Global Research on Millennials’ Use of Technology

It confirms the Millennial archetype—global citizen, eager adopter of new technologies, willing to improvise to get the job done—but identifies regional differences for CIOs eager to create a technology environment that enables high performance.

Learn more about this research by seeing how the different attitude of Millenials varies across the world.



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Accenture Global Research on Millennials’ Use of Technology: Jumping the Boundaries of Corporate IT surveyed 5,595 students and young workers in 13 countries to understand how the technology-driven culture of Millennials would affect IT organizations’ decisions in the future. The study indicates these Millennials display attitudes and behaviors toward technology that often clash with corporate controls over IT as well as traditional work styles and hierarchical structures.

The induction of Millennials into the workforce has many implications—and an equal number of opportunities—for organizations and particularly the CIOs holding the technology strings. Those that choose to listen, learn and adapt are most likely to improve competitive advantage in core areas, including recruiting and retention, innovation, and growth.

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The Accenture survey indicates that Millennials:

• Increasingly choose their employer based on access to leading technology.
  
  
• Prefer to choose the computer, mobile device and applications they use at work.
  
  
• Express disappointment with the quality of employer-provided emerging technologies.
  
  
• Favor text messaging or instant messaging over e-mail.
  
  
• Routinely bypass corporate approval procedures when using devices and applications.
  
  
• Regularly download nonstandard technologies not available at work.
  
  
• Exhibit different notions of online privacy than older workers.
  
  

Regional variations include:

• Chinese Millennials spend up to 34 hours per week using real-time communication tools as opposed to their counterparts in India, Europe and the Americas, who average 11 hours per week.
  
  
• Italian, Indian and Chinese Millennials are the least satisfied with corporate technologies while Brazilian, German and US Millennials are more satisfied.
  
  
• Millennials in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy feel that technology consumes too much time, a perception that may result from lack of access to the right technologies at work.
  
  
• Indian and Chinese Millennials have the highest rate of mobile phone use for work activities, especially since employers in these countries provide support for more types of mobile devices.
  
  
• Millennials in China, Germany, Japan and Brazil reveal the most about themselves in social networks, whereas those in India, Canada and France are more reserved.
  
  

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Accenture’s findings show that organizations have a choice to make: try to mold the Millennials or work to integrate the young workers’ strengths into the organizational culture and construct. The latter requires rethinking IT policies on a regional basis, accommodating a variety of work styles and adjusting organizational structures. Different country attitudes also require tailored strategies for motivating and fostering collaboration among multiple generations.

Organizations that fail to embrace Millennials’ behavior risk their ability to attract and retain new hires, while also seeing their competitive edge erode from lack of innovation in information technology. This competitive advantage is most pronounced in China, India and Brazil. Aggressive use of emerging technologies by Millennials in these countries could help companies leapfrog Western, European and Japanese organizations. Organizations should consider stepping up recruiting efforts in these more technology-advanced regions to access promising young talent.

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Based on this research, Accenture recommends executives:

• Take the lead on listening, learning and adapting. Organizations that work to develop a better understanding of emerging technologies and how Millennials use them can benefit in multiple ways. Find ways to tap into Millennials’ technical knowledge to increase innovation across the company. Invite cross-generational representation on IT councils.
  
  
• Balance IT boundaries and freedoms. CIOs can reconcile enterprise security, data privacy and regulatory compliance concerns by expanding IT policies where possible while educating Millennials on the business imperatives behind certain technology restrictions. Moreover, organizations should consider regional differences in technology attitudes and behaviors—and adjust policies accordingly.
  
  
• Adapt IT policies to deal with generational diversity. Judging from the on-the-go work style of Millennials, organizations may wish to invest more deeply in enabling their mobile workforces. CIOs should also focus IT upgrades on supporting a variety of hardware and software, and on implementing device-neutral architectures that allow workers to choose their preferred computing and support models.
  
  
• Accelerate experiments with social networks. Organizations must accept that Millennials actively research employers, managers, clients and service providers via social networks. Engaging with students and young workers via these channels can help make the company a magnet for new talent. CIOs should also consider the pros and cons of maintaining in-house social networks versus leveraging established external communities.
  
  
• Bridge the generation gap. Executives have an opportunity to restructure organizations to encourage creativity across all ages and experience levels. Find innovative ways to manage inter-generational teams. Establish two-way coaching programs that pair senior employees with Millennials to encourage collaboration and knowledge transfer.
  
  

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