Arkansas HVACR NewsMagazine June 2018

News Magazine June 2018

FEATURE STORY

First, Curiosity! “Over 70% of Millennials identify themselves as “extremely” or “very” curious.” This is great for the HVACR industry. We need employees that

A Message to

Baby Boomers About Millennials

think—that want to know what makes it work and how to fix it; however, the survey found that many Millennials are “hesitant in exercising their curiosity at work.” Why? 42% “fear

SurveyMonkey did an amazing survey of millennials and came up with some very interesting responses that a heating and air conditioning contractor can use to help him connect with that group

looking stupid” and 28% say they won’t “get real answers when they ask questions”. Think back, many of these young folks did not feel comfortable in traditional classroom education and were treated as though they weren’t too smart. That is one of the reasons they did not want to go to college. They’d had enough—and they like working with their hands. One thing every HVACR contractor can do is give them the opportunity and patience in hands-on training that will spur their curiosity rather than quench it. It takes time to teach a Millennial or anyone but it is much easier than going back to correct their mistakes because they were not properly trained. The training process is an investment in the future. Just remember that an investment takes time and therefore takes money—but it will pay back. If the survey is true, you have a curious employee that will learn fast if

of young folks that everyone seems to be talking about these days. Many, if not most, HVACR contractors are in the Baby Boomer generation. As such they are nearing or have passed retirement age and may not understand the differences between their generation and this immerging Millennial group. According to the non-profit Brookings Institution , b y 2020, Millennials will comprise more than one of three adult Americans. It is estimated that by 2025 they will make up as much as 75 percent of the workforce. So, if 75% of your workforce is going to be Millennial, it might be good to know what makes them tick. After all, the primary job of management is to facilitate the success of the employee and thereby create the desired growth of the company. Back to the SurveyMonkey findings. They found five key takeaways.