Are Younger Employees Entitled? Part II
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Are younger employees entitled? Part 2
This is part two of a Culture Drop episode we put out recently discussing if younger employees are entitled, tackling the difference between entitlement versus empowerment. We had bunch of questions and comments that came in as a result, so we figured we’d make a part 2! I’m going to share some answers and a handful of tips for making younger employees feel more empowered.
In Part I, we discussed how younger employees can be a great source of inspiration, innovation, and continued growth because they often bring new ideas to the table and want to challenge the status quo. I suggest you watch Part 1 for context.
My main point was that I believe younger employees are not entitled, but simply want to feel empowered. Often, when employees don’t feel empowered, they can feel discouraged from participating and develop apathy towards their jobs and workplace.
Based on some questions and comments that came in from the first episode, here are 6 ways to make younger (and all) employees feel more empowered.
#1 Empower young employees by giving them more autonomy
A great way to empower young employees is to find ways to give them more autonomy and decision making power.
One commenter from Part 1 shared that their company is having junior employees help in leading onboarding sessions for new staff as well as in the rewriting of some personnel policies as a way to give them ownership of systems inside of the organization. These are really excellent examples.
Creating more room for ownership facilitates an environment where young employees feel that they have a voice, and that their voice matters.
#2 Collect feedback from new employees
Another way to communicate to new, younger employees that you care about their voice is by gathering some feedback once they have joined the team. This is great to do at the 30, 60, & 90 day mark. Some questions to ask are:
What are the things you see that we are doing well here?
What are some things we could be better at?
What is your experience of our team culture so far?
Do we have any blindspots that you can see as a new employee with fresh eyes and perspective?
Showing that you care about their input makes new employees feel listened to, and their answers and perspective are invaluable insights that are incredibly useful to the organization. Also, don’t just collect feedback for fun, do something about what you hear.
#3 Be clear about who the decision-maker(s) are
When it is not clear who the decision maker is in any given situation, employees may be misled to think they have equal parts decision-making power when providing input. When a decision is made without them, this can lead team members to feeling as though their opinions or concerns were overlooked.
Avoid this by being really clear when asking for input as to whom the decision belongs to, and communicating that their input is still extremely important.
#4 Allow the status-quo to be challenged
Younger employees are the most likely to want to challenge the status quo, so why not leverage their spirit to incite meaningful change? Facilitate opportunities for employees to bring ideas and suggestions of things that they want to change or adapt, and to pitch new ideas.
Creating opportunities for employees to feel empowered and excited to initiate change will give them a sense of ownership, provide the company with fresh new ideas, and communicate to them that their perspectives matter.
#5 Deliver “no” in an empowering way
Another great question that came in from Part I was “Sometimes we don’t have the budget and have to say no to ideas. ‘It’s a no for right now, but not forever.’ How do we deliver that in a way that makes that person feel listened to and empowered?”
I actually did a Culture Drop episode speaking specifically about how to deliver a no in a way that doesn’t shut down morale and puts the relationship first. HERE is the link to that video to see the four step process to navigating situations like that more effectively.
#6 Finally, build trust from day one
In order to empower employees, you have to start building trust and framing up conversations like this from day one. Onboarding is a great opportunity to let people know that you understand they are bringing unique perspectives to the company and that you value those.
Have conversations with newer employees where you communicate to them with transparency and humility that everyone in the organization has things they can learn from each other. Be clear that you are open to their perspectives and ideas, and also set a realistic expectation that not every idea can be put into practice.
Invite them to bring ideas to the table and to challenge the status quo if they see fit, but to do it in a humble, respectful manner, and let them know the best ways to go about that inside the organization.
Ultimately when employees feel empowered and like their voice and contributions matter, they care more about their jobs. They stay longer, try harder, and show up in a more engaged, productive way. And when that happens, everyone wins.
Check out fresh, new blogs discussing similar topics:
Are Younger Employees Entitled? Part I of II
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This article was created by Galen Emanuele for the #culturedrop. Free leadership and team culture content in less than 5 minutes a week. Check out the rest of this month's content and subscribe to the Culture Drop at https://bit.ly/culturedrop
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