There's a lot of buzz about Millennials at PRSA's national conference in Washington. And rightly so! The audience is crawling with them. Staying at the hotel used by the PRSA's student society, this blogger, who has a pair of Millennial daughters, had a double dose of Millennials. There is no escape.
 Serini, Krider |
Professors Shirley Serini of Valdosta State University and Diane Krider of Central Michigan University led a leadership and management track session yesterday and told how Millennials, which they classified as being born from the early '80s and 2000s, are the largest and most educated demographical group in the US.
The economic crunch encouraged many of them to postpone employment and go on to advanced degrees -- many in PR.
They profiled Millennials as the most entitled, sheltered, conventional, confidant, tolerant, connected and pressured bunch that you will ever see. The Baby Boomer educators blamed their peers for the sense of entitlement passed on to their kids. From the cradle up, Millennials were constantly told "how special they are." Ironically, Boomers were often corrected or scolded by their parents with, "What do you think, you're special!!" Go figure! As for sheltered, Boomers organized each minute of their children's lives, while legislators passed tough child safety laws. 9/11 was the only tragedy experienced by Millennials, according to the professors.
While the educators reviewed research into the wonderful world of Millennials, they drove home the point that these young people have to be mentored for management jobs in PR.
The profession faces a leadership crunch due to the vanishing act of Boomers, who are retiring at the rate of 10K per-day, from the scene. There simply aren't enough Gen Xers to fill the void. Millennials need to step up into management roles much earlier than happened in the past.
Serini and Krider noted the natural tension of Boomers and Gen-Xers -- groups who never had anything handed to them, like you know whom -- vis-à-vis co-workers. Boomers and GenXers need to adopt a "parental-type mentoring" approach to younger staffers. For instance, Millennials certainly are tech-savvy social media warriors, but they lack basic understanding of the difference between news and entertainment.
Though great gatherers of information, Millennials are lousy synthesizers. Young people have zero interest in history, corporate processes, loyalty, business etiquette/dress and interpersonal skills (e.g., "You can't lead from a cellphone"). The group is hard working, yet in need of a constant flow of "atta girl or atta boy" as a reward for a job well done. Serini/Krider said Boomers/Gen Xers only are acknowledged when "they screw up."
The professors enjoy their work with Millennial students and noted they are the first generation to graduate with degrees in PR. With proper mentoring, they are confident Millennials will become the PR rock stars of tomorrow.
Serini had the best line in the PRSA conference, saying in conclusion: "Millennial are like flowers. They need a little manure spread around their base to blossom."
Business leaders will face challenges in the upcoming year, some of which will come as a complete surprise, or beyond anyone's imagination.
Teneo has hired Philipp Grontzki, who is a 20-year veteran of corporate communications and financial journalism, as a managing director in its strategy and communications group.
Rowan Benecke, who co-founded Zeno Group and helmed Burson-Marsteller's tech practice, has joined McKinsey & Co as director of communications for North America.
BCW has named Golin's Matt Coldagelli EVP and leader of its corporate affairs practice in Chicago.
Abby Bailey, who headed corporate communications for Fedex in its Middle East, India and Africa region, has joined Teneo as managing director in Dubai.
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