While scrolling through my twitter feed, I came across a thread on millennials. Much talked about and much cringed upon topic, I felt (and being a part of this millennial community), also thought to share a few things that we, as PR professionals, can learn from them. Why is it that we only criticise and nag them? Working with this millennial community might be hard, but the biggest challenge will come in when Gen Z will step into the workforce. While there are a few years for that to happen, I thought of writing this column on what we can learn from the millennial community of working professionals. Here are a few things we can learn from the millennial community.
- They are digital natives
This is a generation that saw transition from cassettes to CDs and DVDs to pen drives. Therefore, they know technology in and out and understand the impact it has on people. At a juncture when all the CMOs and CEOs are talking about how digital communications is the way forward, millennials come with the knowledge of how it works. Today, when lines are fast blurring between traditional media, social media, advertising et al, this skill set of digital natives can be very beneficial for organisation leaders who are digital migrants.
- Diversity and inclusion are not just buzzwords!
These might be buzzwords for some, but for millennials they are incredibly important. Plus, what is more important is that this is practiced rather than just preached. Millennials have a huge respect for organisations that practice diversity and inclusion and are more than mere themes on the company website / brochure. We have seen millennials come forward and support people from different walks of life be it the queer community or people of different caste, race, and so on both at work and in life. Diversity and inclusion not only impact bottom line of a business but also play an eminent role in creating culture of an organisation.
- Let’s take some risks!
Well, the startup scenario was a result of millennials leaving their plush cabins to do something of their own – basically the risk that comes with leaving a stable job. Millennials are risk taking and something that the senior counterparts have observed and taken notice of. They are not afraid to push boundaries and are also up to tweak the rules, if the situation demands. They are open to accept their failure and quickly move ahead to find a way that can lead to success. As a result, we are seeing young thought leaders emerge who are focused on action and great results – all signs of what makes a great reputation.
- They believe in giving back to the society
We have said and heard a lot about corporate social responsibility and philanthropy but organisations who strive and thrive to have a purpose are the ones who excel in their PR strategy. It also goes a long way in establishing trust on the organisation. Millennials strongly feel the sense of purpose and giving back to the society in whatever capacity they can. They can bring some fresh thoughts to the table on how to effectively use the 2% budget allocated for CSR at organisations and bring an impact on the society.
- Yearn to learn
Well, millennials yearn to learn. They don’t want to get redundant and therefore are always curious and open to learn and grow further in their careers; and it is also crucial to be updated and learned on the relevant skills of the day. Recently, one of the leading PR consultancies of India partnered with an online learning platform to train all its employees on digital marketing which was great to see from an industry standpoint.
From being digital natives to learning the upcoming skills such as AI, ML, VR, AR and data analytics, millennials are swiftly acquiring them to up their game.
What else do you think we can learn from millennials? Do you think there are more learnings? Tweet @PR_Wali and discuss.
Inspired by the character of Jessica Pearson from Suits, she advocates for women’s equality at work and life and wants to write a book on the topic one day.
She can be reached at @PR_wali on Twitter.
Be the first to comment on "Let’s learn from millennials before Gen Z walks into the workforce"