Making Room for Millennials

Room. Space. Accommodations. You can choose whichever word you like, but if you haven’t already taken the necessary steps to make room for millennials, then you need to get started.

As many of my millennial friends, relatives, mentees and clients are heading back to school; one of their biggest concerns is the physical room they will occupy. That is only one of the concerns however. Colleges and universities don’t only have to be prepared to handle the influx of millennials entering their campuses physically, but mentally spiritually, emotionally and relation-ally as well.

The physical space does matter though. The size matters, the location matters, the accessories matter, and the color even matters. The need to prepare accommodations for millennials is not exclusive to college campuses however.

As we continue to deal with a sluggish economy and job market, many millennials are moving back home. So parents, make room for your millennials.

Not all millennials are moving back home though. The majority of millennials are moving in to and taking over industries. In addition to moving in to college dorm rooms, millennials are moving in to corporate offices, church pulpits, Hollywood lots, performance stages and major sports arenas.

Millennials are moving in, so make room. Making room for millennials is not just about giving them their old room back mom, or giving them a cubicle with a working phone and a computer HR manager. Making room for millennials requires so much more than a physical space.

To effectively make room for millennials, you must consider the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and relational aspects. Below are considerations for each area.

1. Physical – Millennials don’t necessarily need the biggest room or the fanciest office. Chances are they wont spend a lot of time there anyway. They do, however, want their physical space to be tech friendly, easily accessible to others and customizable. Millennials appreciate collaborative social and workspace environments that reinforce community.

2. Mental – Millennials like to be challenged mentally. They also have a strong desire to understand the “why” and to know everything that’s happening where they are and even where they aren’t. They want environments that will challenge them but also freely provides them access to the tools and resources for an ongoing information flow.

3. Emotional – Millennials care. It matters to them how an environment makes them feel. They also care about how they make others feel and seek to create welcoming and inclusive environments for themselves and others. This is not typical of corporate settings for generations past where the mantra has been “its not about how you feel”. Millennials are much more transformational than transactional in their interactions.

4. Spiritual – Millennials are comfortable and open to discussing their faith and their beliefs. They are not as “churchy” as they are spiritual and/or faith based. Their cultural curiosity and willingness to embrace diversity compels them to openly discuss their faith and spirituality in a way that they view more as sharing and learning than imposing or inappropriate.

5. Relational – Millennials enjoy community and being social. They enjoy participating in communities online and off line and appreciate environments that allow them to be collaborative physically and digitally. Millennials also see everyone through a lens of best available resource, versus hierarchical. Because of this they are inclined to approach anyone from the cleaning crew to the CEO or the parking lot attendant to the Senior Pastor; depending on whom they feel is best equipped to answer their question.

via Business 2 Community http://www.business2community.com/trends-news/making-room-for-millennials-0594092?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=making-room-for-millennials