BY C. Lee Smith
Are your managers falling short when it comes to supporting Gen Z and millennial team members? If so, your organization could be facing unnecessary turnover in the near future. New research shows that younger generations have big expectations from their managers. These expectations require managers to pay attention to employee engagement metrics.
Are Managers Providing Support?
Deloitte’s study on Gen Z and millennial team members uncovers some troubling trends. Nearly 60% of younger employees believe managers should be providing guidance and support. However, only 44% say they are receiving what they need from their managers.
In addition, around half of these employees want managers to inspire and motivate them. Less than 30% are getting this kind of management support. These scenarios don’t lead to great employee engagement metrics.
What’s a Manager to do?
You probably already feel stretched to the limit of your ability to manage multiple direct reports. And if you’ve not received training to develop your management skills, that should be your first priority. With this kind of training, you’ll feel more confident about coaching team members. And you’ll become more efficient at managing their needs to optimize outcomes.
What Do Younger Employees Want?
Hard Skills
Younger employees are prioritizing the upgrade of their career skills. Around 25% seek mentorship from experienced employees. They also want in-house learning opportunities with work time made available for this purpose. And they’d like financial compensation for external learning. These wants can be tracked and measured by managers who use employee engagement metrics.
AI
The tech-savvy younger generations are comfortable using AI. They want to stay up to date on the changing technology.
But over 2/3s imagine that their job will disappear as a result of AI. This concern is driving them to find careers that require hands-on work. As a manager, you should work with your younger employees to help them improve their hard skills.
Soft Skills
Younger employees face an unprecedented rate of change in the workplace. To cope, they will need to rely on their soft skills. Critical thinking skills will be needed as they learn to select the best solution to their problems. Time management, confidence and empathy will also come into play.
Managers can help Gen Z and millennial employees improve soft skills by asking them to take a psychometric assessment such as TeamTrait. The results will show which skills need improvement. Together, managers and employees can establish a plan to work on those skills. They’ll soon notice improved employee engagement metrics.
Are Team Members Engaged with Meaningful Work?
Of course, money is a key concern for all team members, and younger workers are no exception. But over half of young employees want to be engaged with meaningful work and be aligned with the organization’s values.
When that alignment doesn’t happen, managers face the very real prospect of turnover. Managers can be proactive about preventing turnover by using the Four FitsTM tool in TeamTrait to determine how well an employee fits with their current job.
Outside of family and friends, nothing is more important to younger employees’ sense of identity than their work. Over 40% note that work matters and that’s why being satisfied at work will keep them engaged.
Proactive on Mental Health
More than any generation that has come before them, Gen Zers are vocal about their mental health needs. They understand that work can be a huge source of stress. And they expect their employers to provide resources to help them cope. When these team members feel stressed, their productivity and their employee engagement metrics fall.
Common stressors at work can include being a poor fit with a manager or with the job. The Four Fits tool will highlight where disconnects are likely to happen. The tool also provides managers with personalized recommendations on how to recognize when the employee is feeling stressed or pressured. And it suggests strategies a manager can use to alleviate some of the pressure they’re feeling.
Summary
Tracking employee engagement metrics can help manager improve retention. When they use a platform like TeamTrait to be sure employees have a good fit with the job, engagement increases. And personalized coaching and training to boost hard and soft skills also pays off for the employee and the team.
