Millennial workers see the boss as a friend. They do not want a hierarchical relationship with that boss, and less than a third of them feel the role their manager currently plays fits their image of an ideal manager. Those are just three of the findings from The Millennial Compass, an MSLGROUP study that I had the pleasure of discussing at a recent SXSW panel in Austin, Texas, with Pete Cashmore, founder of Mashable, and Joanna Coles, editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine. Such findings of course are quite an issue for companies that still have a relatively traditional organization where hierarchical relationships are the dominant model. What exactly do those types of companies need to change, to ensure they attract and retain talented young people

The evolving definition of ‘good management’

Firstly, and it may seem obvious, managers need to learn to relate to multi-generational team members. This doesn’t mean yielding to whatever employees want; but it does mean understanding their views of the work world and finding common ground that benefits many successful companies today.Secondly, and contrary to what some may believe, a command and control management style isn’t necessary in teams if expectations are clear, feedback is frequent and rewards are consistent.Older managers effectively need to be helped to act more like a coach or mentor, than a boss who gives orders.

But let’s remember - it’s not only Gen X and Baby Boomer managers that need to learn to adapt:to optimize Millennials’ contributions to organisations, younger managers – Gen Y employees’ contemporaries - may also have to assume more of a coach or mentor-like role to establish authority and balance the “friend” dynamic that results from their proximity in age.

Goodbye Corporate Ladder?

Much has been made to date of Millennial’s so-called sense of entitlement, and the MSLGROUP study could be said to support this belief: In some countries, we found that Millennials expect to be in a management role within just two years of graduation. While this doesn’t surprise me, it is indeed a break from the past where the corporate ladder was something we all knew we’d have to climb over time. The implication for corporations is clear though: if you value the important skills many Millennial workers bring to an operation (technology know-how is an obvious one for example, as well as entrepreneurship spirit), and want to keep those employees engaged with your business, then you will need to create opportunities to build their leadership experience right from the start, while simultaneously clearly communicating the steps and requirements for advancement.

The Death of the Annual Performance Review

Make no mistake though – if you think you can address these important points through the traditional annual performance review or appraisal, you’re very wrong.As the rhythm of business has speeded up dramatically thanks to real-time communications - and Millennials’ horizons, and expectations, have expanded dramatically compared to previous generations – so has the notion of a single, once- a- year performance review grown outdated.Gen Y workers are a feedback-hungry group that expects regular opportunities to provide and receive feedback.Our study in fact shows that no matter where in the world a Millennial worker is employed, the willingness of their manager to deliver steady feedback on their employees’ performance is one of the key traits they consider makes an ‘ideal manager’.

The bottom line is that companies and Millennials will do well to listen to each other’s expectations and find the common ground on which to build mutual success in the future.This is of course not necessarily as easy as it sounds: certainly for businesses there are often entrenched mindsets and processes that may impede such moves.No surprise then that many organizations are turning to dedicated teams that specialize in helping companies develop a powerful employer value proposition that will drive recruitment, engagement and indeed retention among Millennial workers.Whether your business yet has a dedicated strategy to engage Gen Y employees, or not, of one fact we can all be sure. At age 30 or younger today, and set to make up the majority of the global workforce by 2025, there can be little doubt that Millennials today are the future of business the world over.