A recent global study conducted by SuccessFactors and Oxford Economics on what Millennials want from their managers revealed some interesting results. “Millennials want feedback at least monthly, whereas non-Millennials are comfortable with feedback less often. Overall, Millennials want feedback 50% more often than other employees. They also told us that their number one source of development is their manager, but only 46% agreed that their managers delivered on their expectations for feedback.”*
The results go on to say that Millennials aren’t looking for as much managerial direction or performance feedback as they are looking for help with their own personal development.
When working with our clients, we distinguish between a Performance Plan and a Mastery Plan and recommend that every employee have one of each. A Performance Plan states performance goals to be accomplished over a period of time. A Mastery Plan focuses on professional and personal development. The focus is on “mastery” which includes soft and hard skills, attitudes, behaviors, knowledge, and experiences that will enable the individual to be success in not just his/her position but in life as well. Why separate them? Well when lumped together, we’ve seen that performance conversations always trump growth and development conversations. When the later gets pushed off, the employee hears the message, “Your growth and development isn’t really that important.”
Bottom line, the study suggests that Millennials, and we dare to say, most employees, want to know how they are doing, yet, more importantly, want to grow and develop as a professional and an individual and want direction on that. If Mastery Plans are not something you do with your employees, you are missing a significant piece of the puzzle for attracting and keeping talent in your organization.
