By: Nilima Tiwari, Senior Manager – Service Delivery, LTI Canada

By the year 2025, 75% of the workforce will consist of Millennials. The Millennium generations have entered the work place and it will never be the same again. With their rucksacks, big headphones and eyes glued to the smart phones, they are digital natives completely unaware of what life was like before Internet. Now they are setting the pace and standard for working life and generations before having to rethink how to engage with, and lead, the newcomers.

What is an annoyance to many Baby Boomers – “Those kids always playing on their phones” – is a way of life for the Millennials, carrying on multiple dialogues simultaneously via text, while grabbing facts off the internet about the topic currently in discussion.

Born between 1980 and 1999, the Millennials generation have been supported, encouraged and carried from crib to college, resulting in self-awareness and confidence that leaves the rest of us by the wayside. They expect to be listened to- always- and bargaining with parents in everything from bedtimes to holidays became an integrated skill from an early age. The Millenniums are used to embracing diversity, using social media to make new, and stay in touch with old friends and contacts across the globe. Networking takes on a different meaning with no division between private and business spheres.

In the work place, the Millennials know how to make connections that create new approaches and ways of thinking that severely challenges the belief system of the seniors (which is classified as anyone over 45 years). To add to our pain, they don`t take no for an answer and are happy to leave to set up their own shop in pursuit of their ideas. Their need to be valued, and eagerness to grow, means that concrete, specific and honest feedback, delivered skillfully, needs to become a regular feature, not twice a year in appraisals. They refuse to be limited in space and thought and view the need for freedom and fun as a natural part of life. Command and control is out. Millenniums believe in talking, not being told, thriving in flatter hierarchies, with plenty of opportunities for involvement and influence.

Is your business ready to communicate with customers and consumers over digital channels and social media?

This digital savvy generation is changing the rules of customer service. They don’t often call customer reps, and instead prefer efficient self-service. They don’t just suffer in silence if the brand really fails there expectations. They tweet it out because they hope the brand cares enough about their opinions to right the wrong.

So how to make sure your service is ready for millennials?

• • Millennials love self-service.

Call them the Do-It-Yourself Generation. Having grown up with internet at fingertips, millennials are used to hunting information for themselves. Whenever they have problems for your product or service, they will first search for your FAQ pages and community forums.
A smart move for you is to create a community, where millennials can connect and give advice to each other. They can find answers by themselves quickly, and your agents will have more time to deal with more complex issues. This also shows you respect the opinions and time of your millennial customers.

• • Millennials want it fast.

Speed is critical. According to a research, 25% of millennials expect to get a response within 10 minutes after reaching out for customer service via social media. With Lightning Console, your agent can automate repetitive tasks, and free up more time to address trickier cases.

• • Millennials prefer text messaging over phone calls.

Millennials stay in message threads all the time, whether it’s SMS, WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger. It’s instant and mobile, which allows them to respond quickly wherever they are. But businesses are not keeping up with the same speed. Research shows 20% of millennials currently don’t receive any text messages from businesses at all.
Now it’s time to change that. Start to connect with your millennial customers today with Live Messaging, and serve them their way.

• • Millennials are the hyper-connected generation, with all kinds of devices.

Smartphones, tablets, and laptops – millennials are switching among these devices every day. To please them, make sure you have seamless service support across all platforms. Remember to start with a mobile-responsive website design.

• • Millennials value brand engagement on social media.

Social media has become a customer service channel for millennials. According to Microsoft’s State of Global Customer Service Report, about 47% of 18-34-year-old consumers have used social media to complain about a brand’s service. The lesson for you here is to go social with your millennial customers. And you should also know whether they love Snapchat or Instagram. Answer their questions wherever they are. According to a report, a whopping 93% of Millennials use blogs and reviews before making purchases, and 77% trust the reviews they read on company websites. That means one customer’s negative experience can easily deter others if they decide to share it.

• • Millennials demand personalization.

Compared with previous generations, millennials are more willing to share their personal data with brands to receive better and more personalized service. They expect you to know their service history whenever they reach out. Always remember to get your millennial’s profile in your intelligent CRM before asking them questions, and you will impress them with your knowledge of their needs.

• • Millennials use technology to be able to work whenever from wherever.

With the mass adoption of workflow automation and communication channels like Slack, Hangouts and instant messaging, the Millennial employee doesn’t need–or want–to be chained to a desk from nine to five. Flexibility, empowerment and the ability to work remotely are perks that younger workers value. They’re also what will lure them to–and keep them at–a company. They work hard, but they are not into the forty -hour work weeks defined by the Baby Boomers. Home, family, spending time with the children and families, are priorities. Don’t lose sight of this. Balance and multiple activities are important to these millennial employees. Ignore this at your peril.

• • Opportunities to Learn New Skills.

Millennials also see workplace automation as an opportunity to learn new skills. According to a research, millennials “rank opportunities to learn and grow in a job above all other considerations” when applying for a job. The openness that many millennials show to learning and growing in a job, is a great asset for organizations, who will need to build strategies around upgrading workforce skills as jobs change due to automation. A recent McKinsey report states that as automation progresses, all workers will need to adapt and learn new skills that aren’t easily automated, including social and emotional skills, creativity, and high-level cognitive capabilities.

• • They want Perks -and will change jobs to get them

You’d think the benefits millennials value would be the juice bars, onsite gyms and pet-friendly offices. But the benefits they value, align with those that other generations see as most important: things closely related to quality of life like health insurance, paid vacation and retirement plans. According to the survey, “the benefits and perks that employees truly care about, are those that offer them greater flexibility, autonomy and the ability to lead a better life.”

Provide a fun, employee-centered workplace. Millennials want to enjoy their work. They want to enjoy their workplace. They want to make friends in their workplace. Worry if your millennial employees aren’t laughing, going out with workplace friends for lunch, and helping plan the next company event or committee. Help your long-term employees make room for the millennials.

This is an exciting time for companies to use the latest technologies to bridge their workforce, facilitate necessary knowledge exchange, drive the right outcomes, and prepare for the future of work. Trends like social service will continue to accelerate as Millennials dominate the workforce and consumer markets. The Millennials are here, they are rapidly mixing into your marketing and sales equation. We better get our communication and sales channels ready. In order to keep up, companies have to refresh old-school practices and adapt to a more Millennial-minded approach. That means delivering a convenient, personalized support experience and empowering customers to solve problems on their own whenever possible. Long story short: get on their level and you’ll get their business.

Are you ready?

Read More: https://www.ltimindtree.com/canada/services/#digital-transformation