Sam Alkhatib, PMP, is an engineering manager
at Cupertino Electric Inc., San Francisco,
California, USA.
implement two
changes to the work
environment to
boost retention of
millennials:
n Create open work
spaces that promote a collaborative environment.
The company began replacing its old work
cubicles with a new type featuring low partitions that encourage teamwork.
n Implement a challenging and varied employee
development program to satisfy millennials’ continued thirst for knowledge.
In just about any workplace, having a good
mix of veteran workers and new grads is optimal.
In project management, a team that is made up
solely of seasoned project managers faces the
risk of missing out on exposure to new technologies, while a team of millennials faces potentially
high turnover and project disruption. For these
reasons, experienced project managers need to
embrace the tech-savvy ways of millennials to
help drive productivity and innovation, while
focusing on skill development and collaboration
to round out the experience. PM
PREVENT THE EXODUS
To effectively supervise millennials, seasoned proj-
ect managers should keep the following in mind:
n While professional success has traditionally
meant following a predetermined work path, this
doesn’t seem to apply to millennials. Their view is
that life is better without predetermined order.
n Hierarchical reporting structures often don’t
have the same level of importance to millen-
nials. They tend to choose more collaborative
approaches over titles and formality.
n Success for a millennial is not measured in dol-
lars, but rather by the accomplishment of a
bigger goal. The young project manager at my
company saw success as continuing to learn
new skills, not a pay raise or title bump.
n Millennials have no intention of waiting for the
world to come to them—they want results now.
For my former co-worker, once she felt she had
mastered the skill set needed for the project, she
grew impatient and left.
Based on experience, my organization began to
NT IN ACTION
In just about
any workplace,
having a good
mix of veteran
workers and
new grads is
optimal.
Share Your
Thoughts
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management
better than you,
the practitioners
“Getting it Done.”
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everything from
sustainability to
talent management
and all project
topics in between.
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