"Millennials have got a lot to teach us"

While some employers might loathe to admit it, millennials may be in a position to teach a thing or two to their leaders – that’s the word from one senior HR figure who says young people are undoubtedly worth listening to.

“Millennials have got a lot to teach us,” says Roz Urbahn, chief people officer at the Livestock Improvement Corporation. “They tend to challenge concepts that currently exist in the workplace and that’s what leads to innovation and improvement.”

Urbahn, who is scheduled to speak at the upcoming Millennial Workforce Summit, says one of the most significant changes being driven by young people is in relation to career paths.

“Traditionally, we’ve been taught the ‘climbing the ladder’ concept but that’s well and truly gone because there’s no such thing as one straight up ladder anymore,” she tells HRD.

“You could be on one ladder one day and a totally different one the other – if anything, it’s more of a jungle gym than a vertical ladder.”

As well as prompting change in the workplace, Urbahn says millennials can offer a unique viewpoint that other generations may never have considered.

“You go in for a mentoring session with one of these guys or girls and you come out saying; ‘Oh my god, I wouldn’t have thought about it that way,’ and they’re saying the same thing,” Urbhan tells HRD. “That’s because you come from different levels of experience, different social circumstances, different everything.”

Urbahn also recalled a recent weekend in which she met up with a young woman she used to mentor.

“We sat for two hours and talked about a whole raft of different things and I have to say it was two hours well spent because she taught me a few different things that she’d been learning and I shared some things I thought were interesting,” says Urbahn.

“How exciting is that?” she asks. “If we can harness that energy in an organisation, we’ll be unbeatable.”

Roz Urbahn will be just one of many senior HR figures speaking at the upcoming Millennial Workforce Summit in Auckland. The event, due to take place in May, covers a range of topics aimed at helping employers to attract and then leverage talented young staff.

Tickets for the event are available now with a limited Super Saver option running until the end of this week.