“I want to eat my cake and have it’, this is what a HR manager said when referring to the new influx of millennial generations they have to hire to replace retiring baby boomers. He described them as opportunistic driven and ill-mannered crop of hippies with the trademark ‘I want it my way, don’t get in my way’.

Who are the millennial generation? Millennial generation refers to those born between early 80’s and the new millennial, year 2000. Neil Howe and William Strauss, authors of the 1991 book Generations: The History of America’s Future, 1584 to 2069, are often credited with coining the term. They are also called generation Y, trophy generation, newcomers, digital generation, new age generation, generation Me, Peter pan or Boomerang generation.

What is particular about this generation? They have become increasingly important because they are the most educated, trendy, exposed, technology savvy and toughest generation to manage when compared with baby boomers (born between 1946 – 1964), Generation X (1965 – 1979) and even Generation Z (2000 to present day).  Millennials (or generation Y) have become a dominant force in the labor market and recently become the largest share of the American workforce according to new Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.

Knowing for sure that the millennial are the future managers of business enterprise, it would be in the best interest of organizations that still want to be relevant in tomorrow’s business landscape to try in as much to understand how best to attract, engage, develop, manage, retain, appeal and market to the millennial generation. The following are some 10 artifacts of this generation that organizations must learn how to deal with to successfully manage millennials in the workplace:

1. Business process- Most millennials are not a fan of legacy processes in the workplace. They love spontaneity and to them a crisis is not necessarily the worst thing. In fact, it might be an opportunity. They are agents of disruptive process.
2. Communication- Millennials prefer the use of slangs, slogans and/or abbreviations. They belong to the school of ‘brevity is the soul of wit’. You can expect the use of ‘f’ or ‘b’ words when they are stressed or exasperated. Also, the typesetting in official emails can include slogans such as ‘lol’, ‘omg’, ‘tty’, ‘yoyo’…
3. Mentorship- Millennials idea of mentorship is drawing inspiration from the pop culture, pop artiste, Hollywood, reality TV stars, sport icons or fashionistas.
4. Work philosophy: Adventurous in approach. They are always looking out for the next challenge. If you keep them bored, they disrupt those who are working. Believe it or not, they are one step away, already seeking employment in a company that does challenge or intrigue them.
5. Technology: They love mobility. They are the most active generation in the social media age. You can expect to find them surfing their Facebook page during important business meeting.
6. Paradigm- Full of ‘self’. They rather want to be told what to do but not how to do them. Except they are stuck, they do not fancy being micro-managed. Sometimes they believe they know it all. Allow them to stumble. The best learn from mistakes but be careful some mistakes can cause a company fortunes.
7. Work-Life Balance- As for a millennials, the only thing they want to balance is life. Their ideology is that work is just part of the package. Despite the fact we spend most our waking hours at work, their concept is that work should flow with life. Consequently, if they enjoy a work, they tend to think they enjoy life and vice versa.
8. Dressing- You need to get used to seeing tight fitted or custom dresses. Sometimes you witness offensive scripted tops, overstated hair-dos and a whole lot of tattoos.
9. Workplace Etiquette- Millennials do not understand boundary. Not all of them though, they are the loudest generations when compared to their predecessors. They can bring the party into the office. Their etiquette can be summed up as ‘orange is the new black’.
10. Relationship: Compared with other gens, they are more likely to make friends in the workplace. They easily build relationship and can seamlessly connect with prospective customers faster than the marketing team. They have the power. They are the new world power.

Where do we go from here? My HR friend who is a baby boomer constantly moans about millennials’ attitudinal tendencies and lackadaisical work approach.  I, being a millennial am often taken adrift by his constant bickering about a change that has already taken place. The millennials are traveling at a distance faster than the traditionalists. From a progressive perspective, I recommend a hybrid approach where we could have the best of both worlds. It is no longer business as usual, and any organization who is not ready to glide with the times and embrace change may soon find their bottom line in red zone and product/services offerings skewed in pecking order at the consumer market square.