The Millenial Dilemma

The sound of Ed Sheeran gently wakes me up to a cold, dark morning. It's 6am. I roll over and reach for my phone. A quick check of Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp and I feel up to date on my friends' lives. I open a few articles on my news feed about another Syrian atrocity to which the world is becoming alarmingly accustomed. My heart aches. As I glance at my clock and realise 15 minutes have passed, I sigh to myself and finally pull myself out of bed for another day at work.

This has become my routine every morning. I have a wonderful life and I should be grateful for the trajectory that my career is on and the opportunities that brings. However, like other millenials, this often doesn't feel like enough. My grand visions of building schools in India seem so far away. Whilst I'm helping the feminist agenda, breaking glass ceilings in the corporate world, and trying to be a role model for young women, part of me yearns for more. Some days that is the desire to do something more socially aware; other days it is the desire for something more dynamic and creative; and other days it is the desire for adventure. As a generation, we have the world at our fingertips and we want more. We are a constant frustration for firms looking to hire and retain young talent. How do they keep us happy?

A friend of mine once sent me an article that has stuck with me. The article spoke about the different ambitions of our generation and those gone by. Unlike our parents who valued success on one's ability to own hard assets, like a house and a car, our generation values success on experiences. This makes us less likely to have a crippling mortgage, but more likely to pick up and move to Australia. This really resonates with me. Whilst money is important for lifestyle, the experience of working in Hong Kong is one of the things that I appreciate the most in my career to date. As I think about this, I can't help but think if there are easy changes large, established institutions can make to retain millennial talent.

Firstly, one of the attractions of a start up or a technology firm like Google is the constant dynamism to the role. Employees are regularly asked to do different things and be flexible as the firm changes direction. This is particularly appealing for millennials because it not only keeps them challenged, but allows them to have new, varied experiences. To be able to say that you have worked across completely different businesses is not only interesting, but it opens one's mind and skills to different challenges. Is it so hard for established firms to do this? Like the concept of hiring undergraduates with different backgrounds, can these firms easily move around intelligent, hard working candidates into completely different roles, with the view to train them up quickly? In an Investment Bank can someone in business management with the right attitude learn how to trade an equity book? Yes, I'm sure they can; but will that person make as much profit in the first few years as someone who has been watching the market for 5 years. Unlikely. And therein lies the problem; can the firms maintain profits when the skills are not transferrable and the focus on immediate results is so high?

The second issue of social responsibility may be different. Corporates have an obligation to give back to communities and we are seeing the biggest firms do more of this. However, often these programs that provide employees with the opportunity to volunteer are kept under the radar. The cynical side of me attributes this to a desire to prevent too many employees from sacrificing their productive work hours for projects that will not affect the bottom line. If this is true, then these corporates are approaching this in completely the wrong way. An easy way to keep millenials engaged and productive is to help them to see that they do not need to choose between a successful corporate career and doing something more charitable. It doesn't have to be one or the other. Programs like these signal a way to combine the two and by advertising them, rather than hiding them, these companies can help motivate their younger employees.

Undoubtedly, there is no perfect solution for how older, more established firms can deal with millenials. However, perhaps by focusing less on immediate results, companies can create a more accepting work environment for role change and dynamism. Also, by actively promoting social projects in which employees can participate, firms can help establish a new normal of combining corporate success with charitable contributions. Clearly a lot more work can be done and more ideas need to be brought to the table. Companies' ability to be flexible in the face of millennials' desire for experiences will define their success in retaining talent. If they can't figure it out, then fresh thinking companies like Google, Facebook, and Uber all wait in the wings to grab the best and brightest. It's a dilemma that companies need to decipher soon.