¿Las Pymes lograrán adaptarse a los Millennials? / Will SMEs be able to adapt to Millennials?
The so-called "Generation Y", or "Generation of the Millennium", is made up of young people also colloquially called "Millennials", and several questions arise about them: When were they born? To what years does this generation belong? In what way? Will companies "work" with them by hiring them as collaborators? What is the impact that Millennials will have on SMEs? And the most important question... Will SMEs be able to adapt to their profile as individuals and as collaborators?
There are different considerations about the years in which they were born and there is no fixed agreement in this regard, however, on average they are considered mostly belonging to the corresponding period between 1980 and 1989; others point out that they were born between 1981 and 1999, or, between 1981 and 1995, and other versions mention that their generation goes from 1982 to 1994, but regardless of the dates that vary from one to two years, the truth is that Two real situations arise in this regard:
a) They are young people who were born in a time of change, of permanent use of technology and of labor needs different from those presented by employees of previous generations in companies.
b) And we must emphasize and above all accept, that they are the ones who will lead the organizations soon, if they´re not already doing so.
This panorama allows us to visualize that there are opinions found about them; some consider in a totalitarian way that they are unstable, that they do not compromise, that they are changing and that they have no clearly defined goals; others, on the other hand, consider them young people with energy, updated in the management of technology and without fear to learn the new uses of such information technologies in general, which demand immediate response to their labor needs, which are creative, easily adaptable to new work environments and to those who like flexible schedules and organizational challenges.
However, what should company managers do if it is imminent that Millennials will be in charge of them? The feeling of many managers is that they are “convenient” as easy to shape human capital, but they continue to perceive in the work environment that they are chaos, that they will not remain for long periods of time in the company and that they will not commit enough to the organization, changing companies very quickly.
a) They are young people who were born in a time of change, of permanent use of technology and of labor needs different from those presented by employees of previous generations in companies.
b) And we must emphasize and above all accept, that they are the ones who will lead the organizations soon, if they´re not already doing so.
This panorama allows us to visualize that there are opinions found about them; some consider in a totalitarian way that they are unstable, that they do not compromise, that they are changing and that they have no clearly defined goals; others, on the other hand, consider them young people with energy, updated in the management of technology and without fear to learn the new uses of such information technologies in general, which demand immediate response to their labor needs, which are creative, easily adaptable to new work environments and to those who like flexible schedules and organizational challenges.
However, what should company managers do if it is imminent that Millennials will be in charge of them? The feeling of many managers is that they are “convenient” as easy to shape human capital, but they continue to perceive in the work environment that they are chaos, that they will not remain for long periods of time in the company and that they will not commit enough to the organization, changing companies very quickly.
It is a relatively recent
situation and continues to be discussed or reflected with curiosity, even
firmly, on how to manage new employees. There is some form of rejection or
pleasure towards them and this ambivalence can generate that they are valued
precisely for their characteristics, or that they are denied work opportunities
that make them grow and develop in organizations and institutions.
Even so, they come with great force to collaborate in companies and this has resulted in the realization of multiple studies and research to analyze how SMEs will be integrated, how their behavior will be and, above all, is a reason for analysis detailed what managers will do to “adapt” also to this generation, because they also imply important opportunities for companies.
In a study that was conducted in Latin America and the Caribbean in which 15,000 young people were interviewed, it was found that 22% speak English fluently, which represents a benefit to globalization, they can achieve greater connectivity in the business world and will keep their daily work updated in favor of the development of SMEs; in addition to considering that eight out of ten Millennials work and study, which is very favorable since they are up to date and can make better labor contributions. (Inter-American Development Bank, 2019)
In the study called “Millennials & Financial Literacy, The Struggle with Personal Finance” conducted by the company “Price Waterhouse Coopers” (PWC), they reported that 34% said they are not satisfied with their current economic situation, and that 36% have a “retirement account” because they consider that there is a lot of time left to retire and they don't worry about securing their future. They really live in a world where they seek immediate gratification; when they´re hired they think that they have all the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful in the company, only to realize that their perception is wrong and this leads them to give up with extreme ease for not feeling satisfied in the organization, saying they are "not valued" in it, they get restless, they despair and quit their job in a matter of months. According to an annual study carried out by the Deloitte company, it is estimated that two out of three young Millennials by the end of this decade will have already left their current job in search of a better one. (Infobae, 2017)
For his part, Simon Sinek, an English speaker and leadership specialist said that in his opinion there are four reasons why Millennials are not at all happy people and find failure when they approach organizations in the work plan, being these: how their parents educated them, the addiction that they develop to the technology, the lack of patience and the competitive environment of the labor world.
Despite these difficulties, he said that what Millennials want is to work in a place that handles technology, where they are autonomous and innovation is promoted, that they are surrounded by a satisfactory work environment and that they are quickly recognized for their performance , among other desires, however, it is estimated that precisely for these reasons they are frustrated since the real world will not always be able to offer them this “ideal” situation for their best adaptation and permanence in companies.
If Millennials will be the ones who are directing SMEs in a few more years (even happening already), it should be considered that by 2020 they will comprise a third of the global workforce and this strongly pushes the transformation that should be already implementing SMEs; just in Mexico they represent a quarter of the population, as Xochitl Muñoz, a professor at the Faculty of Psychology (FP) of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), said.
A consideration that SMEs should work is that Millennials have an average duration of work time of a maximum of two years, given that it is not a priority to make a professional career within companies and that they finally aspire to change jobs in a maximum period five years once they are hired, or even visualize the possibility of changing their country of residence to work and that they are more attracted to the development of soft skills and social skills.
Entrepreneurs do not feel totally comfortable with the information that is being revealed little by little through studies and research on Millennials that will work in companies in the near future.
Entrepreneurs do not feel totally comfortable with the information that is being revealed little by little through studies and research on Millennials that will work in companies in the near future.
One of the main reasons is
because these young people do not seek employment to achieve permanence since,
according to studies on the profile of these young people, they do not seek to
generate seniority in employment, but to face challenges, have work and
economic independence, to grow in organizations, to let them be creative, to
give them positions with flexible schedules that offer them free time to attend
their activities and personal commitments, etc., but in the end they do not see
a commitment of fidelity to companies because at the first chance, they will resign
and look for another job opportunity. The above is not to the liking of the current
SMEs that will invest in the recruitment of Millennials, in their
training and in the benefits, they will provide, so they have the vision that
such investment is not worth making since they will leave the company in a short
or medium term. Another reason is related to the lack of structure in
organizations, so it is the big companies, transnationals and multinationals
that hire them for having the type of structure required to receive them and
that are part of the organizational development of these, by providing them
with safe growth. (General Directorate of Social Communication, 2017)
Given data like the previous ones, it has been seen that, in the case of Mexican companies, they are not properly prepared to work with Millennials, so the owners and leaders of the companies must work forward to offer them “different” working conditions, they should look for strategies that generate loyalty and show “loyalty” towards the organization to reduce the turnover of personnel that is so strongly affecting SMEs today. (Mexican Youth Institute, 2017)
It will be essential that an organizational transformation of the area of human resources in particular be carried out gradually, thoroughly, and that it be permanent, adjusting issues such as salaries, retention of Millennials as collaborators and the reworking of descriptions and profiles of the positions they will hold because they will be in charge of managerial positions that will be filled by Millennials, as well as other occupational levels, and it will be imperative to consider that they highlight their job skills (knowledge, skills and attitudes) aimed at achieving specific goals, innovation and leadership to execute adequate decision making.
Another important issue will be to allow them to know other functions to compare and see which area they feel better at, and although not all organizations like it or are not in a good economic situation, they should consider offering support to continue their studies and that this is also an attraction for their permanence in the company, prior agreement to realize it, that is, that they give them financial support for their preparation and that the Millennials give them this support in exchange for continuing to work in the company for a reasonable time or identical to the one that gave them the help to continue with their preparation.
With all this, managers and owners must address the issue of management of generational diversity in favor of SMEs, redesigning new policies, strategies and organizational objectives so that young talent does not leave the company; so that it will be essential that the owners take charge of this current labor reality and review the results that are emerging about the interests, tastes, abilities,knowledge and skills that Millennials are developing, making a “monitoring of the management of Millennials as the human resource of the future. ”
To extend the reading, you can go to the following links:
Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo. (2019). Millennials: La generación incomprendida. Recuperado de https://www.iadb.org/es/mejorandovidas/millennials-la-generacion-incomprendida
Infobae. (2017). La difícil misión de las empresas: entender qué quieren los Millennials. Recuperado de https://www.infobae.com/tendencias/2017/02/04/la-dificil-mision-de-las-empresas-entender-lo-que-quieren-los-millennials/
Instituto Mexicano de la Juventud. (2017). Los Millennials y el trabajo. IMJUVE. Gobierno de México. Recuperado de https://www.gob.mx/imjuve/articulos/los-millennials
Comentarios
Publicar un comentario
Te invito a compartir tu opinión sobre el tema, es muy valiosa para la investigación de otros tópicos que te sean de interés