Letters from a “Millennial”: Tips from the other side of the Performance Review

The topic of managing so called “millennials” is a hot button topic at the moment and everyone is weighing in with their opinion. The idea of generalizing how to communicate with someone based on a vague age range of 18-34 is kind of ridiculous. Reading all these articles to try and train yourself to “handle” or “deal with” millennials is creating a culture that doesn’t work.

If you’re a so called “millennial” reading this then stay tuned for the next blog in this series in which I will talk about how to tactfully remind your supervisors that you are not a simple cookie cutter idea but an individual.

If you’re one of the many people coming here to learn how to manage millennials then please stay, pull up a chair. 

The point of this blog is to break down the idea of generalizing a group of people based on an age range. To combat the idea that there is a tool kit specialized for communicating with everyone on a broad scale we will instead look at the tools for communicating to everyone. To effectively communicate with any person on this planet you need to read them. We also cannot automatically treat someone a certain way because we think they fit into a preformed idea.

The next time you give a performance review to someone who falls into any age range throw out everything you have read about and follow these simple rules.

1. Start with anything that the employee does well, something worthy of highlighting. This will make them more receptive to any constructive criticism that you may have.
2. When you address any issue with their performance keep a level tone and a respectful posture. You want them to know that you’re not angry but trying to help them improve, remember no one is born an expert at anything.
3. Don’t forget the constructive part of the criticism. Telling someone they have done something wrong rarely means anything if you can’t offer some insight on how they may improve. Don’t tell them the answer, stimulate thought.
4. When the review is over have a breakdown of the meeting for them to take and for you to keep. Make this in preparation for the meeting and leave white space if anything comes up that needs to be added.

I will leave you with one final note following this manic rant, have weekly talks with your team members , you’ll keep everyone on task and learn more about the people you manage.

Like always if you have questions or comments please fill out the comments box or message me on LinkedIn or Twitter