By next year, Millennials are expected to comprise 36% of the U.S. workforce, and by 2020, Millennials will be nearly half of all workers. According to Forbes Magazine, Millennials are both “the most educated and culturally diverse of any generation” and “notorious job-hoppers who dislike bureaucracy and distrust traditional hierarchies.” Given this, it is crucial for manager to understand how best to motivate and engage Millennials.

In a recent article, Forbes Magazine described seven ways to motivate Millennials:

1. Explain The Company Vision: Millennial workers are more likely to look for meaning and impact in their work and aren’t satisfied simply punching a clock. Helping them understand their role in a larger plan gives them a clearer sense of purpose.

2. Prioritize Community Service: Millennials place a higher priority on helping people in need (21%) than having a high-paying career (15%). Allowing employees to form committees and use company resources or time to organize their causes meets their desire for social consciousness.

3. Develop In-Between Steps And Titles: Millennials are especially eager to progress in their careers and less willing to wait three to five years for a promotion. By developing in-between steps and titles, managers can meet their desire for career progression.

4. Give Encouragement And Regular Feedback: This generation responds well to encouragement and immediate feedback. Make it clear from the beginning that you reward good work, and then keep an open line of communication to let them know how they’re doing and how they can improve.

5. Offer More Flexibility: Work-life balance is one of the most significant drivers of employee retention among Millennials. This tech-savvy generation is essentially able to work anytime from anywhere with an Internet connection. Thus, seemingly arbitrary work hours or having to sit at a desk all day is less appealing to them.

6. Provide Education And Professional Development: Most Millennials are hungry and want to advance. Assigning stretch projects, bringing in speakers or sending employees to leadership conferences will be especially helpful for those millennial workers interested in learning and growing their skills.

7. Give Them Time For Personal Projects: Offer employees time to work on a project of their choosing. This will help Millennials feel more engaged and in control and also can boost innovation within the company

For more on each of this steps, click here for the full article.

In 2004, Best Buy began its Results-Only Work Environment, or ROWE, program, which gave employees control over when and how they worked, so long as they produced results. Earlier this month Best Buy announced a plan to end the ROWE program. Inc. Magazine recently ran an interview with Jody Thompson, the creator of Best Buy‘s ROWE program, on why the company’s move to eliminate it is a bad idea.

As Jody Thompson says:

A results-only environment works for every single person on the planet. It’s not a flexibility program. It involves thinking about your work and how to accomplish it, and then being where you need to be to make that happen. Now, you might say, “What about a bus driver?” Well, if the bus driver doesn’t give you his route, and the people aren’t happy, then he hasn’t achieved his results. There’s always a measure of results, and you hold people accountable to that outcome. We’ve worked with companies in child care, manufacturing, a nursing home, education. It works anywhere.

For more, click here to read the full article.

Listening implies an active process of paying attention to what someone else is saying. According to Fast Company magazine, most companies don’t do nearly as much of that as they should, primarily because it’s more complicated to do.

Companies often believe they are listening because they are engaging in extensive online monitoring of digital communications and social media, and are aware of the conversations happening about their brand. However, listening requires more. Listening necessitates an active process of paying attention to what is being said, and developing an understanding of the people you’re communicating with.

As Sam Ford, coauthor of the new book Spreadable Media, writes:

Companies that hear and don’t listen often:

• know that a shift in perception has happened but have no strong idea as to why
• realize that there’s been a rise of interest in the company but little about what larger trends are driving that new interest
• can track what happened with a crisis after the fact but have little chance of seeing a crisis coming
• miss out on new business opportunities because they are tracking only what people are saying about the company and not understanding patterns in the lives of their customers beyond mentions of their brand

For more, click here to read the full article.

Although having a global mindset is crucial for success in international markets, it is a characteristic that is not easily acquired. Some questions to ask to determine the extent of your global mindset:

• Have you maximized your exposure to different cultures?
• Do you learn from globally minded role models?
• Are you comfortable venturing outside your comfort zone?
• Are you a student of the world?

As Business Management Daily recounts:

In today’s economy, leaders must look beyond borders and develop a global mindset. The ability to broaden your perspective and understand different cultures gives you an edge in collaborating with foreign partners or negotiating deals abroad.

For the full article, click here.

The number of CEO’s joining social media platforms is on the rise. However, a new study indicates that many are still unconvinced. While there is no question that an online presence has it’s benefits–such as engaging customers and employees–not all are convinced that it will increase their bottom line or benefit their brand.

As Forbes.com reports:

For every aspirational leadership rationale for signing up ─ to present an authentic face, get closer to customers, engage employees ─ there are pragmatic reasons still keeping the majority away.

Some simply don’t see the cost-benefit of the personal commitment. Others turn away due to the risk of well-documented personal attacks, disclosure issues or media scrutiny from off-the-cuff commentary.

For the full article, click here.