Businesses seem to be obsessed with millennials and their preferences. This makes sense because they’re the generation that’s currently shaping many aspects of the world we live in. Businesses want to understand more about them and how to appeal to them whether it’s as employees, consumers or investors.
What do millennials really want?
You have probably heard plenty of negative information about millennials. You hear that they’re overconfident and tend to overestimate their talents. They’re always skipping from one job for another because they want to try new things. You hear that they’re spoiled and entitled and that technology is more important to them than anything else.
All of this may be true to some extent but probably the most important thing about them is that they do not want to be insignificant. They want to feel that they can make a difference in their life and their work.
They are an optimistic generation that grew up in smaller family units with hands-on parents. They grew up watching talent shows where ordinary people became stars and watched young people start huge companies like Facebook.
They’re unlike their parents in many aspects – they do not respond to direct advertising, appreciate tech-savvy innovation and value high performance. They are health conscious and will vape rather than smoke, supporting companies like Vaping 360.
They would rather research for themselves than accepting anything at face value and would rather listen to their peers than to marketers about what products and services to use.
Millennials want to a sense of purpose
All of the top professions that attract millennials are either professions that help people or those that make a difference by being entrepreneurial. Companies like Google are winning a large share of millennial talent because at companies like this they feel a part of changing the world in some fundamental way.
They want to buy from and work for companies where they get a sense of purpose and meaning. They volunteer twice as often as their older counterparts. Half of them say they would gladly take a pay cut to work for a company that’s making a difference in the world.
Understanding that they want to matter makes sense of the fact that they want to feel valued for their contribution. They’re eager for the next step in their career because they don’t just want to be stuck in a mindless job.
It makes sense that they want to understand how their job contributes to the bigger picture. It makes sense that they want to be connected to companies whose story excites them and makes them feel that the work they’re doing might make a difference.
Millennials want autonomy
Millennials grew up with the internet and know what it’s like to have instant access to knowledge whenever and wherever they want it. They know how to leverage social networks to get things done.
They want to exercise autonomy at work because they’re used to having it. Millennials are also used to having constant feedback and figuring how to do things by themselves.
How businesses can motivate them
If businesses want to know how to motivate millennials, they need to realize that what they want most is to feel that they’re making a difference. For example, they need to show them that doing their work is significant and make them feel part of a larger story.
Millennials need to know though they are making a contribution and want to feel appreciated for the work they do. Allowing them more autonomy makes them more productive. Like it or not, they are a dominating force in the market today and knowing how to engage them does matter.