{"id":951,"date":"2017-01-30T08:30:54","date_gmt":"2017-01-30T08:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.coachmentoring.co.uk\/articles\/?p=951"},"modified":"2017-02-11T14:04:02","modified_gmt":"2017-02-11T14:04:02","slug":"tech-savvy-and-lazy-how-to-mentor-millennials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.coachmentoring.co.uk\/articles\/2017\/01\/tech-savvy-and-lazy-how-to-mentor-millennials\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Tech-savvy and lazy?’, How to mentor millennials"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MillennialsThe way\u00a0mentoring programme design <\/a>was approached\u00a0ten years ago needs to be reconsidered in the light of more recent generational differences in the workforce. By 2020 half the working population globally will come from the generation born between 1980 and 2000. As generations evolve, so do the methods for training, developing, coaching and mentoring people. Mentoring someone from the Millennial Generation (sometimes known as Generation Y) is not textbook developmental mentoring as we have experienced it previously. Understanding Millennials\u2019 quite different career and value expectations is key if mentors are going to provide the right type of support to them, as well as the form of mentoring that Millennials relate best to, in order for organisational mentoring programmes to be effective.<\/p>\n

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So what is a stereotypical Millennial like?<\/h2>\n

So are Millennials really different to earlier generations? Surely Baby Boomers and Generation X behaved in a less responsible manner when they were younger? Our behaviours and priorities tend to adapt with age and maturity. I am sure there was plenty of criticism about other generations being lazy, self-opinionated and shallow. However, what really sets Millennials apart is their affinity with technology. They have grown up with the digital world and most of them have a better grasp of this critical business tool than most of their bosses.<\/p>\n

Millennials have a sense of immediacy. They trust those who \u2018walk the talk\u2019, care more and are committed to saving the planet, are generally impatient for promotion, like lots of praise and feedback and in the view of some of the older generations, are not always that keen to put the right amount of effort into their careers. They want work that is personally fulfilling, to learn new skills and to connect to a larger purpose. Work life balance and opportunities to progress, stand out as the two most important factors for Millennials, once salary and package have been taken out of the equation, according to a 2016 Deloitte Survey on Millennials.<\/p>\n

And what do Millennials want from mentoring?<\/h2>\n

So the desire of this generation to keep learning and progress in their careers, as well as the speed with which they will leave an organisation if their needs are not met, means that employers must ensure a very focussed response to their learning.<\/p>\n

Millennials believe that mentoring is an effective and desirable type of career development training, which is great, as they are often not satisfied with more conventional management and leadership development programmes. They are keen to exploit both internal and external mentoring opportunities in their lives and are probably more receptive to having multiple mentors than other generations. The availability of mentoring is a pre-requisite for some millennials when choosing their employer. They can be quite impatient if the right mentoring is not available and are happy to go off and do their own thing and source their own mentor.<\/p>\n

How can mentoring support a Millennial\u2019s needs?<\/h2>\n