Hippies & Millennials: Hiring in the Modern Age

Millennials

It’s the new version of being called a Hippie. The Hippie cultural shift was just as radical as the one we’re experiencing today and caused just as much angst. Accusers in both cases are confused by the other generation’s values being so dislocated from their own. 

Companies are perplexed how to motivate, inspire and drive a successful team. For those finding hiring and training a major operational cost, here’s a look into 30 years of hiring, training and firing:

- Social Culprits of Millennialism
- Cake or Frosting, You Decide
- Hiring a Post-Millennial Team
- Developing Millenial Leaders

You’ll take away some new strategies on what are the best predictors of retention and productivity.

History Repeats Itself

An interesting technology-bloom pattern reveals a Moebius loop of Hippies and Millennials as different sides of the same coin. Both are breakout generations, radically different from their parents. Technology created an incredible divide for them both. Just as the advent of media technology influenced Boomers, the internet/social media technology has shaped the behavior of Millennials.

Millennial Bashing, a new "ism"

There’s a lot of this going around. Employers are exasperated by what feels like an entire generation of slow-moving, self-involved, under-performing teams. And right here is where it crosses into an “ism”. Racism, sexism, extremism, etc.

All Religious People are not extremists and all Millennials are not self-involved. Think of it as cake and frosting. Some millennials are the cake (solid foundation of a great dessert), some the delicious icing while just a few are of frosting made of mud. Even the thinnest layer of mud on a cake ruins the taste however. Today's challenge is separating the chocolate from the mud.