I recently appeared on a panel on “The Future of PR Agencies,” along with Steve Barrett, managing editor of PR Week, at the North American meeting of the IPREX global communications network. One of the issues which came up was how to best motivate, manage and lead Millennials (Gen Y). I wasn’t surprised. After all, they are the largest and fastest-growing part of the labor pool.

(By the way, Steve Barrett recently wrote a thoughtful post “In defense of Generation Y,” which is worth a read.)

Since this topic was on the minds of these agency owners and leaders, I thought it might be on yours too. (If it’s not, it should be!) So here’s a link to a recent blog post I wrote on Managing and Motivating Millennials for PRSA NJ.

And below is a synopsis of a piece I penned on this subject for Al Croft’s Management Strategies for PR Firms.

“Millennials are a great generation who’ll achieve much for your agency, if you provide the right kind of leadership. So you can gripe about them, or you can take responsibility for doing a better job of attracting, retaining, and managing this important workforce group. To do so effectively, you must understand their attributes, values and experiences growing up. The article includes what I think are their 10 most important traits, as well as 20 tips to manage and motivate your Millennials more effectively, enhance their performance and increase your ability to retain them longer.”

To read the full article, click here.

Not only do I think these observations are still current, I believe it’s more important than ever to learn how to lead, manage and motivate this group. Why?

1) GenXers are taking on even greater leadership roles in our business, and many of them find it particularly tough to manage the generation that came after them;

2) The agency business continues to rebound. That means Gen Y communications professionals are choosier about where they work than they were in 2011 and 2010. So they’ll be seeking employment in organizations that are known to be Millennial-friendly.

Is yours?

Do you find it particularly challenging to lead, manage, and motivate Millennials?  What techniques have you successfully employed to do so? I welcome your comments!