3 keys to managing Millennials

In a keynote address during Dealer Day at GIE+EXPO, Jason Dorsey explained that Millennials don’t have to be a mystery. They can actually be a great asset to your company.

“When it comes to the workforce today, manual labor jobs are not something that many (Millennials) thought they’d have to do or want to do,” says Dorsey, founder of the Center for Generational Kinetics, a Texas-based research firm. “Many don't enter the landscaping business thinking that it's going to be a career. it's a job or stopover. But that doesn't mean they won't stay.”

Here’s his advice for landscapers and dealers managing Millennials:

They have less experience. The average 22- to 24-year-old enters the professional workforce with two fewer jobs and three years less work experience than the previous generation. “This creates all kinds of problems because you have people managing a younger generation, and owners going, ‘Why don't you know better?’ Dorsey says. “It’s not that they can’t be great employees, they just don't know what doing a good job looks like, especially to you.”

Set clear performance expectations. Starting with the job interview, be clear on what the position entails and what you expect from them, Dorsey says. And then follow up during their first week or month with more training. “Provide specific examples of the performance that you expect -- visual examples of the outcome,” Dorsey says. “This generation are visual learners … show me what it should look like, then tell me how to get there.”

Understand that they’re the future. The average landscape business owner is in his mid-50s, and many don’t have clear succession plans. Dorsey says savvy contractors will look to their Millennials employees as a talent pool for the next phase of their company. “More progressive owners start grooming talent now and tell them they have a place,” Dorsey says.