Managing Millennials With Multimedia
July 28, 2008
iPod in one ear, cell phone in the other, and maybe your best customer in front of them. Millennials live in a multimedia world. No wonder then that multimedia tools may be the key to teaching managers how to reward and engage them.
By Jeffrey Fina
Energizing and retaining employees is on the short list of priorities among companies, large and small. Effective employee engagement is fast becoming the Holy Grail of HR practitioners and executive leadership, and surveys continue to point to first line managers as the chief influencer.
As multimedia tools, such as Flash, animation, HTML, audio, and of course, video, proliferate the Internet to meet a younger demographic's desire for increased interactivity, companies are adopting these tools to improve their employee recognition programs. In particular, notifying and training managers on how and when to make an effective and resonant presentation to celebrate or reward an employee in the presence of his peers.
When great employees move up the ranks to supervisory roles, their people recognition skills may be overlooked. The result: great employees become not so great managers and the net effects are unhappy, disengaged, and less productive workers.
Video is an easy, inexpensive coaching format that ensures managers are properly trained in how to best present employee awards in a way that will have the greatest positive impact on employees. Managers receive step-by-step guidance on how and when to make a meaningful and effective presentation to an employee. And assorted video scenarios visually show managers how to acknowledge employees for particular achievements and what they can do to also play a role. For example, a length of service award presentation in an office setting will differ significantly from a safety recognition award presentation on the floor of a manufacturing plant.
Multimedia also should be considered as a means to enhance the relationship between the manager and employee. Employee engagement always points to managers, as it is their responsibility to provide a powerful and meaningful presentation to employees. This is a very critical step in the process—the manner and method in which the manager makes a presentation to an employee has a lasting impression. Properly training managers on how to best present an award and celebrate their employees builds stronger relationships. And a strong relationship translates into a much more engaged employee.
A recent BlessingWhite Employee Engagement Report found strong manager-employee relationships remain a crucial ingredient in the employee engagement and retention formula. Employees who know their managers "very well" or "well" trust them much more. They also appear to have more pride in the organization and are willing to go the extra mile. In this case, employees feel they’re supported in applying their unique talents to drive their own satisfaction, as well as the organization’s success.
On the employee experience side, executive leadership, including CEOs, use videos to deliver a personal message to employees congratulating them for an accomplishment or anniversary, or to send messages to employees company-wide. Organizations, such as Paychex, a payroll, HR, and benefits outsourcing company, know a video from upper level management carries more weight and a more personal touch than words on a piece of paper. Paychex vice presidents, Lynn Miley and Len Redon, worked with me to incorporate a personalized video message as part of their promotion recognition program. The feedback and reaction from employees exceeded expectations.
Today, one of the most challenging groups to engage is the Millennial generation, also known as "Gen Y." Because these younger workers are tech and multimedia savvy, and their value sets strongly emphasize relationships and connections to friends and family, corporations continue to look for the right innovative blend of engagement tools and methods to reach this group.
Video in the age of YouTube has given companies a way to fight fire with fire. By implementing video as part of their arsenal of engagement and recognition tools, employers increase their ability to communicate effectively with Millennials—on their terms. In addition, studies show people, in general, are five times more likely to retain information from watching a video than reading an email or letter.
The following are key reasons corporations are using video as part of their communications toolkit:
• Video and supporting technology have become better and less expensive, so production, access, and distribution are easier and faster.
• Video speeds up the comprehension process; employees will "get it" faster by watching a short video vs. reading long bodies of text.
• Video on the Web is the current wave in marketing and communication as more and more people source their news, entertainment, and information online.
• Video enables companies to develop a rapport with their audience in a way that text and one-dimensional images cannot.
According to statistics from a recent survey by Recognition Professionals International, more than half of respondents (54 percent) indicate using electronic means to communicate recognition programs. Internet and intranet capabilities simplify the entire recognition process from administration to tracking awards. In addition, more than a third are using electronic media to administer these components. Printed newsletters and handbooks are being replaced more and more with video and online presentations, making employee engagement more interactive and effective. Additionally, this move from paper-based media to electronic forms of communication is fed by companies' pressing need to "go green."
Multimedia tools will play an increasingly larger role in generating excitement among employees, ultimately becoming a main driving force behind employee engagement. And as technology advances, more innovative and cost-effective tools are on the horizon, further expanding the resources that will be available to corporations who continue to invest in their employee recognition programs.
Jeffrey Fina is vice president of Michael C. Fina, a provider of employee recognition tools and programs. For more information, visit www.mcfawards.com.
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