The millennial employee, upon whose shoulders rests the fate of your business, is a peculiar bunch. Vastly different from their mothers and fathers in every sense of the word, millennials can only thrive on a job that has a purpose, and a brand they can consider their own. Most importantly, the modern workforce requires skilled and experienced leaders that put the employee and their needs first.
Motivating your team members to reach their true potential and become more successful at work is, therefore, turning into an art form few leaders manage to master. With that in mind, here are the four ways you can easily motivate your employees to love what they do, and become an inextricable part of your brand.
Share a vision with your employees
There is no way around it, branding makes the modern business world go ‘round. Whether you are trying to set yourself apart in the competitive market or solidify your position in the hearts and minds of your employees, you will need to build a compelling brand identity that will echo throughout the industry.
Remember, in a world where everyone talks about quality and expertise, you want to talk about the values that drive you forward as a whole. You want to sell emotion. If you want to motivate your team members to love what they do and give it their all every day, you will need to share your values and visions with them and inspire the employee collective to work towards the same goals, driven by the same passions.
Treat them on a Friday
As a leader, you might not be aware of it as much, but Friday really is an international holiday celebrated across the globe every single week. No matter how much they love their job, your employees can’t wait for the workweek to be over so that they can enjoy some well-deserved rest and relaxation away from the office. This is your golden opportunity to use Fridays as a tool to motivate your team members, which is a trend that’s gaining momentum in Australian business, so take note.
Australia is one of the those countries where the phrase “thank god it’s Friday” has become the leitmotif of the millennial workforce, which made business leaders realize that they can capitalize on the trend by not fighting it, but supporting it instead. This is why you will nowadays see corporate alcohol delivery in Sydney thriving at the end of every week, as leaders are organizing office-wide shindigs at the end of every work week to allow employees to socialize, take their minds off work, and kick-start their weekend celebration on a positive note. Follow the same mindset, and use Fridays to motivate your employees to actually want to come back on a Monday.
Let technology into your everyday office life
Technology has also become an inextricable part of the modern lifestyle, and most importantly, it has become a vital component of a healthy, thriving work environment. While not everybody wants to stare at a computer screen all day long, that doesn’t mean that they do not wish to enjoy the benefits of modern technology and automation in the workplace.
Introducing AI-driven tech into your daily processes will allow you to take some of the pressure off of your employees’ shoulders and allow them to focus on the crucial tasks at hand while automating menial and even some of the more important processes.
Improve communication across the board
Transparent and honest communication is the cornerstone of healthy employee relations and a thriving workforce. Quite simply, there is no such thing as “the corporate veil” in the modern business world, as the millennial employee wants and needs to work in an environment built on mutual trust and co-dependence.
Give them opportunity to thrive through every major change at work by being an effective communicator, and don’t forget to take a personalized approach to every problem in order to build a trusting relationship with your employee collective – in turn, this will motivate them to push the company forward as a whole.
Final thoughts
Motivating the millennial employee is not exactly an easy task. It takes a skilled leader with a personal approach to make the individual feel wanted and valued in a brand, which is exactly what the 21st-century employee requires. Most importantly, you need to show them that you care, so don’t be afraid to be their friend and transform the office into a place where they can live, laugh, and work towards greater goals.