Traditional once-a-year performance reviews don’t cut it with Millennials, according to new research reported in an article in Business News Daily. The findings show that Millennials are open to feedback and take improvement goals seriously — but waiting an entire year to find out they haven’t been doing what you expected makes them unhappy.
62% of Millennial employees said that they have felt “blindsided” by a performance review. And nearly 75% feel “in the dark” about how their managers think they’re performing at work. They report feeling angry when managers surprise them with the news that they’ve been underperforming throughout the year, and 30% say they have looked for a new employer after a performance review.
Here are four tips to get the best work from your Millennial employees and keep them happy at the same time:
- Be specific. Millennials get frustrated when they don’t know exactly how to live up to expectations. 40% of Millennials in the study reported feeling that the feedback they currently receive is too vague.
- Make it more conversational. Millennials, as a general rule, are relational. They want to have conversations and contribute their own ideas for improvement.
- Give feedback often. Millennials want consistent and ongoing feedback, and feel that they can’t perform to expectations if they’re only told once a year how they’re doing.
- Provide objective criticism. Millennials want feedback based on hard facts. Rather than offering vague generalities, give specific examples of what needs improvement.
Some employers believe Millennials lack loyalty or are uncommitted, but the reality is that they simply view the world a bit differently than older generations. They want their employers to help them grow and improve, rather than to simply be told they aren’t good enough.