CASE STUDY: COMMUNICATING WITH THE MILLENNIALSThe Millennials $($including Generation Y$)$ have arrived in theMost companies aren't hearing the message. They con$-$workplace, and they are bringing new ways to communicate.tinue to block social networking, text messaging, and otherSurveys report that cell phones $($particularly smartphones$)$channels preferred by Millennials. Some firms argue thesehave become the medium of choice among Millennials. Al$-$practices are workplace intrusions that undermine productiv$-$most all $(97\%)$ Millennials in the United States with cellity. Others justify blocking communication through thesephones send text messages, $84$ percent access the internet,channels due to security risks.and $73$ percent send or receive email using their cell phones.Whether these arguments are valid remains uncertain, aIn contrast, among cell phone owners over $50$ years old, less growing chorus of experts are advising that companies need than two$-$thirds send text messages, only about one$-$third ac$-$to adapt to the communication styles of Millennials rathercess the internet, and only about one$-$third send or receive than reject them outright. Furthermore, companies need to emails using their phones.make better use of the communication skills that MillennialsMillennial communication also relies much more on so$-$ bring to the workplace. cial media. Almost $90$ percent of Millennials regularly visit"A new employee who comes in with the ability to man$-$Facebook, LinkedIn, or other social networking sites, whereas age a network of $1,000$ Facebook friends every day. That's a only about half of Americans over $50$ years old visit these fabulous skill in$,$ let's say, a sales organization," says Ross sites. Thirty percent of Millennials use Twitter, compared to less than $10$ percent of people over $50$ years old.Smith, Director of Test at Microsoft, Inc. The problem he suggests, is that many companies don't know how to leverageThese statistics send a clear message: Millennials preferthat communication potential. "It's likely that the organiza$-$different communication channels $($cell phones, social media$)$tion has no idea, particularly because the organization is gen$-$and different communication styles $($i$.$e$.$ short, informal mes$-$erally going to be run by boomer, Gen X managers, whosages$)$ than those dictated by most organizations. These gaps aren't savvy Facebook users. But the Gen Y or millennial em$-$between corporate and personal communication preferences ployee coming in certainly knows how to do that." not only produce dysfunctional conflict and frustration; theySmith believes the solution is to give Millennials morealso undermine the company's ability to attract future talent.freedom to try out new communication practices. $"$If the se$-"[$Millennials$)$ will judge companies on the social media prac$-$nior leaders or the organization can develop a culture of hightices and policies, which includes how companies utilize so$-$trust, then the individual's going to be free to experiment andcial media in their operations, their digital awareness, and suggest new things and try new ways of doing things and any restrictions imposed on employees' access and usage of uncover how Facebook skills map to a sales organization." social media during work time," warns Barry Thomas, direc$-$St$.$ Luke's Medical Center in Boise, Idaho, is a case intor of Cook Medical Asia$-$Pacific.point. Hospital leaders discovered that the younger medical$277$staff were texting each other with medical orders and patient updates. Texting is one of the preferred communication methods among these physicians and nurses, and it is a much more efficient than the hospital's formal practice of phoning and paging people. But texting through public networks lacks security $($it could be hacked by outsiders$)$ and violates industry regulations. Another hospital would have banned the practice without further thought, but St$.$ Luke's is instead contracted with an IT company to set up a secure texting system for the hospital."T've heard $[$officials of$)$ other organizations say, $\text{'}$We can't do that," says Jennifer Mensik, St$.$ Luke's administrator of nursing and patient care services. "But when people are trying to do the best they can for the patient, they're going to try to find a workaround. That should be an alert to some of the older generation that this is a good idea. Let's not stop it$.$Let's figure out how we can do it legally and correctly."Although companies need to adapt to Millennial communication preferences, the reverse is also true. Millennials need to spruce up their skills using older technologies. For in$-$stance, advertising sales at Metro Guide Publishing in Halifax, Nova Scotia, were down, and publisher Patty Baxter noticed that the office lacked the buzz of sales calls. The problem, she realized, was that most of Metro Guide's new generation of employees were emailing clients rather than selling advertising by telephone.Baxter explains that email doesn't work in business deals, where personal rapport and quick understanding of the client's needs are critical. "You're not selling if you're just asking a question and getting an answer back," she says. Baxter also suggests that phone calls tend to result in fewer communication errors, citing a recent incident in which a sales employee misinterpreted a client's email about a possible advertising sale. Metro Guide sales staff now receive on$-$the$-$job coaching with phone$-$use consultant Mary Jane Copps, who observes that Millennial employees $($as well as others$)$ often suffer from phone phobia. $"$I$\text{'}$s a lack of confidence that they'll be able to say the right words in the right order in the right amount of time," she explains.Discussion Questions$1.$ Take a poll of your class $($at least, the Gen$-$X and Gen$-$Y members$).$ At school or work, how many regularly $($e$.$g$.,$ daily or every few days$)$ send or receive information $($not entertainment$)$ using $($a$)$ e$-$mail, $($b$)$ instant messages or Twitter tweets, $($c$)$ cell phone text messages, $($d$)$ reading$/$ writing blogs, $($e$)$ visiting$/$authoring social media sites $($e$.$g$.,$ Facebook, Instagram$),($f$)$ watching$/$creating online videos $($e$.$g$.,$ YouTube$)?2.$ Even within this generation, there are different preferences for communication media. After conducting the poll, ask students who don't regularly use one or more of these methods why they don't like that particular communication medium. Ask those who very often use these sources to give their point of view$\mathrm{.}3.$ Companies have been slow and reluctant to adopt social media channels, cell phone text messaging, and similar forms of communication. If you were a senior manager, how would you introduce these communication technologies in the workplace to share information and knowledge more effectively?