Keep them happy, let them grow: How companies are reshaping for millennials
Posted by Schneider Electric on November 14th, 2017
Companies are tweaking their HR policies as they learn to manage millennials, whose philosophies and approach to work can be very different from those on the rungs above. Keep them in good humour appears to be the motto for most while showing the young executives and managers opportunities to grow as well as contribute to decision-making.
The young talent pool in most companies today comprises almost entirely of millennials, so the policy focus is natural. PepsiCo India, for example, has created a platform called Ycomm Board to allow young employees to share ideas and suggestions with the senior management. Members of this Board are millennials, picked through an "election" by other employees in the same age bracket (those born between 1981 and 1997) working at the company headquarters in Gurgaon.
"Millennials have an opinion and they want to be part of the decision-making process. This platform gives them an opportunity to share their views with the top management and work on issues they believe are important," said Suchitra Rajendra, vice-president (HR), PepsiCo India. Millennials constitute 65% of the workforce at PepsiCo.
Human resources experts said company policies were being designed around broad parameters of job satisfaction among millennials — better work-life balance, for instance, opportunities for overseas assignments, and flexible working hours.
A recent study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers revealed millennial employees put a premium on work-life balance. Further, 71% of millennials (compared with 63% of non-millennials) said their work demands interfered significantly with their personal lives. Under the initiative, responses from 44,000 PwC employees across the globe were studied. PwC India, where 82% of the workforce is from this generation, has also started a Ycomm-like platform — called a NextGen Sounding Board — to understand the varied needs and expectations of millennial executives.
"The idea is to build a collective community, seek feedback and inputs on processes, policies and priorities. The Sounding Board members help us shape policies of the firm and act as agents of change," said Padmaja Alaganandan of PwC India and an expert on HR policy.
Gurgaon-based Schneider Electric has made millennials a part of the process to reshape its work place, through "reverse mentoring". It realised new-age professionals were naturals at digital communication and decided to use this talent to reskill other employees, even seniors. "Reverse mentoring enables a millennial to coach older generations on the nuances of the digital world and share knowledge on how it could be leveraged best for the betterment of their functions," said Rachna Mukherjee, HR head.
Some organisations arrange a 'shadow programme' in which young employees get to follow a senior management official for a day or a week. "The shadow programme lets young managers see for themselves what it takes to be a CEO or a COO," said Rajendra of PepsiCo.
So far, the initiatives have struck a chord. "You get easy counseling on various issues concerning your day-to-day work as well as future plans. In return, it feels good to be able to reverse mentor our leaders," said Ankita Tewari, a manager at PwC India.
Vishal Budhiraja, a senior engineer at Schneider Electric, said, "While our generation approaches work in a creative and flexible fashion, the seniors bring to table caution, expertise and wisdom. So, it helps us cultivate and nurture a good working relationship and improve productivity."
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