I’ll Take the Corner Office Prepared for PRSA International Conference November 10, 2009 Presented by Deborah A. Myers, EVP, CRT/tanaka Ellen LaNicca Albanese, EVP, CRT/tanaka Kim Blake, SAE, CRT/tanaka

What caused our agency to focus on this topic?

The Generations

Born between (Ages – “The Boss”) 73 million Parents of Millennials Currently highest household incomes of any generation in history Staying in the workforce longer Baby Boomers – Background

Economic prosperity Drugs, sex and rock n’ roll Civil rights movement JFK/MLK/RFK assassinations Vietnam Watergate Women knocking on the glass ceiling Baby Boomers – Influences

Baby Boomers – What other generations say about them Gen Xers “They’re self-righteous” “They’re workaholics” “They do a good job of talking the talk, but they don’t walk the walk” “Get outta my face” “What’s the management fad this week?” “Lighten up; it’s only a job” Millennials “They’re cool - they’re up to date on the music we like” “They work too much” Zemke, et al., Generations at Work

Born between (Ages – “Middle Manager”) 49 million; smallest generation of the century Sometimes known as the Lost Generation Generation X – Background

Reaganomics AIDS Iran Contra First latchkey kids Divorced parents Beginning of Internet Baby Boomers limiting job openings; irritated by Millennials Generation X – Influences

Baby Boomers “They’re slackers” “They’re always doing things their own way instead of the prescribed way (our way)” “They spend too much time on the Internet and ” Millennials  “Cheer up!” Zemke, et al., Generations at Work Generation X – What other generations say about them

Born between (Ages – “Junior Employees”) Also known as Generation Y 80 million Children of Boomers Next “Hero” generation Millennials – Background

End of Cold War Wholesome family shows MTV and Reality TV Internet Instant messaging Helicopter parents Programmed and structured lives 9/11 Columbine Millennials – Influences

Baby Boomers “They’re cute” “They need to learn to pay their dues” “They need too much attention” “Can they do my Web page for me?” Gen Xers “Neo Boomers” “Here we go again…another self-absorbed generation of spoiled brats” “What do you mean, ‘What’s an album’” Zemke, et al., Generations at Work Millennials – What other generations say about them

Why should we care about Millennials?

Millennials are the largest and the fastest growing group of workers in the U.S.

HIGH EXPECTATIONS Equal footing with senior management Not willing to “pay their dues” Immediate gratification Challenging Millennial characteristics

HIGH EXPECTATIONS: WHY? Child-centric culture Grew up doing things that used to be considered “adult privileges” Parents focused on self-esteem and instilled a “you can do anything” attitude Challenging Millennial characteristics

HIGH RISK Quick to leave for other opportunities Loyalty is defined by what’s interesting and challenging, rather than job security Challenging Millennial characteristics

HIGH RISK: WHY? Focused on an accelerated path to success Saw their parents fall victim to layoffs, down-sizing and right-sizing Challenging Millennial characteristics

66% of Millennials say they have lowered their expectations of being promoted vs. 51% of other workers (55% of Gen-X, 48% of Boomers) More than half of Millennials (55%) have experienced a layoff or loss of work in their family within the past year, and nearly three-fourths (72%) feel threatened by a possible layoff or loss of work in the coming months Impact of the recession CRT/tanaka-Lumin Collaborative 2009 Survey

HIGH MAINTENENCE Expect reward and recognition on a regular basis Believe that they are all “above average” Challenging Millennial characteristics

HIGH MAINTENANCE: WHY? Every child on the team received a trophy – whether or not they were the MVP Respect their parents and care about what they think Over-inflate their contributions Expect instant feedback Challenging Millennial characteristics

HIGH MAINTENENCE Define their workday differently and want flexibility Adopted adult “extra-curricular activities” Challenging Millennial characteristics

HIGH MAINTENANCE: WHY? Grew up with multi-tasking with a variety of after-school activities Highly civic generation Challenging Millennial characteristics

Speaking the right lingo

Who’s the audience? Pick the phrase that works. Motivation: “Do it your way” “Get together with your team and work to develop a solution” “We’re counting on you to help turn this around”

Who’s the audience? Pick the phrase that works. Criticism: “We need to do a better job of tracking our results on this initiative” “Because you did not track results, this program could be in jeopardy” “You did a great job organizing this initiative, but in the future it’s essential to track results so that we can justify the program”

5 Communications Strategies to Help Bridge the Generational Gap Between Managers and Millennials

Millennials don’t like making mistakes – tell them what it will take to succeed Give them clear instructions and make it comfortable for them to ask questions. Millennials will try to figure it out themselves, rather than look like they don’t know something 1. Set clear directions

Millennials need a dose of praise with constructive criticism “You’re almost there. Here’s where you’re falling short.” Define frequency up front. It will be more often than you think is needed Feedback should be honest, short and to the point. Millennials don’t like anything that is long and drawn out 2. Give frequent feedback

Millennials are smart and work fast, but have a harder time looking beyond a month and can easily become bored Break down large projects so that there are multiple deadlines and opportunities for feedback Lots of short deadlines help create a feeling of accomplishment with the completion of each task and provides a sense of instant gratification 3. Set short deadlines

4. Foster teamwork Millennials are social beings and work well in teams Communicate team objectives and tie individual performance to them Allow them to engage in volunteer and social responsibility programs

Provide them with the ability to communicate quickly Recognize you may only have partial attention – you are competing with cell phones, social networking sites, and other distractions Set ground rules through a Social Media Code of Participation 5. Use new tools, but keep face-to-face

New tools not a substitute for face-to-face CRT/tanaka-Lumin Collaborative 2009 survey

3 Key Conversations Between Managers and Millennials

1. Discussing Salary Millennials are savvy about evaluating their opportunities, they’ve done the research Expect Millennials to discuss salary openly, with their boss and their peers Needs to be competitive, but it is just one factor Emphasize the full compensation package Salary ranked #4 in a survey about priorities for the next job

2. Discussing Raises and Promotions If Millennials are asking for more, they are really saying, “What do I need to do to earn more?” Conversation strategies to keep top performers – Offer performance-based compensation – Consider flexible scheduling and flexible locations – Give access to decision makers – Implement ongoing training

Job attributes that matter to Millennials CRT/tanaka-Lumin Collaborative 2009 Survey

3. Paying your dues Hit the ground running and make an impact Millennials want to identify problems that nobody else has identified, solve problems that nobody else has solved, make existing things better, and invent new things Tips for assigning “grunt work”: – Give personal credit for results achieved – Define a clear area of responsibility – Give the chance for creative expression

Contact Information Debbie Myers Executive Vice President CRT/tanaka

Thank You!