{"id":706,"date":"2016-10-20T18:16:32","date_gmt":"2016-10-20T17:16:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.workstars.com\/recognition-and-engagement-blog\/?p=706"},"modified":"2020-04-06T12:07:25","modified_gmt":"2020-04-06T11:07:25","slug":"millennials-want-recognition-freebies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.workstars.com\/recognition-and-engagement-blog\/2016\/10\/20\/millennials-want-recognition-freebies\/","title":{"rendered":"Why millennials want recognition more than freebies"},"content":{"rendered":"

This recent article on HR Grapevine<\/a> suggests many millennials prize job recognition over all other incentives.<\/p>\n

It states that employee benefits might help with initially attracting millennials, but once they\u2019ve got their feet under the desk, it\u2019s appreciation and job satisfaction they\u2019re after. Not so different from other generations then? Or are they?<\/p>\n

Where it does differ is their expectation about how that recognition\u2019s delivered. Given that millennials have grown up with greater personalisation being the norm, it\u2019s not much of a shock that this is the way they\u2019d prefer their recognition delivered too. Old school generic employee recognition<\/a> efforts will be pretty meaningless to millennials.<\/p>\n

The same is true of feedback. Other generations of employees mostly subscribed to the view that \u2018no news is good news\u2019. If you didn\u2019t hear anything, you were doing a good job and more of the same please.<\/p>\n

But for millennials, it\u2019s different. Feedback\u2019s a positive thing and they want ongoing feedback on how to do even better. In their eyes, it\u2019s not something to fear; it\u2019s coaching. And they want it quickly \u2013 not an unreasonable expectation when you consider they\u2019ve grown up in a world of instant responses.<\/p>\n

Recognition\u2019s just one of the ways employees receive performance feedback in a modern workplace, along with activities like coaching and mentoring. Employees never liked performance reviews; more often than not that was because they were a complete waste of time or usually concentrated on the negative. So waiting 12 months to get one was no issue. However in an era where the positive plays a much greater role, employees of all ages want to hear more.<\/p>\n

This report from PwC<\/a> more or less echoes the HR Grapevine article. The giant multinational professional services organisation has been taking a very close look at what motivates its younger people and what it needs to do to create an environment that appeals to all generations.<\/p>\n

PwC realises millennials are far more driven by the social needs of flexibility, appreciation and team collaboration. So it\u2019s been focusing on creating more flexible environments. It\u2019s nurturing a greater sense of community. There\u2019s been a lot of emphasis on listening and being effectively connected with people.<\/p>\n

And a big part of the strategy is to find innovative approaches to recognition that meet the specific needs of millennials. It\u2019s a generation that\u2019s putting greater emphasis on enjoying work and finding meaning and purpose in it. In fact, that\u2019s more important than rapid career progression. So the emphasis has shifted to how PwC rewards the quality and value of work and how it can recognise the individualism of every person. It\u2019s all about real-time appreciation, feedback and development and face-to-face coaching conversations.<\/p>\n

The big players are adapting their approaches to millennial expectations but the great news is the millennials are asking for something that can be provided by any sized company. The kind of recognition millennials seek isn\u2019t something that requires massive corporate budgets. This is something that\u2019s achievable for companies big and small across the globe.<\/p>\n

Wouldn\u2019t it be ironic, considering they\u2019re the first digitally native generation, if their desire for recognition means millennials turn out to be the generation who re-humanise the workplace more than any other?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This recent article on HR Grapevine suggests many millennials prize job recognition over all other incentives. 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