While you’ll find tried, tested, and true facets of project management software, millennials are bringing fresh perspectives – leveraging technological advancements and placing additional concentrate areas like economic, ecological, and social factors.

Alex Shootman, CEO at Workfront, a cloud-based enterprise work and project management software solution provider, said learning to use millennials is the vital thing since “digital natives now rule, and may surge in power and influence in the next many years.”

“Just like all immigrant and native within a society, you’ll find differences, and people differences changes the workplace,” said Shootman. “Differences bring that digital natives view the workplace as egalitarian vs. hierarchical, they prefer telecommuting and flexible hours as well as the possibility to make up work remotely, (i.e., from a cafe on a weekend or throughout vacation).”

“Natives like multitasking or task switching and prefer to understand ‘just-in-time’ simply precisely what is minimally necessary.” Shootman said millennials “interact and network simultaneously with many, even a huge selection of others. Egalitarian, flexible, task switching, just-in-time skills and highly networked. It’s not the current work environment.”

SEE: Millennials are twice as bored at the job as seniors, report says

Why the focus on the role of millennials in projects?

“By 2020, millennials is likely to make up half the international work force, and also by 2030, they’ll take into account 75%. Millennials’ aversion to hidden agendas, rigid corporate structures and knowledge silos along with a willingness to explore new opportunities will fundamentally customize the nature of work or severely cost businesses,” said Eric Bergman, second in command of Kogan Page Project Management Books at Changepoint, a professional services automation company. “Gallup estimates millennial turnover costs the US economy $30.5 billion annually.” Bergman believes organizations will focus more extensively on employees along with their needs so that you can address the negative impact of churn on productivity, quality, restore.

Exactly what does this mean for project activities that support business goals?
Bergman said that a year ago, businesses realized their survival hinged on embracing digital transformation. Now, adapting to shifting expectations means delivering IT capabilities that complement business priorities. Even the most agile, tech-forward corporations are rewriting their playbook facing evolving expectations.”
Marianne Crann, director, hr at Changepoint adds “Millennials are disrupting traditional business models. We have seen this in HR for a long time. However, everyday processes has to be updated to accommodate new generations of talent. They work differently and still have different expectations. Businesses that discover that sweet spot-the the one which attracts talent without detracting in the success from the business-will gain happier staff and happier stakeholders, no matter the generation.” Changepoint has gone into greater detail on millennials and project management software within their new 2017 trends report.

At GlassSKY, a firm committed to the empowerment and development of women, founder Robyn Tingley believes millennials differ within their procedure for timelines, collaboration, and communication. “Millennials have a very more effective a sense work/life balance than Gen Xers,” she said. “This doesn’t mean they won’t place in an extension cord in the event the situation demands it, or answer correspondence after hours, nonetheless they will most certainly expect that is the exception.” Tingley said that more so than other generations, millennials are drawing boundaries more clearly knowning that this new state of mind is a odds together with the old ‘all nighter’ mentality of project management software deadlines. “It’s making project leaders rethink deadlines, the best way to schedule work and wins, key milestones and what’s truly realistic and achievable whenever your key players clock out prior to the leader, and prior to anyone from the older generations expect,” said Tingley. “It includes making decisions must be put on steroids…if your downline shall be productive for just 8 hours, you simply can’t have them spending 2-3 of these on a daily basis in meetings presenting powerpoints and flow charts to have consensus around change requests and scope adjustments.”

In regards as a result of collaboration Tingley said millennials excel: “They are true team players and like to solicit inputs and views and are natural connectors.” And so they expect tools to keep pace. “Static whiteboards that can not be seen unless you take a snapshot, SharePoint sites, Excel spreadsheets, and companies that don’t have adequate video conference solutions are dinosaurs to them,” said Tingley. “Project managers must embrace and support modernized software that can handle collaborative brainstorming, real-time updates, multiples readers and users, integrated video, voice plus more.”

Regarding communication, Tingley said millennials are “the true tech generation; gadget-friendly, always on, highly responsive tech connoisseurs, and they communicate in a nutshell bursts of emojis and splintered spelling. Email just won’t work to align teams, manage inputs, and drive performance.” With the rise of virtual workers and geographically-distanced teams, Tingley predicted that project management software apps can become the modern norm. “The future just may entail millennials working on the local coffeehouse, uploading a visual chart they merely drew or perhaps a photo they snapped of something inspirational, as well as the entire team can see it and create onto it, click to vote yes/no, drag it to another location two-quarters out for the future phase, etc,” she said.
How do millennials see their role in projects and affect business goals?

“The millennial generation has been dubbed the ‘selfie generation,'” said Daniel Malak, who works for Motionloft, a supplier of hyperlocal pedestrian and vehicle traffic sensors. “I like to think it’s more the ‘self-starter’ generation. Young professionals recognize that in settling student education loans, advancing within their career, and establishing relevant experiences for growth takes a decisive attitude towards accepting and leading new projects.”

Malack, a millennial, believes his generation has an interest in not just meeting expectations of your project, but exceeding them also. “Millennials are nimble and may adapt faster to changes better than others,” he said. “Younger associates can oftentimes be a little more going to deliver, knowning that presents a fascinating situation in which projects become opportunities as an alternative to hurdles…deadlines are managed from the implementation of the latest communication methods, which could both expedite the job and increase the net profit concurrently.”

What should companies eliminate because of this?

Millennials will be the future, bringing newer perspectives plus more innovative approaches. Companies must harness their contributions and recognize the real potential they possess.
Technology is almost wired to the DNA of this tech savvy group in manners the last generations may not grasp and appreciate. This will make millennials a hybrid solution in of themselves and a powerful resource for projects.
Millennials really should not be automatically mistaken as ‘not as experienced’, or unaware. They’ve appear by way of a business climate which is more diverse, complex, dynamic, e-mail, more stressful than other generations. This will make their experiences and contributions highly valuable. Project teams should leverage their varied insights for improved outcomes.
When companies can harness the full combined potential of previous generations and millennials, the result will offer a much more sustainable solution than depending on merely one or the other.
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