Productivity Tips for Millennial Managers

Congratulations on being promoted! Your hard work has paid off. You’re the new manager at your company. In fact, you may be one of the first millennial managers your company has ever had. They trust your vision and work ethic will take them to new heights.

The only problem is that you’re now in charge of employee productivity.

Every manager knows this is the biggest challenge in any workplace environment. It’s especially challenging when you have workers from different generations trying to work together. You also have to stay productive yourself because you acquired more responsibility.

Here are some productivity tips millennial managers can implement for themselves and co-workers.

Allow Mini Breaks

The line between work and personal life is starting to fade. Not only are employees checking emails and working on projects after they clock out, but they’re also keeping tabs on their personal life at work.

Be flexible with this trend and give mini breaks every hour or so.

Employees are working for you on their own time outside of work, so it’s only fair you give them time for themselves at work. A few minutes every hour is enough to check messages from family members and friends. Plus, breaks increase productivity by rebooting cognitive energy. These breaks will make everyone more productive.

Give Frequent Feedback

Annual performance reviews are on their way out because millennials want constant feedback. Frequent feedback improves performance and boosts productivity. Millennials are used to constant feedback. They post something on Facebook and within seconds they know if someone likes it. Your brain has developed to respond to and appreciate feedback.

Although this resonates most with millennial workers, it helps any other generation as well. You want to feel validated for your work because you put in the time and effort. You also want to know if you’re doing something wrong, so you can fix it. Feedback will help your employees perform better.

Have a Mentor

Much responsibility now falls on your shoulders. You’ll have to deal with situations you’ve never been in and answer difficult questions you don’t know the answer to.

All millennial managers should have a mentor. Your co-workers aren’t the only ones who need constant feedback. Even though you’re now in a position of authority, you still need someone telling you how you’re performing. A mentor will provide guidance and feedback. You will certainly need both when you’re starting your new role as a manager.

Outsource Work

The less work an employee has to do, the more productive they are. They should always be busy and working on a task that benefits the company. Any work that takes them away from these important tasks should be outsourced to freelancers.

Thanks to the internet, you’re now one click away from hiring freelance workers who live on the other side of the planet. More and more companies use freelancers to handle time-consuming busy work, letting employees focus on the important tasks they were hired for and increasing everyone’s productivity.

Understand Your Co-Workers

Not everyone in your company will respond well to millennial managers — most likely people with their qualms about it will be much older and more experienced than you. Try to get to know your co-workers and understand where they’re coming from.

Emotional intelligence is a hot topic in business school right now. It’s essentially the ability to understand other people’s emotions, motivations and personality. Emotional intelligence will help you relate to and get along with other workers much better, creating a positive working environment and leading to more productive workers.

Lead By Example

What kind of millennial manager are you? Your employees will only be more productive if they have a leader to look up to, so lead by example and get to work!