A team of young and experienced employees. Motivating Millennials: How to Work with Generation Y. Who Can Be a Leader

Millennials, or millennials, are hard to get to work in a way that is familiar to their older counterparts. Parents of today's youth - witnesses of the difficult 1990s - began to work to survive on their own and raise their children. There was not a great variety of professions, but this was not required: they worked for money.

Today, young people work more for the sake of a process that, in addition to wages, brings them inner satisfaction. This is reflected even in the slogans of the companies: “Do what you like. Like what you do ”(“ Do what you like. Love what you do ”) - says the Russian chain of coffee bars Coffee Like. Work to your liking, work for which you want to wake up - this is what for those born in the 1985-2000s became a priority in finding a coveted vacancy.

Millennials began to come to work. Time passes. They find that work is not always (and even more often) not a holiday: too boring, too much paperwork, too much volume. well very uninteresting work.

Sometimes these factors become decisive: a person leaves and looks for something else. Someone is attracted by the level wages- but at the same time the work becomes almost hateful. As a result, young workers in life process companies: it seems that their work is not important, unnecessary. Then why make it good? Obviously, millennials need a lot of motivation to stay at the firm - more than just a good salary.

Show how their work makes sense.

Almost none of the young specialists understands their role in the company at the very beginning of their journey. They do something, are busy with something, call somewhere, find out something. But the real results from the work done are usually not visible. Hence the feeling of uselessness arises.

Show which way the work done by them goes. For example, if an employee prepared a report, tell us how it was received at the meeting, what information he gave, what further decisions were made based on this report.

Explain what's going on in the company

Involve young employees in the decision-making process. Tell us what is happening inside and outside the company, why now it is necessary to take these and these actions. Inform about the plans of the company, ask their opinions.

Conduct small brainstorming sessions. Perhaps you really find some solution to the problem. If not, that's okay too: explain why their ideas are good, but not suitable for the company. Start with simple questions complicating them over time. You will soon notice that communication between you and your young employees will be much easier.

Remember praise and rewards

It has been said more than once that: they are used to passing levels and getting rewards for it. Therefore, one of the obvious methods of increasing the motivation of young professionals is the introduction of gamification into the business process.

Do not spare words of praise, celebrate the smallest successes of the employee - this is especially important at the beginning of the career path. Celebrate their work. In doing so, be sincere and rely not only on your own opinion, but also on the words of other senior colleagues.

Remember also about the material reward. If you see that an employee has really reached a new level, it will not be superfluous to think about increasing his salary.

Learn about their career goals

Ask young colleagues about their career plans. Firstly, this way you show that you really care about the person as an employee. Second, you will determine how willing your specialists are to stay with the company. Find out about their goals, dreams. After listening, tell us how your company can help with them.

If an employee expresses a desire to eventually get into large company, and your business is small, then be mentally prepared for the fact that one day he will really leave your company. This is one of characteristic features inherent in generation Y - do not stay in one workplace for a long time. However, with you he can develop his professional skills, abilities, get basic knowledge related to his activities. In addition, in a small company it is much easier to gain more versatile experience: often one person has to perform several functions at once and make many decisions on his own.

Give an opportunity to be proud of your company

Millennials are attracted to the opportunity to proudly declare their place of work. Here you will have to try and find several reasons why a young employee can talk about the company with enthusiasm. For example, tell young professionals:

- How did you become a leader in a narrow segment of goods or services;
- Why do you always win in the competition;
- Which of the famous companies have you worked with, were you partners.
- What are the most difficult tasks you have successfully solved;
- Potential internships in larger cities or abroad.

Consider what else can add weight to the company in the eyes of your young professionals. And then they themselves will begin to talk about you - without expecting questions from the interlocutor 🙂

The question is: is it realistic to retrain people 40+ to work in the IT sector and is the industry pushing out “those who are in favor”?

"SOON NOBODY WILL SPEAK ABOUT" OLD WOMEN "IN IT"

Lola Trapsh
director of the Belarusian office international company on the search and assessment of top managers Pedersen and Partners

For several years now I have been faced with a situation where companies are looking for 35+ employees. Specifically, to bring balance and maturity (at least social) to the team.

There are technologies that are not popular among young people, but are in demand in development. There are serious financial projects that require approaches and knowledge that older people usually have. There are reputable companies with large-scale projects and a different organizational environment. All this is a somewhat different reality than that part of the IT culture, where they are eager to quickly "burn down a website or shoot a startup."

In general, I know few areas from where the accumulated set of competencies can be taken and easily transferred to the IT environment with great benefit for it. Rather, the older person has more social and communication skills and a better understanding of their abilities and needs.

"Young people today start at the level for which we have suffered for so many years."

And he will have to build up his technical competencies already in the company. The young will master new things, of course, faster. But if you think strategically, then a lot depends on a specific personality: how strongly a person is tuned in to painstaking work and development. Which, by the way, does not necessarily imply promotion on career ladder... Not everyone strives for managerial positions. Many, on the contrary, refuse this in every possible way.

Employers need to learn to understand people and their motivation. For this, it would be good for employers to dig deeper into themselves and look at least two or three years ahead. Calculate whether it will be easier to keep the young or work calmly with someone who does not seek to constantly seek new company where there are more cookies.

I am sure that soon there will not be so many artificially invented barriers around IT, including age ones. Now 28-year-olds are working there, and in five years they will be over 30. Yes, the market situation has developed in such a way that IT specialists earn much more, but no more. Don't make them celestials. It will pass very quickly. Soon no one will talk about the "oldies" in IT. In my opinion, a person who transplants a heart is more breathtaking.

"THE REPRESENTATIVES OF GENERATION X ARE MORE LOYAL"

Maxim Poklonsky
Managing Partner of the MarkSist Consulting Agency, Head of the Capital Business School. In the past, he was the head of commercial divisions of such large Belarusian companies as Tair-NTTS, ASBIS Group and Alutech Group of Companies

If the owner of an IT business thinks strategically, he understands that there is simply not enough 25-year-olds for everyone in the market. The industry is developing rapidly, so companies are experiencing a shortage of personnel. In addition, it is always lacking exactly motivated people... I believe that you can educate and retrain people at any age - as long as they are energetic, motivated and have a natural curiosity.

Plus, Gen X's tend to be more loyal. And this is worth a lot: if they invest in a person, it's a shame when, after a year or two, he goes to a competitor. Young people now easily change jobs, older people hold on to their place.

In my opinion, older employees are generally more responsible. Usually people 40+ have a good educational background, which is also important. In any case, already on initial stage you can test what a person is inclined to: programming, business analysis, graphic design... If the employer has a lineup of young people, the dropout bar can be raised. If there is a deficit and we are targeting 40+ people, we lower the bar during probationary period watching progress.

Why do we even think about age? The main problem is that older people are not in the habit of using new technologies. My dad is the creator of the first computers in the country, he headed a large design department at the Scientific Research Institute of Computers, he has his own inventions. And now he has to explain for a long time how to use a telephone, an iPad. This is due to the fear of pressing a button, breaking something. It takes some time to get rid of this. But then experience and motivation make themselves felt. Now he is training his grandson living in Moscow in mathematics.

Situations are different. For example, if you need employees with specific knowledge of languages, platforms, technologies, you probably should not look towards older beginners. It will be a long, high-risk journey. But when a candidate is selected for the position of a tester, PM, analyst, industry expert, you can search among 40+ candidates.

But main factor the success of these projects - those managers who will train new employees 40+. I remember when I was a student of the first software suite at MRTI in the early 90s, I was asked to read a computer literacy course for accountants. And I explained to them what Norton Commander, Excel, Word are, how to work in DOS and Windows. These women looked at me like an astronaut with delight. Now I understand why. I really wanted to help them figure it out. And when they try to help us, we turn on.

Therefore, in training programs for 40+ employees, guides to the new world are important. I would focus, first of all, on the training of internal trainers - those IT specialists who will train and manage the "40+". Cultivate managers with multi-age competence. It can even become a hidden competitive advantage.

"THERE IS SUCH AN OLD JOKE: THE BEST EMPLOYEE IS THE FATHER OF THREE CHILDREN WHO HAS A MORTGAGE APARTMENT"

Kirill Golub
co-founder of Aheadworks

Of course, cognitive abilities decline with age, it is naive to deny this. But such a fall is compensated by experience and outlook. The rapid development of technology does not mean that every software company uses the whole range of new products in its work and only those employees who own them are needed. On the contrary, the technological stack of many industrial solutions used now has settled down and has not changed in some places for 15-20 years. And their market not only does not decrease, but even sometimes grows at the expense of developing countries. Many companies that have developed niche expertise and a client base no longer strive to be "at the cutting edge of technology."

When analyzing the competencies and prospects of a candidate, everything depends on vacant post... If a programmer receives one resume from a graduate with a degree in mechanical engineering, another from a mechanical engineer who has worked in production for 20 years, and both without special knowledge and programming experience, none of them will be considered as a candidate, and their age will not will play roles.

Fortunately - or unfortunately - for the IT industry, you can become a programmer and gain experience "with enthusiasm" and at any age. It’s impossible to learn the job of a dentist at home, with benefits and without patients. And the client asks the freelance programmer about the passport age last.

Although you shouldn't expect any problems in the office either. It is quite normal for a 25-year-old team lead to have people on the team. of different ages, including 40+.

First, the relationship between the team lead and the programmer is not a relationship of subordination - it’s not an army. Secondly, if a young guy has become a team lead, he obviously has not only abilities and experience, but also developed soft skills. There are almost no reporting relationships in IT. Creativity and flexibility are important here, which is why companies with a rigid hierarchy rarely achieve great success and often cannot stand competition.

Sometimes I hear that older people are not inclined to overtime, so it's better to take young people into the team. And who said that in a normally functioning company there is a need for overtime on a regular basis? It's even harmful. Constant overtime is a direct indicator of systemic problems in the company.

At a business school class, I once had an absurd argument with a teacher who quite seriously formulated the following problem: "What should you do if you want your employees to go to work on the weekend?" I did not understand this formulation of the question: what does "you want" mean? If at some point business circumstances require the whole team to spend a day off working on a project, there is an objective and understandable need for everyone, then there is no need to persuade anyone, let alone force. But if such an exception turns into a system, then something is wrong with your business (or with you as a leader).

There is an old joke: best worker- a father of three, who has an apartment on a mortgage. A more mature employee (and this is not always a characteristic of age) approaches working relationships more carefully, and his requests are always adequate. And one of the main responsibilities of a manager is to organize the work in such a way that his colleagues are happy to come to the office in the morning and return home on time.

"CONSIDERATION IN STARTUPS IS PROBABLY MORE A MINUS"

Petr Krupsky
practicing psychotherapist

Most often, a person in 40+ decides to change their profession against the background of a mid-life crisis, when not everything is very good. During this period, a reassessment of achievements usually occurs, people may mistakenly believe that the best and most important thing is behind. They may have low self-esteem. This is all exacerbated by stereotypes about age and a lack of support from relatives, friends, acquaintances. Because those, for example, are not interested in new things and do not understand how you can take the risk and radically change everything “in old age”. Better bad, but stable.

Therefore, people 40+ deserve attention just because they tried. It is much more difficult for a 45-50-year-old person to come to an IT company and ask him to test it than at 25. Here it is already important that HR professionals have enough professionalism to act outside of stereotypes. If you see an inquisitive active person who knows English and has a certain technical base, age cannot become objective reason, according to which a person will not master a new technology.

There is another nuance here.

Often, Eichars are very young girls. Seeing in front of them applicants who are the same age as their parents, on a subconscious level they will remember a possible conflict between fathers and children, only not in the family, but in the team. Only maturity and professionalism from two sides can help here: the applicant and the employer. It is necessary to sensibly assess how realistic it is to build a person into an already existing company... And you can embed it so competently that age will become an advantage. Of course, if the candidate has good potential and a sufficient base. He also has life experience.

It is also important that older people tend to value human relationships more. Working in a company means not only performing a strictly defined set of functions and solving problems, but also communication and interaction. From the point of view of psychology, it is very good when in a team different people... Trying to be homogeneous impoverishes, while differences, on the contrary, enrich.

To summarize, I think that age is not a definite minus or plus. We have to start from the situation. Usually older people are more judicious. Is this good or bad? In startups, for example, this is probably more of a minus. And in systematically developing projects it can be just a plus.

"THOSE WHO RUNNED TO SEARCH T-SHAPES CUT THEM STILL AT THE STAGE OF ANALYSIS OF THE SUMMARY"

Elena Lokteva
expert in the field of IT education and e-learning

I would advise company leaders to pay attention to the "oldies" before others do. Back in 2010, one of the most demanded IT employers in Belarus told me that he was no longer interested in just a tester or a programmer. He needs a programmer who has at least five years of experience in any other subject area: tourism, medicine, logistics. Unfortunately, the hiring structure at his company is such that these people won't get there.

This year I attended several IT conferences. Each had at least one speaker who spoke about T-shapes - people with strong expertise in one area and broad outlook in others. They are the ones who know how to find effective, simple, elegant solutions at the intersection of subject areas. Now let's think: at what age do we become T-shapes? The paradox is that it is those who rushed in search of T-shapes that cut them off even at the stage of resume analysis.

You must understand that “ clear sheet"Is not better, it is easier to manage. For the time being. An experienced specialist will have to be reckoned with from the very beginning. And such people make a fast-paced career in IT, if they are given a chance. And our leaders are often self-taught and not yet mature enough to take a strong person into their department.

Is it harder to study with age? We all, regardless of age, are constantly processing huge amounts of new information. This is not the prerogative of the young, but our life. What arrays of information will scare people, during whose lifetime the phone mutated from a disk to a smartphone? How can you scare people who, at the age of 40+, decided to try their hand at new profession, around which there is so much flair a la "not everyone is given"? This attempt itself deserves respect!

The older we get, the worse and less we work - a stereotype. Hopefully it will disappear over time. I'm 41 myself, and I've always worked well over eight hours a day. Do you think it was easier for me to do this 15 years ago, when my children went to kindergarten and were sick?

I am ready to make a small confession so that the “older generation” does not look completely cyborgs. Yes, I am currently unable to teach classes for 12-16 hours a day from Monday to Saturday. I will no longer go to work with a temperature of 39, I will take care of my health, colleagues and listeners. But my efficiency was not affected. It's just that what I once needed two days for, I now do in two hours.

Finally, I will tell you another amazing story. Somehow a talented and popular musician came to us for web design courses, played a wind instrument. International competitions, foreign tours - everything is fine. One morning he gets up and does not remember how to play. Muscle amnesia. Imagine, a man got up at 35 in the morning and realized that he no longer had a profession. He was treated, went to the grandmothers - to no avail. And the family needs to be fed. Some of my friends recommended courses, and he went to study website development. At first, I took the position "I'm not a techie." I had to carefully hint: who you are now is up to you. When I realized that there would be no indulgences, I got myself together and began to study. And he made a wonderful graduation project about classical music. And most of all he was praised for the software part. A few years later I found out that he opened a small web studio and makes websites to order.

So, dear "oldies", if you were not taken into IT, there is always another way - to create your own company and convince competitors that they were very wrong.

Photo: Andrey Davydchik, from the personal archive of the speakers, illustrations: PANDARAMA for dev.by.

Often a specialist, whose work experience is counted for more than one dozen years, is lost when he is surrounded by a young team. They are completely different, they dress and talk in a different way, they have different values and priorities ... How should an “old man” who has fallen into a young team behave - guide him on the right path or change into jeans and remember his own youth?

Teamwork - the problem is obvious

There is an opinion that the age or personal characteristics of each individual employee do not affect how efficiently and harmoniously the staff will work. The main condition for such work is good motivation from the leadership. But how does an “aged” employee feel in a team consisting entirely of young “talents” who, through the word, insert newfangled terms, work enthusiastically until midnight and generally do not work the way an elderly specialist is used to? Experts say that in such “unequal” teams, where there is only one aged employee for the entire “young” team, conflict situations are indeed not uncommon. And the first reason for such conflicts is the inner discomfort of an elderly person who has fallen into a team that is not his age. The consequence of such discomfort is either intense competition or the notorious conflict of generations. More often than not, “old people” in such cases either close in themselves, despite the friendly attitude of the team, or they constantly begin to point out to young people that they are inexperienced. But it also happens that a young team simply does not accept a senior employee - young people adapt much more easily to new working conditions and a new team and do not accept into their circle those who are not flexible. Whatever the cause of the conflict, it will certainly affect common work, which means that both sides will have to find compromises.

What to do?

The key factor in the relationship between a young team and an “aged” specialist is his own self-esteem. Psychological mechanisms are working in full force here - if this specialist considers himself to be an "endangered species" and says that he is "behind the times", there is no doubt that these assessments will soon be tried on by young people as well. At the same time, an employee who values his or her breadth of views, experience and understanding of emerging situations, then the attitude of colleagues will be appropriate. Of course, everywhere you can find young workers who are not burdened with upbringing, but if the "old man" treats himself with respect, he will not take seriously the "pearls" of such colleagues.

Another development of the situation is when the respectable Pyotr Petrovich, looking at his young colleagues, suddenly decides to remember his departed youth and begins to "rejuvenate" with all his might. The desire to match the team can be expressed in the style of clothing, outlook on life, manner of communication. But in most cases, such metamorphoses look at least ridiculous and will become a reason for jokes on the part of the same youth. You should not become someone else, because at work it is the working qualities that will be evaluated first of all. If, the most valuable quality will be practical experience and a high level of communication.

The positives ... are there?

In fact, apart from an excessive amount of energy, a young team is no different from any other. And there is always a place for an experienced, qualified employee in such a team. In a society of energetic, mobile and always positive people an older person himself feels more cheerful and, as it were, younger than in the collective of his peers. In addition, in a young team, the absence of an experienced, "cold-blooded" specialist leads to the fact that the company has to pay for extra education youth. And wise advice from a senior colleague means a lot when making a decision.

Academician, hero, navigator and carpenter
From the poem "Stanza" (1826) by A. Pushkin (1799-1837). This is how the poet speaks of the versatile activities of Peter the Great:
With an autocratic hand
He boldly sowed enlightenment,
I did not despise my native country:
He knew her purpose.
Now an academician, now a hero,
Now the navigator, now the carpenter.
He is an all-encompassing soul
The eternal worker was on the throne.
Quoted: to indicate someone's many-sided activities, many talents, etc.

Encyclopedic Dictionary of winged words and expressions. - M .: "Lokid-Press"... Vadim Serov. 2003.

See what "Academician, hero, navigator, and carpenter" is in other dictionaries:

- (1799 1837) Russian poet, writer. Aphorisms, quotes Alexander Pushkin. Biography It is not difficult to despise the court of people, it is impossible to despise one's own court. Backbiting, even without proof, leaves eternal traces of sweat. Critics ... ... Consolidated encyclopedia of aphorisms

A, m. 1. The one who works, works. Now an academician, now a hero, Now a navigator, now a carpenter, He is an all-embracing soul On the eternal throne was a worker. Pushkin, Stanzas. As a worker, this young and strong man was not worth a penny. Next to the power in ... ... Small academic dictionary

Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

1. TO1, union. 1.control at the beginning of the main sentence for a greater expression of its connection with a subordinate clause starting with a conditional or causal union, if this subordinate clause precedes and, especially, if it is, moreover, very common. If… … Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

- (Greek αντιθεσις opposition) one of the stylistic devices (see Figures), which consists in comparing specific representations and concepts related to each other by a common construction or internal meaning. For example: "Who was nothing, he will become everything" ... Literary encyclopedia

Antithesis, antithesis (ancient Greek ἀντίθεσις opposition from ἀντί versus + θέσις thesis) rhetorical opposition of the text, stylistic figure of contrast in artistic or oratory, consisting in a sharp ... ... Wikipedia

Antithesis- ANTITESIS (Greek Αντιθεσις, opposition) a figure (see) consisting in juxtaposing logically opposite concepts or images. An essential condition of the antithesis is the subordination of the opposites to the unifying general concept, or… … Dictionary of literary terms

PETER I- Russian Tsar * since 1682, the first Russian emperor (since 1721). The youngest son of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, Peter was enthroned in 1682 in violation of the rights of his older brother Ivan. As a result, an uprising broke out in Moscow *, the main one ... Linguistic and Cultural Dictionary

And what to do if you are faced with such a chef.

Still from the film "Office Space"

How to understand that your manager does not know how to manage, and what to do about it, says Liz Ryan, a coach and columnist for Forbes.

We used to think that a strong manager is a person with a strong handshake and a bossy voice. We used to think that being a strong manager means acting decisively and knowing the answers to all questions. But these ideas are already in the past. Strong leaders adapt to the environment in which they operate. They know how to lead based on trust, not fear. They do not need to shout in an orderly tone, and they are strong enough not to be right all the time and not be responsible for everything.

Weak leaders break loose and shout at people. They rule with fear. They just have to be right: no member of their team can have a more correct answer to any question than the answer that the manager has. Weak managers can speak important and bossy - but only because they do not want someone to question their authority. They are too weak to participate in a real, heated discussion. They are afraid that someone below will realize that they do not always understand what they are talking about.

Today more and more employees understand that not every manager and not every organization is worthy of their work. You have much more power and influence than you think, but this influence arises only when you are ready to use it: you are ready to stand up for yourself and have your own position. We are all now entering this previously unexplored territory.

The experience of weak managers can be extremely rewarding. But these are lessons like: "Never lead a team the way this person leads!" Here are 11 signs that your boss, no matter how high in the organizational hierarchy, is a weak leader who is afraid to manage with trust.

1. Your main concern at work is not to anger your boss.

2. Your manager criticizes more than praises.

3. Your boss thinks that he has the final say on any issue.

4. Your manager doesn't want you to experiment and try something new.

6. Your manager uses discipline and rules to keep you and your colleagues in line.

7. You and your coworkers can easily tell when the boss is angry with one of you.

8. Your boss attaches great importance to problems such as being ten minutes late for work. He (or she) clings to formal rules and applies sanctions whenever those rules are violated.

9. They are afraid of your boss, and people in other departments and departments feel sorry for you.

10. You rejoice when you manage to survive until the end of the working day without ever meeting your boss.

11. If you tell your manager about some amazing thing that happened to you - your blog won an award, you were awarded some special title or privilege - the boss is not happy with you. He doesn't want anyone to outshine him.

Alas, there are a lot of weak managers. Too many companies still promote people to management positions based on their functional competence, despite their lack of communication skills, empathy and other human qualities. And weak managers at heart understand that they are weak. This is why they are being so tough.

You don't need to be upset if you realize that you are under the control of a weak leader. Each of us has the opportunity to work with such a chef at least once in his life. But you don't have to tiptoe around him until the end of time. Better to take advantage of this moment and make a good career plan for yourself.

Perhaps there are some valuable things and skills that you can still learn in this job - and it may take you two more years to master them. During this time, you can improve your resume, build your competencies, increase your self-confidence, and clarify your future career goals.

Your weak boss may be leading you all this time - or he may leave for another position, or even he will be fired. The more clearly you articulate your own goals, the less you will be bothered by your boss's unpleasant tendencies. This is just another dog that barks, but does not bite.

Your weak boss may be horrified to learn that he is teaching you important lessons — lessons you will need to help you overcome bigger obstacles in your path. But this is exactly what will happen. And the more you focus on yourself and on your self-improvement, the less importance you will attach to your boss and his bad character. When you see your path clearly, weak people cannot stop you.

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