What Generation Y wants: 70% of future leaders reject what traditional business and government has to offer

Content supplied by Deloitte

Big demands and high expectations summarise the results of Deloitte’s third annual Millennial Survey released today.

Across the globe, 70 percent of tomorrow’s future leaders may reject what traditional business has to offer, preferring to work independently through digital means in the future.

This and other findings in Deloitte’s annual study of Generation Y point to significant talent challenges facing business leaders if they are to meet the expectations of the Millennial generation.

Millennials, who are already emerging as leaders in technology and other industries, want to work for organisations that foster innovative thinking, develop their skills, and wish to see them make a positive contribution to society.

The study also reveals that Millennials believe businesses are not currently doing as much as they could to develop their leadership skills and that they need to nurture their future leaders, especially as they cannot count on them biding their time until senior positions arise.

"Developing a culture of innovation in an effort to meet the increasing expectations of Millennials will not only help retain talented individuals, but  will also better position businesses looking to promote innovative thinking as a form of differentiation," said Deloitte New Zealand consulting partner Hamish Wilson.

“It is clear that businesses will continue to look to innovation as a means of stimulating growth, and Millennials will be key players within these initiatives.”

Deloitte surveyed close to 8,000 Millennials from 26 markets. As well as the general trend of high demands and expectations of Millennials, the global survey displayed that:

- Business could achieve more
While most Millennials (74 percent) believe business is having a positive impact on society by generating jobs (48 percent) and increasing prosperity (71 percent), they think business can do much more to address society’s challenges in the areas of most concern: resource scarcity (68 percent), climate change (65 percent) and income equality (64 percent). Additionally, 50 percent of Millennials surveyed want to work for a business with ethical practices.

- Government is not doing enough
Millennials say government has the greatest potential to address society’s biggest issues but are overwhelmingly failing to do so. Almost half feel governments are having a negative impact on areas identified as among the top challenges: unemployment (47 percent), resource scarcity (43 percent), and income inequality (56 percent).

- Organisations must foster innovative thinking
Millennials want to work for organisations that support innovation. In fact, 78 percent of Millennials are influenced by how innovative a company is when deciding if they want to work there, but most say their current employer does not greatly encourage them to think creatively.  They believe the biggest barriers to innovation are management attitude (63 percent), operational structures and procedures (61 percent), and employee skills, attitudes, and (lack of) diversity (39 percent).

- Organisations must nurture emerging leaders
Over one in four Millennials are ‘asking for a chance’ to show their leadership skills. Additionally, 75 percent believe their organisations could do more to develop future leaders.

- Millennials are eager to make a difference
Millennials believe the success of a business should be measured in terms of more than just its financial performance, with a focus on improving society among the most important things it should seek to achieve. Millennials are also charitable and keen to participate in ‘public life’: 63 percent of Millennials donate to charities, 43 percent actively volunteer or are a member of a community organisation, and 52 percent have signed petitions.

“As Millennials will make up an estimated 75 percent of the global workforce by 2025, business must work to foster innovative thinking, nurture emerging leaders, and endeavour to have an increased positive impact on society other than simply generating jobs,” said Mr Wilson.

“These steps will attract and retain individuals who may otherwise choose to operate independently, and allow agile businesses to capitalise on new innovative perspectives.”

For more information and to view the survey results, visit: http://www.deloitte.com/millennialsurvey.