Sriram Rajagopal, Vice President, Human Resources, Cognizant

OREANDA-NEWS. “With millennials growing into manager and leadership roles in organizations, engaging them meaningfully for growth and success has taken on strategic importance and immediacy,” writes Sriram Rajagopal. “As crucial as retaining the knowledge and skills that reside within the organization is infusing new ideas and approaches into the workplace to keep the millennial workforce motivated and energized.” Excerpts:

“Millennials already form the largest part of today’s workforce. Studies show that a little under 30 per cent of millennials are already managers in organizations. This number is set to increase significantly in the coming years.

Millennials bring a lot of key strengths to their roles, including collaboration, team play, an innate understanding of new, digital technologies, and open team dynamics. These traits also resonate well with the teams they lead.  

As millennials grow professionally and move up the ladder, HR teams and senior managers in organizations have a vital role to play—both as role models and mentors—in their development as managers. The growth framework has to be designed keeping in mind the personalities and strengths of the millennial workforce.

*Create an inclusive workplace ambience.

*Provide real-time feedback.

*Institutionalize mentoring.

*Digitize and gamify learning.

*Involve millennials in corporate social responsibility.

*Understand and capitalize on their networking preferences.

A bulk of the future leadership talent will come from the millennial generation. By identifying and cultivating their talent early, employers can best position their workforce for a scalable and successful future.”