How do employers attract and motivate today’s young people? Linda Ronnie, Associate Professor in Organisational Behaviour and People Management at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business, introduces the African philosophy of ‘ubuntu’ to the workplace
Not so long ago, an organisation’s success depended firmly upon revenue maximisation, sales and investment, a playing field familiar to the baby boomers of the post-war decades and generation Xs of the late 20th century. This is no longer the case.
Increasingly, success, sustainability, growth, and performance rest upon human capital, people’s wellbeing, and development. It is workers’ sense of value and engagement that ultimately drive productivity and performance. A business which fails to take a people-centric approach does so at its peril, risking undermining its capacity for high-quality standards, performance and competitiveness.
A human-centric approach has arguably never been as important as it is to the new generation entering the market, who bring entirely new outlooks, expectations and work relationships. These tech-savvy new generational cohorts – millennials – are keen to have a voice when it comes to their professional and personal wellbeing. They seek training and development, meaningful work and a healthy work-life balance and are less risk averse than their generational counterparts.
So how do organisations around the globe, already under siege from seismic shifts in technology, economies, politics and social spheres – operating in the so-called VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) environment – attract, manage and develop millennials for their ultimate wellbeing and that of their workforce and business?
In South Africa, where workplace challenges are complicated by the legacy of apartheid, and with millennials (known as ‘born frees’ because they were born after the advent of democracy in 1994) making up 40% of a population of 56 million, forward-thinking organisations are embracing the philosophy of ‘ubuntu’. Ubuntu is a traditional African philosophy about generosity, hospitality, friendliness and care between people.
And while it is a philosophy particularly suited to South Africa, it is a good philosophy for all global organisations. All over the world, organisations are confronting similar challenges including talent attraction and retention, motivation and engagement, and addressing burnout and stress.
First impressions: talent attraction
When it comes to talent attraction, what appeals to millennials? An essential component is reputation or a recognised brand. The value-driven millennial will seek employers who look to improve their internal environment as well as the external one, resonating with their own values and their hopes of making a meaningful contribution.
With prestige and reputation major draws, the first thing to get right is the public face of the business. The prevalence of online job searching means that websites and social media platforms (such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter) must be kept updated, offering an inside view of an organisation’s culture through video and other creative and engaging means.
Money matters, but according to a 2016 Deloitte report, the millennial seeks career growth, work-life balance, purpose, travel, investment in and intensive use of technology and professional development. Millennials want to know that their chosen organisation will support their continuous learning capacity. Strategic alliances with educational institutions, such as Business Schools, can boost the organisation’s profile, and study reimbursement also help to draw applicants.
There is the ideal solution, which satisfies the personal wants and needs of the applicant in a win-win solution. Shown to be very effective in attracting talent, but also in boosting motivation and retention, the innovative ideal might include a salary structure for example, which has a basic salary suitably benchmarked and allowing for progression, and includes added bonuses and cash incentives.
Ongoing engagement: motivation and inspiration
Typically, millennials seek ongoing reassurance that they are valued, so communication is key, as are managers and mentors who are involved, supportive and nurturing. Regular, explicit and meaningful performance feedback should reap rewards.
As traditional performance assessment systems become obsolete, growing numbers of prominent global organisations are turning to frequent feedback sessions aimed at employee engagement and performance improvement. This resonates with millennials who embrace high engagement.
For example, Malcolm Hall, Co-founder of Open Box Software, a South African software company seeking innovative solutions, wants to ensure his workers are eager to come to work every day. To that end, the business operates in a collegiate manner, with a flat organisational structure and open communication policies. What sets it apart is its appraisal system, which works through weekly feedback sessions. Junior sessions focus on individuals’ skills development, any technical issues that arose during the week and improvements going forward, while senior sessions focus on strategy, projects, communication and interpersonal skills.
According to academics, such as Maria-Theresa Lepeley, systems such as these, married with human-centred management principles, lead to highly committed teams.
In the quest for meaningful work, millennials also respond well to rotation programmes that encourage employees to switch jobs as a learning experience; enjoying fresh experiences in different areas of the business is one way to do this.
Semco, a Brazilian manufacturing company, offers new employees the opportunity to experience all departments before making an employment choice and it encourages staff members to change jobs, thereby providing all employees a chance to learn new skills, while developing sa multi-skilled workforce.
Wellbeing: managing burnout and stress
Millennials are keen to immerse themselves in their work, meaning there is potential for them to become overwhelmed by work demands. Signs of stress and burnout should therefore be addressed swiftly. While millennials are keen to contribute, they nonetheless value work-life balance and good managers need to factor this in. Potential threats to mental health and wellbeing must also be considered; if these are mismanaged, they can prove costly to all.
The Benefits and Trends Survey 2018, from UK-based consultancy Aon Employee Benefits, found the number of employers reporting employee stress and mental health-related illnesses rose 13% from 55% in 2017 to 68% in 2018, fuelled by high work demands, the impact of artificial intelligence and automation and the resulting job insecurity. In South Africa, mental health costs the economy billions according to a 2017 Financial Mail report.
Veteran businessman and philanthropist James Espey, who heads up the Shaw Mind Foundation – a social interest group working to reduce global suicide rates – says that to address what threatens to be a stress epidemic, it is vital to destigmatise mental health issues in the workplace and a change of mindset around unreasonable workloads. He recommends a corporate culture that supports limited work hours and sends a message that employee wellbeing is valued.
Keeping the faith: retention
Employers that create wellness-focused organisations are more likely to retain their people. Rather than valuing a long career with a single employer and a gift on retirement, millennials are more loyal to their work and to their peers than to individual companies. In 2016, Deloitte reported that one in four millennials would leave their current employer during the next year given a choice, and 44% within a two-year window. This jumps again in emerging markets; in South Africa, for example, 76% would leave their organisations in the next five years.
An oft-cited reason by millennials for leaving an organisation is the lack of strong leadership skills. In addition, skilled millennials are often headhunted and rapid career mobility brings fresh knowledge and an enhanced skill set. This mobility, when paired with the retirement of baby boomers, threatens to leave organisations in a precarious position.
One way to counter this is to support the ambitions of young employees through leadership training and high-quality mentorship. In 2016, Deloitte found that there are two things millennials appreciate in mentoring relationships: good-quality, effective advice (94%) and interest in their development (91%).
Managing the generational mix
The final challenge is dealing with a generational mix of baby boomers, generation X and millennials – particularly in the South African context where generational differences in the workplace may be exacerbated by vast differences in life and educational experiences, stemming from the injustices of the past.
Having said that, the success of any organisation, regardless of its location on the planet, hinges on its teams and how they collaborate, regardless of generational, gender, race or cultural differences. This brings us back to ubuntu and the spirit of shared values. In 2000, Former South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu explained that those who share the generous spirit of ubuntu are willing to support others and strengthen themselves.
In his book 2000 In Search of the African Business Renaissance, Lovemore Mbigi, CEO of Woburn Business School, wrote that in an organisational setting, survival and sustainability, compassion, solidarity, dignity and respect were identified as five key values underpinning ubuntu.
In essence, ubuntu involves strategies to build and consolidate relationships, while each player looks after their own interests and the higher interests of the team. This unified identity, crucial in the South African context, is driven by committed leadership and effective employee training programmes, and is a powerful tool for promoting tolerance, unity, independence and inter-dependence in the workplace.
The gelling of cross-generations can also be promoted through mentorship programmes. This is win-win for baby boomers, who have a proven track record
of giving back and who wish to share experience gained over time, and for goal-driven members of generation X. Mentorship feeds millennials, hungry for knowledge, and also works in reverse when tech-savvy young people are able to mentor their older colleagues, thereby sharing knowledge through a satisfying collaboration.
We live in a complex and highly-integrated world, but by acknowledging the needs and dreams of fresh generations of skilled employees and embracing the spirit of ubuntu, business organisations in the public and private sector can continue to improve organisational culture through human-centred management, resulting in the wellbeing of all.
Linda Ronnie is an Associate Professor in Organisational Behaviour and People Management at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business, one of three triple-crown accredited African Business Schools.
Ronnie contributed a chapter entitled Wellbeing Challenges of Millennials: South Africa’s ‘Born Free’ Generation to the book Wellbeing for Sustainability in the Global Workplace, one of the Routledge Human Centered Management series. This important book takes a global perspective on wellbeing in the workplace, identifying both universal and specific cultural issues.
