Why You Need to Coach Millennial Employees

REDWOOD SHORES, CA--(Marketwired - March 11, 2015) - Saba (OTC PINK: SABA) -- With the rising tide of Millennials entering the workforce, the once-traditional performance management processes won't fly with this generation's needs and expectations. Millennials have grown up as digital natives and use technology to collaborate, learn and connect every day.

So if you want to attract this talent pool, it pays to understand how they like to communicate and what they want from their managers. In fact, research shows that more than 50% of Gen X managers have trouble finding and retaining Millennial employees.

Millennials might be rookies, but they are full of energy and not afraid of hard work. So, to ensure that they succeed at your company, this requires  the right coaching to flourish.

More importantly, this requires managers to review and revamp their approach to performance management. Millennials crave more feedback -- and not just in the form of managerial direction -- and more support with personal development. Workforce 2020 research shows that only 46% of Millennials believe their managers delivered on their expectations for feedback; and want feedback 50% more often than other employees.

So, what does this mean for your organization? Well, it looks like that traditional, once-a-year performance review just won't cut it.

More Status Updates

Research shows Millennials are preferably looking for feedback from their manager once a month, compared to non-Millennials who prefer less frequent updates. To move forward with their careers, they need and want direction and coaching, but the ranking- and rating-based systems are the antithesis of what the Millennial employee desires.

A better use of managers' time to keep them engaged is to encourage their growth, development and long-term engagement by leveraging technology (Millennial's favorite communication aid) -- and let them know that you are willing to help them learn and will guide them to the relevant resources to grow.

The good news is that learning to coach doesn't need to be expensive or time-consuming. Just provide a quick "status update" year-round.

How does your organization plan to respond to the Millennials' increased need for feedback in the workplace?

To read more about how organizations can better prepare for the personal development needs of Millennials and other generations in the workforce, download our eBook Winning Your Workforce: The Essential Guide to Improving Retention and Employee Performance.

About Saba

Saba (OTC PINK: SABA) delivers a cloud-based intelligent talent management solution used by leading organizations worldwide to hire, develop, engage and inspire their people. With machine learning at its core, Saba Cloud offers proactive, personalized recommendations on candidates, connections and content to help employees and businesses lead and succeed. It is purpose-built on a highly scalable platform that exceeds industry security and reliability standards. Saba has more than 31 million users and 2,200 customers across 195 countries and 37 languages. Learn more about intelligent talent management at www.saba.com.