I recently conducted a survey with my consulting and coaching clients to learn more about what motivates their Millennial employees. Below are the main results in how older generations are motivating Millennials and what Millennials feel actually motivates them.

Input from the Baby Boomers and Gen Xers on what they found effective in motivating their Millennial employees:

Embracing technology
Providing better explanations and reasons behind request
Taking time to train and mentor
Understanding personal motivations and career goals
Encouraging the Millennials to be active professionally and in the community.
Discuss work’s impact on client
Treat them equally to all other employees. Same performance expectations and same standards
Respect vacation times with fewer demands to work weekends and nights.
Try to include them in more meetings and strategy decisions
Encourage them to think broader; make them feel like an integral part of the team; explain their role more; ask what responsibility/experience they want and give it to them; and communicate openly about when I need them in the office

Summary of the results from the Millennial employees on what motivates and engages them:

Work / reputation:

Pride in workmanship
Building reputation as a smart and hard worker
Desire to make others happy and do a good job
Ability to provide service to clients
Doing a good deed by serving the client well
Autonomy
Providing excellent legal services to clients
Doing quality work
Helping people
Achievement of goals
Obtaining new clients
Seeing projects accomplished

Meaningful and impactful projects:

Interesting work
Impactful projects

Feedback:

Having my work appreciated
Appreciation
Feeling appreciated, respected, and involved
Receiving good feedback

Professional Development:

Hands on, constructive training
Achieving my potential

Success:

To aspire to a goal and then succeed at it
Winning/success

Compensation:

Near-term and long-term potential compensation
Financial security
Money
Financial incentives
Bonuses
Being financially rewarded

Environment:

Peer relationships
Team culture
Being a good team member
Happy and cheerful work environment

While it is easy to see these motivators as Millennial-centric, they’re not. Individuals across generations want to feel valued, want their employers to invest in their professional development, and also want to work in a healthy collaborative culture. Millennials are not silent on the issues that are important to them and that is a positive force for change in the workplace for everyone.