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Associate Jane Berikhman, Audit practice, of KPMG, LLP. Photo by Jay Conner / Media General News Service

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Welcoming Millennials to the workplace

By DAVE SIMANOFF/ Media General News Service

Despite what you may have heard, Jane Berikhman doesn’t want you to hold her hand. Berikhman is 23 years old. That makes her part of the Millennial generation - also called Generation Y - a group of twentysomethings and early thirtysomethings just starting to make themselves heard in the American workplace.

Not everyone is welcoming these newcomers with open arms. Some managers say Millennials need constant hand-holding. Others say Millennials put their personal lives before their careers. Some think Millennials require too much instant gratification, too many rewards and too many platitudes - the corporate equivalent of those gold stars and smiley faces handed out in grade school.

Berikhman, who works in the audit practice at KPMG in Tampa, Fla., isn’t buying any of the criticism. She says she works hard. She works independently when she needs to and draws upon her co-workers’ skills and ideas when she needs to.

“I like the support when I need it, but no one really babies you here,” she said.

There’s little doubt that Millennials are different from the Generation X and baby boomers who proceeded them. Here’s what the workers born between 1978 and 1991 have in common, says Joyce Gioia-Herman, president and CEO of The Herman Group, a consulting firm that researches workplace issues:

•They’re optimistic, value diversity and are civicminded. •They’re multitaskers. •They want to be recognized for achievements. •They communicate well electronically, but their personal communication skills are weak. •They require supervision and structure. •They have short attention spans. •They lack patience for menial tasks. At many companies, managers “are really struggling - [it’s] really challenging to fi gure out how to work with these folks,” Gioia-Herman said.

Ignoring the Millennials is not an option. Millennials will comprise about one-third of the workforce in fi ve years, according to workplace management expert Bruce Tulgan, founder of Rainmaker- Thinking Inc. and author of “It’s Okay to Be the Boss” and “Winning the Talent Wars.” Accommodating the Millennials means making sizable changes to an organization’s culture, Tulgan said. The changes should lead to higher productivity, he said.

“If you like Generation X, you’re going to love Generation Y because Generation Y is like Generation X on fast-forward with self-esteem on steroids,” he said. “It’s the Welcoming Millennials to the workplace Jay Conner/Media General News Service Associate Jane Berikhman, Audit practice, of KPMG, LLP. most high-maintenance generation in history, but also the highest-performing generation in history.”

Millennials may seem to chafe at the idea of being bossed around, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need - or, in fact, respect - a structured working environment with active managers.

“Don’t make the mistake of thinking they want to be left alone,” Tulgan said.

Millennials simply don’t like feeling as if they’re being micromanaged, he said. Some employers already are adapting to the Millennial mind-set.

At Berikhman’s company, KPMG, there’s a bigger emphasis on work-life balance. Mentoring relationships are strongly encouraged throughout the organization. Feedback and rewards have become more common through a program called Encore. “Attention spans are a little shorter, so you almost want that reward quicker,” said Ian Lasher, a 30-year-old senior associate in the company’s state and local tax practice.

Encore awards can pay up to $500 and can be given to an individual or a team.

Joseph F. Cannella, the KPMG audit partner in charge of recruiting, says the changes have made KPMG a much more pleasant place to work. It wasn’t that long ago that many professional fi rms were known for exacting long hours from employees, even on weekends.

“My family, they suffered when I fi rst started,” in 1988, he said. Technology and an appreciation of balancing life and work have made the company the kind of place that’s appealing not just for Millennials, but all workers, he said.

Berikhman, for one, has no doubts that her generation has already been a good influence on the workplace. Other co-workers at KPMG seem willing to embrace their younger counterparts and their new attitudes, she said.

“I think they all kind of adapted to our environment,” she said.

Dave Simanoff is a staff writer for The Tampa Tribune.