Tanning salon owners must understand the Millennial generation and what makes its members tick. These youngsters are your salon employees and tanners, after all!
Among the tanning salon owners I work with, more than 90 percent of their sales employees are Millennials. This is one reason why it’s so important for my clients to understand the minds of this younger generation. I always take the time to share what makes Millennials tick and how older tanning salon owners can bond with the values and expectations of this younger generation. In this installment, I plan to introduce you to the mindset of most Millennials. This information will help you manager your tanning salon staff.
Who are the Millennials?
The Millennial generation encompasses everyone born between 1982 and 1998. In 2015, this demographic officially surpassed the population of Baby Boomers, who were born between 1946 and 1964. Millennials were born during a time of a great economy and parents (or grandparents, like me) who could afford to give them everything to satisfy their energies. Energy pursuits that started with computer labs, video games, and a combination of immediate feedback and unlimited information flows about everything and anything.
According to Jamie Gutfreund, chief strategy officer for the Intelligence Group, there will be about 86 million Millennials in the workplace by 2020. This represents a full 40 percent of the total working population. They are or will be thoroughly in charge of what seems like everything. So having said that, it’s time for the Baby Boomers and Generation X to get a grasp on how to deal with these tattoo-laced, body-pierced strangers from another planet.
Here are some other facts about Millennials in the workplace from Jamie Gutfreund:
- 64 percent of Millennials say it’s a priority for them to make the world a better place.
- 72 percent of them would like to be their own boss; but if they do have to work for a boss, 79 percent said they want that boss to serve as a coach or mentor.
- 88 percent of Millennials said they prefer a collaborative work culture rather than a competitive or authoritative one.
- Seventy-four percent of Millennials want flexible work schedules.
- And 88 percent want “work-life integration,” which isn’t the same as work-life balance, since work and life now blend together inextricably.
So, Gutfreund and myself say it’s in every tanning salon owner’s interest to learn to how attract, reach, and motivate Millennials. A few salon owners do it well, but most don’t. Those who don’t might soon pay a price. As a business owner, you can’t afford not to recruit the best talent. This includes the best talent from the Millennials, even if Generation X finds their younger siblings to be so flighty and flakey.
Millennials Vs. Previous Generations
That belief of “paying your dues” is one huge difference between Millennials and the Gen Xers and Baby Boomers. Xers and Boomers struggle to accept the Millennials’ attitudes of, “I want it now.” But “now” makes sense to the Millennials who grew up with instant feedback from computers, Internet, social media, and increasingly intelligent video games. There is little acceptance by the Millennials of the concept of staying with a job to get their “gold watch” after 30 years of continuous service. Millennials will be loyal to a job as long as there is an effort to meet their defined values.
Managing Millennials in Your Tanning Salon
Hopefully, this article helps give you a better understanding of Millennials. In the next three installments here in The Vault, I’ll give you my results of the recent years of studying this unique generation. I’ll also offer tips on how to better manage your Millennial tanning salon employees.
