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Messages from the MillennialsResults from Accenture’s High Performance IT Research in the Netherlands
Executive summary ............................................................................................................2
Key findings ..........................................................................................................................3
Implications for CIOs ......................................................................................................9
About this study ..................................................................................................................10
Contents
1
Thumbs flying across the keypad of her mobile…iPod ear buds in…while watching a YouTube video on her laptop …today’s multitasking youngster is coming to your workplace soon, and she will not do things the way you’ve always done them.
In fact, the Millennials generation—those now between their mid teens and late twenties—is already starting to shake up the workplace. Their impact has far-reaching consequences for business leaders everywhere. New research by Accenture reveals the extent to which senior managers must rethink their approaches on everything from information security to how people communicate and collaborate.
Nowhere are the differences between the Millennials and older workers more apparent than in their use of technology. The Millennials have grown up multitasking, enabled by advances in consumer electronics and social networking applications that allow them to stay ‘plugged in’ literally all the time. Schoolchildren, university students and young workers all assume they should be able to connect with others regardless of time or location, and increasingly via their mobiles. As they start to bring those expectations into the workplace, they are beginning to turn IT policies upside-down.
Executive summary
2
Key findings
And the research discovered a big disconnect between the enterprise technology that organizations provide to their employees and how young workers actually want to use technology and collaborate in the workplace.
Far-sighted IT leaders will pay attention to this study’s findings. As Millennials begin to exert more influence in the workplace, CIOs and their top managers will have to find a way to adapt their policies and procedures to accommodate the new technology that these young workers are demanding. And they must do so without putting the enterprise at risk.
This report provides some of the most interesting excerpts from the research and describes the probable impact on corporate IT organizations.
“Thanks, boss, but I’ll use my own tools”Most of the young Dutch people surveyed say they expect plenty of freedom to use their own technology and mobile devices for work rather than those supplied by their current or future employer. Although just five percent of the mid-Millennials (ages 18-22) now employed can use the computer of their choice at work, 15 percent say they should be able to do so. (See Exhibit 1.) And many expect they should be able to access their preferred technology applications at work. In the US, those feelings are even stronger: Fully 35 percent of working Millennials in the States think they personally should be able to get the technology they need to do the job.
Accenture found an increasing demand among these respondents for high-tech devices to connect with colleagues, peers, friends and family – both inside and outside of the office or the classroom.
3
Exhibit 1 - Young Dutch employees want more choice of tech tools at work
Exhibit 2 - Employer-provided tools don’t meet Millennials’ expectations
Expected, Current and Ideal Work environmentsMid-Millennials (18-22)
Corporate choice Personal choice
Company devices (computer)
Mobile from my employer
Corporate technology applications
Corporate social network applications
Ideal
Current
ExpectedExpected=18-22 in schoolCurrent and ideal = 18-22 working
Base (Total Respondents age 18-22) = 203
25% 50%25%
Ideal
Current
Expected
Ideal
Current
Expected
Ideal
Current
Expected
My devices (computer)
My own mobile
Technology applications of my choice
My personal online social network
12% 19% 28% 26% 15%
11% 47%37% 5%
14% 43% 14%10%19%
12% 18% 30% 23%17%
7% 21% 36% 29%7%
7% 20% 33% 40%
19%12% 37% 11%21%
18% 29% 6%41% 6%
39% 6% 22%22% 11%
5%17% 22% 35% 21%
17% 18% 47% 6% 12%
Virtual Communities
Open source technologies
Online applications
Mobile phone/blackberry
Social networking sites
Instant messaging
Online collaboration tools
RSS feeds
Blogs, vlogs, twitter
Internet
Enterprise wikis
VOIP
Base (Working Respondents) = 82
Looking at the following list, which technologies do you currently use or access for work related activities that are not supported by your organization’s IT department, or not meeting your expectations?
Currently use, supported by IT department and meeting expectationsCurrently use and supported by IT department, but not meeting expectationsCurrently use but not supported by IT department
47% 24% 29%
46% 27% 27%
42% 8% 50%
41% 18% 41%
39% 18% 43%
36% 28% 36%
26% 17% 57%
23% 31% 46%
22% 17% 61%
20% 12% 68%
20% 33% 47%
19% 12% 69%
17% 41% 42%
4
These attitudes may be caused in part by the Millennials’ disappointment with the technology that corporate IT departments currently provide. In nearly every category of workplace technology, many young employees on both sides of the Atlantic say the employer-provided technologies do not meet their expectations. In particular, Dutch Millennials are dissatisfied with the enterprise wikis available (41 percent), the voice-over-IP services offered (33 percent) and the online collaboration tools (31 percent). (See Exhibit 2.)
“No worries, I’ll just download the tool”Most parents of teenagers already know how freely their children download whatever programs and applications they want. Those behaviors are clearly carrying over into the workplace: The study found that working Millennials in the Netherlands say they regularly get the technology they want from open source communities as well as from providers of mashups and widgets. For example, 85 percent report that they have accessed or download online applications from free public Web sites when those technologies were not available at work or not meeting their expectations. (See Exhibit 3)
The figures for young Americans’ unsanctioned access and downloads at work differ somewhat, but the overall theme is the same: Millennials are not waiting for their employers to provide them with the technology they want at work.
Exhibit 3 - Dutch Millennials don’t wait for the CIO to provide the technology they want
Open source technologies
Social networking sites
Instant messaging
Internet
Online applications
Source: Accenture Millennials Survey, 2009
For those technologies that are not made available to you at work or that are not meeting your expectations do you then:
Use your existing personal technology
Access/download the technology from free public websites
Purchase the technology yourself for work only
7% 85% 8%
8% 77% 15%
55% 27%
10% 50% 40%
18% 41% 41%
10% 37% 53%
18%
5
Exhibit 4 - Millennials don’t know and don’t care much about IT security policies
Exhibit 5 - One out of five Dutch Millennials write openly about themselves (and their work)
Has your organization implemented a policy restricting the posting of work or client information on public sites outside of the organization’s firewall?
34%
6%
11%
My organization has published detailed and easy to understand regulations restricting the posting of work or client information on public sites
9%My organization has published a policy, but it is too complex, I do not understand it
My organization has published a policy, but I post work or client information on public sites anyway when I communicate with colleagues only
My organization has not published a policy
Don’t know/Not applicable
Base (Working Respondents) = 82
40%
Usage of blogs or social sites
Base (Total Respondents) = 370
Young Millennials
Mid-Millennials (in school)
Older Millennials (in school)
Millennials (working)
2.47
Mean
2.64
2.41
2.71
I never post any information about myself or friends online
I love writing about myself and my friends in blogs or my social sites
1 2 3 4 5
27%30%18% 5%20%
9%5%32%33%21%
13%19% 9%21% 38%
19% 28% 11%7%35%
6
“Policies? What security policies?” These behaviors tie closely to an even more worrying research finding for Dutch employers: More than half of working Millennials in the Netherlands either don’t know about or don’t adhere to their organizations’ policies for posting sensitive information on the public Web.
This finding is especially troubling in terms of data security. Only 34 percent of young Dutch respondents say their employers have published detailed policies related to posting work or client information on public Web sites. Nine percent say that whatever policy their company has published is too complex to understand; and 6 percent say they will post work or client information on public sites regardless of any
policy, at least when communicating with colleagues. (See Exhibit 4.) The indications are that Dutch young people know even less—and care less—about corporate data security policies than their peers in the US.
It should not matter to Dutch employers whether the Millennials’ tendency to bypass corporate IT policy is caused by ignorance or independence. The effects are the same—and they deserve careful attention.
“Sure, my friends know all my details” Another troubling research finding concerns the flow of information at work. Fully 22 percent of working Millennials in the Netherlands say they write openly about themselves and friends online. They are slightly more private than their American counterparts: 26 percent of US working Millennials readily declare that they love writing about themselves and their friends in blogs and on social networking sites. (See Exhibit 5.)
There is every reason to expect that Millennials will share sensitive details of their work lives—not only about the work activities themselves but about their relationships with their managers, their peers and with customers and suppliers.
Exhibit 6 - Millennials are making a clear shift away from e-mail
How many school or work hours during the week do you ACTUALLY spend on
Base (Total Respondents) = 370
Emails Text messaging On the internet On social network sites
Listening to portable device
0.1
0.01.0
1.8
0.3
3.6
0.70.8
0.0
0.1
1.4
4.9
0.6
1.5
0.1
0.0
0.5
6.8
0.3
0.0
0.00.1
0.2
0.0
0.5
1.2
0.10.3
0.80.4
2.6
0.7
4.7
1.2
1.9
0.40.1
0.91.2
0.6
Instant Messaging
In a virtual community
Blogging or on twitter
0
1
10
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Mean hours
Young Millennials Mid-Millennials(in school)
Mid-Millennials (working)
Older Millennials(working)
Older Millennials (in school)
7
Exhibit 7 - Many Millennials say the latest tech is important when choosing an employer
“My mother uses e-mail, not me’”The Accenture survey also reveals a definite shift away from long-established workplace communication tools such as e-mail. (See Exhibit 6.) While older Millennials in Dutch workplaces still spend an average of 4.7 hours a week writing or receiving work-related e-mails, mid-Millennials already in the workforce say they spend just 1.2 hours a week on e-mail. Interestingly enough, young Dutch workers are even less fond of e-mail than their American peers.
The preference is clearly shifting toward communications methods such as online chat, instant messaging, texting, and social networking sites. In both the Netherlands and the US, young employees say they wish employers offered social networking applications at work.
“And here’s how my little sister uses new technology”Dutch employers who think that the technology behaviors of today’s working Millennials are just a passing phase will need to think again. Accenture’s survey clearly shows that the young people who are about to join the workforce—or will do so in a few years—will be even more independent-minded as their older brothers and sisters.
Just a few glimpses of tomorrow’s new recruits: More than a quarter (26 percent) of Dutch 18-22-year-olds now in school expect their future employers to provide them with social networking tools. (See Exhibit 1.) Fourteen percent of high school respondents in the Netherlands report that they expect to be able to communicate at work using online chat and instant messaging.
And the youngest Millennials in both the Netherlands and US—those now aged 14-17—say they spend less than an hour a week using conventional e-mail, which is even less than the older Millennials now in the workforce. (See Exhibit 6.)
Importantly for managers in charge of hiring, Dutch youngsters will review the technology that employers provide when considering their choices of work. (See Exhibit 7.) Nearly 40 percent of those aged 18-22 who are still in school say that state-of-the-art technology is an important consideration in selecting an employer. While this may be a less critical issue now, it will become significant as the war for talent heats up again in the coming economic recovery.
8%
12%
8%
2%
13%
36%
35%
35%
38%
35%
37%
23%
21%
25%
8%
20%
25%
Older Millennials (in school)
11%14%Older Millennials (working)
14%19%
18%7%Mid-Millennials (in school)
35%11%Mid-Millennials (working)
19%24%
26% 6%
Total
5 = totally agree4321 = totally disagree
15%
Young Millennials
State-of-the-art equipment and technology will be vital in my employer selection
1 5Totally Disagree Totally Agree
37%
Base (Total Respondents) = 370
8
Implications for CIOs
More so than with previous generations of recruits, business leaders must find ways to make work practices interesting for today’s young people and explain to them why they should care about following those practices. At the same time, they should adapt their security strategies to today’s realities—the fact that young people are openly accessing public Web sites, downloading free software and using social networks during working hours.
In short, they will have to start adapting to the young peoples’ approaches and behaviors just as much as the ‘kids’ will have to adapt to the working world. In smaller countries, physical proximity may certainly encourage more face-to-face interaction, but it does not remove business leaders’ obligations to find out what Millennials want at work—and how best they can be engaged in work processes and procedures.
As an example, Accenture is providing new tools and platforms worldwide to improve its ways of working—and to introduce some of the tools that Millennials are asking for. As part of Accenture’s ‘Collaboration 2.0’ initiative, these communication tools and platforms allow employees to connect, network, share, team, and collaborate more effectively while adapting to the needs and preferences of the company’s younger professionals. The initiative utilizes technologies such as an internal social network, unified communications including instant messaging inside the company’s firewall, knowledge management and sharing, wikis, electronic discussion boards, Web conferences, and TelePresence.
The messages from Millennials are crystal-clear: Employers, and particularly chief information officers, will need to explain rather than compel their youngest hires to conform to long-established ways of doing things at work.
9
To understand how the technology-driven culture of today’s ‘Millennials’ — the incoming workforce — may affect IT organizations’ decisions in future, Accenture recently surveyed 370 Dutch students and employees across three age groups: 14-17 (‘younger Millennials’), 18-22 (‘mid-Millennials’) and 23-27 (‘older Millennials’). All respondents included in the analysis were in school, were employed or had recently graduated. All respondents aged 14-17 have completed at least middle school, and all respondents 18-27 years of age have completed at least high school. Respondents represent a random sample of this subgroup, not of the general pool of consumers in the Netherlands. The April 2009 online survey—a follow-on to a June 2008 survey of 400 young people in the US—was part of Accenture’s long-term program of research designed to identify and understand the drivers of and challenges to achieving high performance within IT. (See Exhibit 8.) For more information, contact Gwen Harrigan at [email protected]
Exhibit 8 - Research methodology and structure
Forward-thinking organizations are already finding out as much as they can about the traits of the new generation. They start from the assumption that Millennials are eager to contribute, but they acknowledge that the young people are unlikely to come forward with solutions. Those organizations keep testing a range of offerings, from wikis to blogs to online chat forums.
The most forward-thinking organizations are already finding out as much as they can about the traits of the new generation. Some are actively soliciting their input. Some companies even bring in mid-Millennial students to explain social networking to their professional staff.
Those companies view the new generation of employees not just as an unwelcome disruption to old working routines but as an opportunity for competitive differentiation. And that’s a very healthy way to approach the inevitable.
About this study
Age group
Education
23-27
21%7%
23%
49%
14-17
18-22
Recently graduated and unemployed
Graduated and working part-time or full time
Full time student in high school
Part-time or Full time student at college or university
Number of respondents:
203
110
57
N=370
Number of respondents:
183
8625
76
25
30% 15%
55%
10
About AccentureAccenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. With approximately 177,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, the company generated net revenues of US$23.39 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2008. Its home page is www.accenture.com.
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Accenture, its logo, and High Performance Delivered are trademarks of Accenture.
ACC09-1640
