various fit for purpose software, programs and tools. Millennials have learnt to compartmentalize their surroundings to achieve greater efficiency, due to surplus stimulation from numerous sources.

Large Networks

Millennials, being constantly active on various social media platforms, are more connected and exposed to greater networks. Give them 10 minutes and they will be able to reconnect with the majority of their primary, secondary and tertiary school connections along with previous colleagues. LinkedIn is the best social network for lead generation, according to statistics, and Millennials can easily conquer this platform.

Higher Education Levels

Millennials are the most educated generation in history compared to previous generations. Unfortunately, they also have the highest recorded number of student loans. Since 1987, there has been an 80% increase in awarded Master's degrees in the USA per capita. Millennials pursing and completing higher levels of education creates a workforce with a strong academic foundation. This will have a ripple effect into future generations and will undoubtedly benefit any project significantly.

Cost Effective

While earlier generations, like the Baby Boomers, opted for large salaries and climbing the corporate ladder within the same company. Millennials are more likely to exchange money and the corporate ladder for flexibility, recognition and passion. Technically, you can pay Millennials less for high quality work if you replace the rigid, old-fashioned company dynamics. Since project management involves managing budgets and schedules, hiring Millennials at lower rates won't ramp up the budget. However, it's important to note that a great company culture, ping-pong tables and free lunches won't pay the bills. Thus a balance needs to be obtained between compensation and culture.

Flexible and Inclusive

Millennials were born in a rapid changing era and are therefore generally superior when it comes to adaptably compared to previous generations. Change is the new normal for Millennials, stability and consistency will be most likely be perceived by Millennials as settling and stagnation. They won’t just survive in a changing environment, they will thrive. Having project team members that can easily adapt and who are highly flexible are undeniable a huge benefit for any project. Furthermore, Millennials are generally more acceptable and inclusive towards people from different backgrounds, religions, sexualities, etc.

Non-Complacent

Millennials' thirst for success and they fear the thought of settling in any aspect. They continuously strive at improving themselves and their environment. Millennials are not only trying to better their personal circumstances. They are also rethinking and improving company structures as well as traditional project management tools and methodologies.

Main Take-Away Points for Project Managers and Businesses

• Millennials will soon be the majority workforce and they will determine the future. They bring new perspectives and groundbreaking, innovative approaches.
• Millennials are a powerful technological resource for projects. Technology is part of their daily lives in ways previous generations don't fully understand and appreciate.
• Millennials are entering the workplace with a better grasp of key businesses concepts compared to when their senior colleagues started. They grew up in a more complex, diverse, stimulating and stressful environment compared to their older colleagues. They are likely to have had more exposure to the 'real' world before starting their careers. Thus, it should not be assumed that they are not unaware of the difficulties associated with managing projects.
• Millennials are more comfortable with change. Thus managers should empower them to try new ideas and do things differently. The old way is not necessarily the best. Give them room to explore. Even if they make mistakes, striving towards excellence is better than not showing any initiative.
• The full combined benefit from all generations (Millennials and previous generations) should be harnessed. The combined benefit of Millennials and previous generations will have a greater impact than relying and focusing only on one or the other. Millennials contributions and skills, if leverage correctly as part of project teams, can have great value and improve project outcomes.