Dive Brief:
- Millennials with direct reports prefer to text their subordinates, a Korn Ferry report shows. More than half of millennial bosses (55%) choose messaging to communicate with staff, followed by email (28%), face to face (14%) and phone (3%).
- However, when asked what Millennial bosses could do better, most of the survey's 1,500 respondents (29%) said communicate face-to-face more often and keep their bosses better informed (27%). When asked what Millennials do best, 65% of the respondents said creating workplace flexibility, 10% said keeping their own bosses informed and 3% said managing up to executives.
- Most (74%) also said that a clear advancement path is more important for millennial bosses, with 49% saying it is much more important.
Dive Insight:
Employers have long known that messaging is, generally speaking, the preferred method of communication for Millennials. Employers have both adopted workplace chat applications and increased their investments in texting for recruiting partly for this reason.
But employers have to ensure that the generations' preferences don't create miscommunication mishaps. After all, tension between Millennials and other generations is not unheard of. A previous report revealed that Millennials often believe boomers and Gen Xers stifle their advancement, for example.
The key here may be personalization, rather than stereotypes. Other studies show millennials value clarity, flexibility, development opportunities, authenticity, meaningful work and employers with a cause. But that's not to say that other generations don't value those things; "everyone likes choice," Carol Leaman, CEO of Axonify, previously told HR Dive. Personal preferences — not assumptions — should drive decisions.
