Professional Parents

A couple of my clients, owners of a CPA firm, were complaining about young professionals recently. Their issues fell mostly into the “not behaving professionally” arena: texting friends or visiting Facebook at work, arriving late, leaving early, ignoring client needs. If you work with Millennials (those born after 1980), you know the drill.

When I suggested it was possible the young folks didn’t know they were doing anything wrong, the partners scoffed. They’ve been told multiple times, the partners said, and they’re just not listening. The only time they shape up is when the partners get angry, and then the behavior changes are only temporary.

At this point, I started smiling, because these partners sounded exactly like two parents complaining about their kids. When they said “We shouldn’t have to tell them more than once about these issues!”, I could only ask this:

“How many times did you teach the same lessons, over and over, to your own children?” Whether it related to doing homework, getting ready for school on time, doing the dishes, or cleaning their rooms, I know every single American parent gave more than one, two, or three instructions.

It’s no different in the workplace. You have to give clear, consistent instruction. And you have to do it seemingly ad nauseum. You can’t just have conversations about it, either. At some point, there have to be consequences for non-productive behavior as it is defined by your organization’s leadership - not necessarily as defined by the Millennials themselves.

Sound a lot like your parenting days? Absolutely. Better accept it now: those of you who own and manage companies that employ young people are, indeed, repeating your roles as moms and dads. Of course, your employees are not your children; you can fire them if you don’t want to teach them. But that could get really expensive.

Smart owners, partners and managers understand they may have to start Millennial employees from square one when it comes to behaving professionally. So stop complaining, start teaching, and teach every day. Just like your own kids, these young workers will grow up. They will learn from you if you become the instructor you need to be.