Te second factor in determining generational behavior is technology. Your relationship with technology is dependent on your age. Technology is only something new to you if you remember something the way it was before. Te younger generations are the indicators of the future technology to everyone, because technology ripples up— and it always has. If you resist the advancing technology, you could lose the ability to communicate and connect with everyone.


Individuals were encouraged to share perceptions of their generation around the table during Matt’s presentation at the 2017 TPI Conference.


Te reality is, entitlement as a behavior, is 100 percent learned. It starts with parenting; is perpetuated in the public school system; and reinforced there and throughout society. Consider what happened to baby boomers sent to the principal’s office. Te punishment was nothing compared to what they’d be getting when they came home. When millennials are sent to the principal’s office, mom is going to call the attorney, no matter whose fault it was.


Boomers have created a new life state in the millennials—delayed adulthood. Tese millennials want all the freedoms without the responsibilities. Most have college degrees, but they typically are up to five years behind in job and buyer experience. Tey want to focus on ideas and innovation and many are not able to produce results in the real world yet.


Tus boomer bosses often encounter an individual five years older than they were when they started their first real job. Tey may set their expectations based on their expertise at the same age rather than where they were as a first-time employee with much to learn. Te millennial first-time employee may not understand that arriving to work five minutes late, or checking their cell phone during a meeting or while working with a customer, are not acceptable business practices.


Te first half of the millennial generation did all the things they were supposed to do: go to college, get a job, get married, buy a house, have children. Typically self-reliant, they are the age group most offended by the entitlement and lack of responsibility and can no longer relate to the other half of their own generation.


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Millennials are often described as tech savvy, but that’s incorrect. Most millennials have no idea how tech works, they just know they can’t live without it. Tey’re tech dependent and that’s a critical distinction.


Te eight million millennials are now entering the wealth accumulation phase. In 2017, they will be the first generation to outspend baby boomers in the US. Twenty- five percent of all new millionaires this year are millennials. Tey are worth more than any other new customer—and they are just starting to establish their loyalties to employers and as consumers. Tey also are the generation that highly values “local” and you can tap into that.


Communicating to Millennials How do you best communicate with your millennial employees and sell to your millennial customers? Deliver information in the way they want to receive it. Here are their top five preferences—in order.


Text messaging is number one. Text messaging within the company and with the company’s customers is an acceptable professional form of communication. Millennials hate voice mail; for a quick response, text them.


Second is email. Te subject line is all that matters and it determines whether or not they will open the email. Two line emails are just fine. So are bullet points. Get to the point; state what you need.


Tird is social media. Your business should be using at least one platform—LinkedIn, Facebook, Snapchat or Twitter—to have conversation with your employees and customer base. Communicate and show your local connection. If you get bad reviews, you can intervene and get on top of them. Choose to join the conversation rather than being talked about.


TPI Turf News May/June 2017


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