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Exclusive: Millennials — Hiring, Management and Work Ethic

Despite what you have heard, Millennials are really no different than every generation before them. 

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This is the third in a series of articles by Dr. Michael Mercer, Ph.D.

Complaints about hiring millennials make big news. People say Millennials are lazy, uninterested in working, and goof-off a lot.

“It’s like déjà vu all over again!” 

Yogi Berra made that “déjà vu” remark. And that quote perfectly describes current bellyaching about hiring and managing Millennials.

I feel concerned that I might projectile vomit if I see one more article complaining about how (a) difficult it is to hire Millennials or (b) hard it is to manage Millennials or (c) pseudo-impossible about getting Millennials to produce a day’s work for a day’s pay. 

HERE’S REALITY ABOUT HIRING & MANAGING MILLENIALS

1. Some Millennials are lazy bums.
2. Some Millennials are hard-working, very productive employees.

Lo-&-behold, this is “déjà vu all over again,” because the same two observations were made about every previous “generation” of job applicants and employees. 

The same complaints leveled at Millennials were made about Generation X, Generation Y, Baby boomers, and every other “generation” that had a cute, convenient label.

SOLUTION FOR YOUR MILLENIAL APPLICANTS & WORKFORCE

To overcome your Millennial hiring & supervising woes, simply do the following: Hire applicants who possess high likelihood of being “Superstar” employees who are both

A.  Highly Productive

B.  Low Turnover 

Those two factors always should be your guiding light when you consider job applicants and decide whom to hire.

HOW TO HIRE PROPLE WHO ARE HIGHLY PRODUCTIVE + LOW TURNOVER

Step 1: Make lists of your best employees (highly productive + low turnover) in each job in your company. 

Step 2: Get pre-employment test benchmark scores on those employees. To do this, have those superstar employees take two types of pre-employment tests:

A.  Intelligence or mental ability tests

B.  Personality or behavior tests

Your best employees’ typical scores on the intelligence and personality pre-hire tests become benchmark test scores you look for in applicants when they take the same two pre-employment assessment tests.

Step 3: Make lists of objective biographical data (biodata) of your best employees in each job. For example, you may find your best Sales Reps worked in sales-oriented jobs in, let’s say, two previous companies for three years or more in each company. Well, then look for Sales Rep applicants who did that.

Or, for instance, if you have laborer jobs for doing outdoor labor, see if biodata of your company’s best laborers included doing hard work outdoors, rather than indoors. Then, you look for sinilar biodata from applicants.

Step 4: Give pre-employment tests to job applicants who have relevant biodata. Applicants who get same test scores as your benchmark, superstar employees can proceed to the next step. (See second step, above.)

Step 5: Do realistic job observation (RJO). Applicants who make it through your fourth step might spend half-day observing employees doing job for which they are being considered. 

Fortunately, some applicants going through your RJO will decide they do not want to do that job, and withdraw from consideration. Congratulations! That is better than putting those applicants on your payroll, training them, and then discovering they do not care to do the work the job requires. 

Step 6: As appropriate, do reference checks, background checks, and substance abuse tests. Some job candidates who get through your first through fifth steps will do well on these. Fortunately, some will reveal lousy characteristics you do not want in your workforce. Congratulations! Uncover problems before you put the applicant on your payroll.

MILLENNIAL HIRING & MANAGING RECOMMENDATIONS

Recommendations:

1. Stop complaining about Millennials. 
2. Remember, Similar complaints were made about every previous “generation.”
3. Complaining will not help you hire and manage a productive workforce.
4. Use pre-employment tests to compare applicants to your company’s superstars.
5. Also, use biodata, RJO, and other assessments.
6. Result: You hire Millennials who are terrific employees!

Summary = Hire job applicants of any age or “generation” who possess work-related qualities similar to your company’s best, superstar employees in each job. 

You will have a highly productive + low turnover workforce. 

And you will save a lot of time, because you will not waste your time (a) complaining about Millennials nor (b) reading the endless articles complaining about Millennials. CS

Michael Mercer, Ph.D., created 3 “Forecaster Tests” – pre-employment tests. Companies use his tests to predict which job applicants may succeed (or fail) on-the-job, if hired. Dr. Mercer wrote the book, Hire the Best & Avoid the Rest. You can see information about his 3 “Forecaster” pre-employment tests at www.MercerSystems.com.

© Copyright 2019 Mercer Systems LLC Reprinted with permission.