If you want your construction business to grow, it is vital to understand the significance of a new generation that is actively overtaking baby boomers in a large portion of the workforce.
Youth have been brought up in a much different era than baby boomers. Baby boomers lived in the construction industry era, while millennials have been born into a time of major technological progress, economic unrest, and globalization. All of these circumstances have resulted in a different cultural mindset in the new generation; therefore, managing them is quite a challenge if you do not know how to approach it correctly.
Since there is a massive labor shortage in the construction industry, it is crucial to know how to interest and involve youth in your business.
Relevant Communication
Given that millennials have grown up surrounded by constant advancements in technology, you may need to take a different approach to communication. The older workforce typically preferred face-to-face interaction; however, it may be better to communicate electronically with younger people. Not only is it more convenient, but it saves you the hassle of squeezing a meeting into your already busy schedule. Be open to younger workers and find out their preferred methods of communication.
Keep in mind that these people were born into not only the era of technology but also the era of social media. Typically members of the younger generations are frequent users of the internet and various social media platforms. Social media is a great way to exchange information and share ideas; involving young workers in exchanging and sharing with older workers is an excellent way to keep them engaged.
Recognition, Benefits, and Growth
If you are in charge of younger workers, try to find out what their priorities are. Some workers may prefer to take days off while others want to earn more money and financial recognition. The millennials are also used to receiving a lot of encouragement, so learn if your employees will be more motivated after receiving words of encouragement and positive reinforcement.
As time passes, it is essential to evaluate your recruitment methods consistently; more and more millennials are entering the construction job market, so the recruitment methods for an older generation may not work as well with a younger one. However, benefit packages typically work for people of all ages. Benefit packages can help you retain high-quality workers because your business may offer things that others do not. Also, keep in mind that it is crucial to maintaining a comfortable, safe working environment with flexible hours.
A Firm Business Structure
Growing up in a world full of technology (and thus lots of action and distractions), younger people are usually pretty good at juggling multiple tasks at the same time. They like the challenge of multitasking and the excitement of implementing all of their functions at once. However, try not to overwhelm them; give enough to get them excited and set challenges, but make sure they can handle the work they that you give them.
Be alert so that you do not allow your business structure to fall apart. With your employees’ various duties, ensure that you require regular reporting and communicate deadlines. Host meetings with your teams, assign clear agendas, and listen to suggestions from your employees; try to engage your younger workers in conversation. Create detailed project plans and delegate tasks precisely so you can easily track progress and achievements.
Leadership and Feedback
Many people characterize the millennial generation as self-aware and self-confident. Continuously reinforce their confidence and encourage them to receive better results. Their attitudes are critical to the way they approach their jobs; cheer them on and give them positive feedback (as positive reinforcement has a much better effect than negative reinforcement). If they need help with anything, make sure you coach them correctly.
Commit yourself to them and act as a leader to whom they can look up. One-on-one communication and guidance can be very impactful, and make sure when you talk to them that they understand the primary goal. Give them different suggestions on how to approach their jobs and help them learn how to handle various situations. If you teach them correctly, they will act more accordingly if something goes wrong. Invest your time and effort into training your younger employees, and you will see extremely positive results.
Engagement
You can benefit from the fact that most millennials are used to and enjoy modern technology. Try to implement it into your company’s everyday workflow; set up new applications, start using social media, and try online marketing. Getting involved in current trends and modern culture is an easy way to appeal to younger people.
On top of that, the new generation gets bored very quickly. There are constant updates and changes in their lives, thanks to social media and other technology, so many young people struggle to focus on one thing for too long. Try to avoid boring them; assign more challenging and competitive tasks to keep them involved and engaged.
Short-Term Relationships
The era is the era of self-empowerment. It is not really a bad thing, but the younger workers are much more self-oriented than any previous generation. They act in such a manner because youth is actually quite ambitious (contrary to the popular laziness stereotype); they continuously seek to develop themselves and succeed as much as they can. This really means they may not be as committed to their employers as earlier generations. The modern work values are different from before. Millennials value flexibility, excitement, control, and the chance of moving forward within the companies.
In other words, millennial’s work to live, rather than live to work. They will probably not be very content with extended work hours and long days. As hard as they will work, you want your employees to enjoy being a part of the company. Try to host more social events so they can interact and practice team-building. Do not be discouraged by millennial’s’ ambitions; they are a valuable part of the construction industry, and it is imperative to get—and keep—them involved.
Overall, the new generation is not the same as, the older age group. You will probably need to adapt to the needs of millennial’s as more and more of them enter the construction industry and join the workforce. Do not believe all the stereotypes, either; they are very eager to achieve success, and all you need to do is help them—and yourself—get there.
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