Millennials in the Marketplace

Ashley Prange, 33, is a millennial who is building Au Naturale Cosmetics here in Green Bay as a refugee from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in DC.  She couldn’t stand it there, and now she’s trying to build a company where people like her can thrive.

As a Millennial who manages and leads millennials, she made these points to a St. Norbert CEO Breakfast & Strategy audience this morning:

•  Hey, as Millennials, we have ideas and we’re not bashful about sharing them.  We want constant communication about what’s going on.  We want an efficient workplace and want to be appreciated.  Also, because we work strange hours (be flexible), let’s make it fun, too.  And by the way, I’m always looking for a more interesting job.

•  One attendee said at his company, an employee can ask for feedback on a project and receive it by tweets immediately.  You need to foster/allow full use of technology.

•  Ashley said she’s too busy to listen to voice mails, and doesn’t look at emails regularly.  She responds to tweets on what she’s working on now.  

•  On lifestyle:  What Boomers did is all being postponed … marriage, kids, houses.  There’s too much to do.  We want to travel, too.  And we don’t have much money, and have lots of college debt.  We’re very educated.

•  We like workplaces that are very mentally challenging.  Don’t be afraid to give us a big assignment; we’ll work hard to understand it and be successful.

•  On Millennials as consumers:  We care about the ethics behind the products we plan to buy … and will pay more for something that’s environmentally responsible, organic, etc., even though we don’t have much money.  Make us feel our ethics are being met.  Too, try to create a relationship with us.  Have an interactive website … create ways for us to provide feedback to you.  Respond to us.  Create a dialogue.  We want to be loyal, and this does it.