Why And How To Mentor Your Millennial And Gen Z Employees

Mentoring millennials or Gen Z employees in today’s workplace requires a strategic approach

Today’s workforce is quickly becoming dominated by Millennials and Generation Z employees. According to studies, 56 million (or 35% of) Millennials are in the US workforce, but by 2030, roughly 30% of the workforce will be Gen Z. 

While the exact parameters are up for debate, most agree that Millennials were born between 1983 and 2000. Gen Z workers are considered those born between 1997 and 2013, which includes some overlap with the Millennial generation. These generations of workers have specific and unique characteristics, desires, needs, and approaches to work that businesses will want to consider when employing them.

With a thoughtful approach, Millennials and Gen Z workers can be well-mentored and become some of the most productive and successful employees within an organization. Here are some tips for mentoring your younger employees. 

Why Mentor Millennials and Gen Z Employees?

Simply put, Millennials and Gen Z employees are the future of today’s workplace. These generations are the ones who will take the reins from Gen X and Baby Boomer employees, furthering innovation and becoming leaders of the future. In fact, many of them are already surpassing their predecessors in terms of business success and leadership abilities. 

Millennials and Gen Z workers make for amazing employees, as long as you take the time to explain the motivation and meaning behind their directives. These generations of employees are very interested in the “why” behind actions. 

Millennials and Gen Z Employees Want a Win/Win 

Millennials and Gen Z workers are empathic to all perspectives in business — even the businesses’ perspective — and they are consistently looking for ways for all people to come out ahead in the end. When mentoring these groups, nurturing this desire for “win/win” in business can only uplift productivity and ultimately the businesses’ overall success. 

Heavier Lifting Upfront 

Because Millenials and Gen Z workers like to know the “why” behind tasks and processes, it may require a “heavier lift” from management upfront. Many leaders may be hesitant to do this upfront work, preferring a more antiquated approach of being instructed only on what to do — and how to do it — by their boss. 

However, being willing to put that extra effort into explaining the “why” behind the process or task can yield much better buy-in and engagement. After putting in the time to explain the reason for a task, these generations can better grasp the core essence behind their work, which is far more preferable to most than just having a staff of workers completing tasks without reason or nuance.

Meeting Their Needs 

Compared to the previous generations such as Gen X and Boomers, the hierarchy of needs that guide the work ethics of Millennials and Gen Z workers differ significantly. While their predecessors were often motivated to work hard to provide for basic necessities like food, the priorities of younger generations are more nuanced.When mentoring these younger generations, it is important to tap into these different needs in order to help them reach their full potential. 

For example, Millennials and Gen Z may feel more comfortable with their basic needs being met but may have concerns that their careers are meeting their emotional needs. They are seeking deeper fulfillment from their jobs and higher levels of personal satisfaction with the work that they do. 

Millennials and Gen Z workers value fun, connection, and strong work culture. These are things the company — and mentors within the company — will have to consider with these generations to keep them engaged and, ultimately, retain them as employees.

Add Value to the Employee’s Life 

The ultimate goal of a mentor — regardless of the age of the person they are mentoring might be — is to add value to their life in some way. Today’s Millennials and Gen Z employees are looking for more out of their work than just pay. 

A mentor for these generations should expect to be there for those employees for needs outside of just the “work stuff,” which could include paying for continuing education programs or bringing in outside consultants to give workshops on things like investing or financial literacy. Today’s mentors need to be plugged in outside of teaching employees how to simply “do the work”. 

Care is the Most Important Piece of the Puzzle 

Today’s Millennial and Gen Z employees want to know that their leaders care about them — beyond what those employees offer as workers. Successful mentorships of these employees go beyond the business transactional interactions. 

The best mentors add this value without expecting anything in return since they mentor others out of pure, genuine care. While mentors serve as excellent sounding boards and advice-givers for the younger generation of employees, care is the most important part of the mentor/mentee relationship. 

Mentoring employees is the process of issuing a challenge to them to become the people who know, deep down, they can be — the person we saw when they were hired. The job of a mentor is not to look at people as who they are on a surface level (in this case, a Millennial or a member of Gen Z), but as who they can become with strong mentorship. When looking at employees with eyes of potential, we can help create the next generation of strong leadership.  

Asim Hafeez is the Owner and Operator of Empower Energy Solutions. He is also the Owner of Bamboo Tech and Apex Construction. He is a real estate and early stage growth investor and is a GP or LP in over 45 companies.