Inclusion and Diversity

How to make the youngest of your team feel valued

March 2, 2021

When Nairita Chatterjee, a quality associate at a pharmaceutical company in Chennai, lost her job during the pandemic, she was distraught. What added to her woes was the lack of adequate communication from the organization and no accurate information given for the termination. A millennial and in fact, the youngest person in the company, she was totally disillusioned; at that time, the future seemed very uncertain to her.

However, six months on, Nairita got the job of a junior quality executive in an organization that made her feel valued and communicated well with her at every step of the interview process. The open communication channels and constant follow-ups (even post recruitment) helped her forget the painful experience she had at the previous organization. Her new employer’s proactivity made her feel valued.

In the pre-pandemic world, a handshake from the manager and happy faces of the HR team were non-verbal gestures that helped young and new employees feel comfortable. In a virtual world, the lack of such gestures that we normally rely on for effective communication in person could make it harder for people to open up, trust and communicate. With these challenges that remote working brings, how do you make employees—especially the youngest and newest members of your team—feel valued? Here are some ways:

Assign a mentor or a buddy at work

Not everyone is comfortable talking to their manager at all times. Mentors and buddies can help. Having a like-minded buddy at work and an experienced mentor can make a new joiner feel supported. The system that works best is an onboarding buddy for help in navigating through the processes and a seasoned mentor to talk to about aspirations and career advancement opportunities.

Customize training programs

The LinkedIn 2020 Workplace Learning Report shows that 80 percent of Gen Z employees prefer personalized training experiences in line with their professional goals to standardized training. As a manager of a Gen Z new joiner, you must have this conversation with your learning and development team and personalize the existing training programs to meet the expectation of your young team members. This will bring about higher engagement and enable you to build a culture of learning within your team.

Create opportunities for interaction

The youngest in your team may feel left out in the first few days and the onus is on you to create more opportunities for interaction for the person. You could set up meetings to informally introduce him or her to others in the team and create orientation programs that are less loaded on information but heavy on interactive exercises with cross-functional peers and managers. This will help the young new joiner absorb the organization culture better.

Let them know you’re rooting for their success

According to Gallup, 87 percent of millennials consider professional development to be extremely important. If new joiners in your team are freshers, there are chances of higher disillusionment as they would have never imagined a scenario of “online joining.” So, engage your team members through meaningful conversations, be patient and encourage them to write down their one-year, two-year, and five-year professional goals. Tell them that you are with them in this journey and rooting for their success.

Say it’s ok to not be ok and mean it

Physical meetings, informal mealtimes and non-verbal communication through body language help in making new joiners feel welcome and valued. The absence of these may impact the mental health of the youngest members of your team. As a manager, it becomes your responsibility to let your people know it’s ok to not be ok, talk to them about mental health resources offered at your organization, and support them when they need it the most.

Your support and encouragement will go a long way in building engagement among your team members. Give them clear work guidelines, connect them with one another and include them in cross-functional projects. The overall cohesiveness of the team will surely rub off on the youngest members as well.