Today’s digital world continually brings new challenges for businesses and with the wide range of technology tools that have been created to help drive productivity.
Many leaders would argue, however, that the answer to future-proofing their business lies not just in optimising productivity, but also in the talent that makes up those teams. In other words, ensuring you retain and attract the right people to help you stay one step ahead of the competition.
Most of the talent that organisations are looking to recruit in today’s market are millennials. “Millennials tend to be uncomfortable with rigid corporate structures and turned off by information silos,” according to research by PwC. “In other words, millennials want a management style and corporate culture that is markedly different from anything that has gone before.”
By creating a culture where there is equality of access, businesses can show their commitment to meeting those needs and provide an engaging workplace for this key group of workers. Creating such a culture, however, comes with its own challenges…
- Leading by example – employees look to you for business direction, inspiration and best practice.
- Choosing the right tools – make sure everyone can use these tools to access information and provide the capability to update tasks and content.
- The need for mutual respect – introducing these changes must be paired with a respect for how individuals like to work.
There is one thing personality tests have taught us, it’s that we are all different. This diversity should be embraced and can often be a business’ greatest strength, leading to disruptive ideas and new ways of improving the workplace.
The key to making this new-found transparency work is having trust on both sides. As a leader, you have to trust that employees will use any information they have access to for the right reasons.
On the flip side, you have to win the trust of your employees so they feel comfortable sharing any information, recommendations or ideas openly, without fear of recrimination. Get that right and you are well on your way to answering the needs and expectations demanded by today’s millennial workforce!
