Lee Caraher: Creating a Culture Where Millennials Can Thrive
You’ve been taught to dream big, empowered to believe that you can accomplish absolutely anything. And then you get to work, and they’ve got you pushing paper. It’s no surprise that companies struggle to retain Millennials who are uninspired and don’t feel as if their work matters.
The CEO of Double Forte PR & Digital Marketing, Lee Caraher is a lauded communication strategist, known for her practical solutions to difficult problems. She is a recognized expert in building high-performing intergenerational teams, and her work as a speaker and author seeks to demonstrate how businesses can shift the definition of company loyalty and embrace the qualities of different generations.
Caraher gained this expertise the hard way, failing to retain newly hired Millennials at Double Forte when they entered the workforce in 2011. Unwilling to buy into the negative stereotypes associated with Millennials in the workplace, she created a culture where Millennials, Xers and Boomers could thrive together, and she shares this method in the book Millennials & Management. Caraher’s next venture, The Boomerang Principle, hit bookshelves in April 2017. Today she discusses how the concept of loyalty has shifted in the current corporate climate and the five principles at the heart of her strategy to retain Millennials.
Key Interview Takeaways
Articulate your company’s rally cry. Millennials need to understand why you exist as a company and what they will learn from working with you.
Provide context for each new project and ask for input. Address why the work is important and discuss each person’s role.
Establish a culture of appreciation. Teams who receive meaningful positive feedback outperform those who don’t.
Millennials anticipate having up to six careers. What an Xer or Boomer might see as job-hopping, Millennials see as career-building.
Loyalty to a particular company is an antiquated idea. Rather than worrying about employees leaving, focus on how to make them as productive as possible while they are there.
Work to inspire loyalty after an employee has moved on. The most impactful person in a recruiting situation is the former employee who posts a positive review of your company.
Connect with Lee Caraher
Resources
The Boomerang Principle: Inspiring Lifetime Loyalty from Your Employees by Lee Caraher
Millennials & Management: The Essential Guide to Making It Work at Work by Lee Caraher
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