Already today, the millennials are the largest generation among all employed in the world. Next year, according to PwC's report Workforce of the future, their number will exceed half of all employees. The eldest of them are starting to enter the top management team.
The generation often referred to as digital natives, has a different approach to life, work and technology compared to its older colleagues. Although the differences between generations are generally not exceptional, in this case, from the business point of view they have quite serious consequences, due to the revolutionary changes that the dissemination of digital technologies causes -. It should not surprise anyone that many international corporations adapt their organizational culture to the specific needs of the dominant generation. If they want to attract young talents, they need to adapt to the new rules of the game. However, it may seem somewhat surprising that generational change also requires a new approach to business application design.
A good example of this is flexibility in forms of employment and the constant search for a balance between work and private life, expected by Millennials. Because they do not want to work only during specific times and not always in the office, they need effective and secure remote access to business applications and data. Of course, it is best to be available via mobile devices, which requires optimization of interfaces for different screen sizes, as well as different ways of interacting with applications, with touch screens.
It is also extremely important to be easy to use in general and to ensure that you have the best possible user experience, such as the minimum number of clicks required to complete the task. In particular, Millennials expect easy-to-use features to support broad collaboration opportunities, and if these needs are not met – unlike their older, more consensual colleagues – they express their disapproval at all times and are ready to reject what they do not respond to, regardless of the consequences. The additional challenge is their needs and skills in using social media in such cases. It is worth using it positively. By enriching business applications with social media features, you can stimulate collaboration and communication, increase the flow of information and ideas, and drive innovation. Companies and HR departments that have difficulty recruiting millennials sometimes use gamification methods. Using these features is a very good idea.
In a situation where you are increasingly faced with difficulties in finding and maintaining talents, providing employees with tools that match their needs can be an important differentiator and market advantage.
