Predicting the Impact of the Millennial Generation on Technical Communication
By STEPHANIE SCHRANKLER | Member
Vendors, solicitors, and employers are all vying for the attention of—and struggling to understand—the 80 million young people emerging from high schools, colleges, or universities and entering the workforce in droves. The “Google Generation,” the “Mac Generation,” and the “Net Generation” are just a few of the names given to the generation of people who have yet to celebrate their 30th birthdays.
The most common name for this group is the “Millennial Generation.” A picture has emerged of a generation defined by contrasts, whose traits will reap significant rewards for those businesses that understand them and cause serious headaches for those that don’t.
For example, in 2005 the Pentagon began working with a private marketing firm to create a database of all U.S. college students as well as high-school students between ages 16 and 18, to help the military identify potential recruits in a time of dwindling enlistment. After launching a multimillion dollar recruiting campaign, targeted to an audience that has never and likely will never serve in the armed forces, it may appear that advertisers employed at the Pentagon failed Marketing 101. Although the Pentagon’s approach may seem unstrategic, their goal was to connect with “influencers” rather than potential soldiers themselves, as this group of young people look to parents for guidance and support more than any generation before them.
While the term Millennial is very broad, a great deal of research has been done to narrow the common characteristics of people who belong to this generation. The majority of the characteristics that describe Millennials are influenced and molded not only by the evolution of technology, but also by a variety of socioeconomic factors.
A Generation of Busy Multitaskers
“I get bored if it’s not all going at once because everything has gaps—waiting for an IM, waiting for a website to come up, commercials on TV, etc.,” says a young woman in the Pew Internet and American Life Project (2001).
Research shows that a common characteristic of the Millennial Generation is the ability to multitask. But researchers have yet to decide if multitasking is a choice or necessity in life today.
“I would say my Millennial students are multitaskers, not because they want to be, but because they have to be,” says Gil Rodman, University of Minnesota communication studies professor. “As a student, working full-time, parenting, getting more debt sooner, and balancing other aspects of life is something I see more in this generation than generations of students before them.”
The Pressure Is On
Many Millennials are forced to balance school, work, and active personal lives, which leads to another shared common trait: pressure.
The strained global economy means a less-than-sunny job outlook for many Millennials. And don’t think they haven’t noticed. In a society buzzing with instant communication, this generation is even more aware of the real world and what it does—and does not—have to offer them. This will undoubtedly force some Millennials to push themselves to the breaking point.
Changing Hats
Specialization doesn’t offer the benefit it once did. Technology moves quickly, and whole industries spring up and dry out overnight. Millennials are likely to feel more confident if they possess a number of different skills in order to remain valuable to their employers.
“Millennials also reflect the broader trends of the day. They accept the role of rapid technological advances by seamlessly incorporating ‘The next new thing’ into their lives” (Fogarty, 2008).
With increasing competition for jobs due to globalization and economic constraints, the Millennials’ ability to adapt based on need and to wear more than one hat for an organization is a new tool in their survival kit.
Safety Net
Having been told as kids that they could be “anything they want,” some Millennials may experience a reality check as they enter a job market stunted by the economic downturn. Despite the scarcity of opportunities, Millennials may be less likely to settle for anything but the ideal job.
A recent episode of 60 Minutes reported that, “Today more than half of college seniors move home after graduation. It’s a safety net, or safety diaper, that allows many kids to quickly opt out of a job they don’t like.” On the other side, there are Millennials who will take a job with the intention to immediately look for other opportunities. Job hopping, among this group, is not perceived as negative.
Born with the Internet
For these students and young professionals, “‘Google’ has always been a verb” (Behrens, 2009). Their confidence using technology for information gathering, communicating, and problem solving starts them on a different level than previous generations.
There’s a difference between the ability to adopt technology and being raised with technology. However, Millennials may rely on technology too much. Entering the workforce technically savvy, Millennials may lack the ability to work independent of technology when the situation necessitates.
Impacting Technical Communication
Like every generation before them, Millennials will have a profound effect culturally, economically, politically, and socially—changing the technical communication industry forever. Based on research and analysis, five theoretical changes are predicted for what Millennials are bringing to the table.
- Documentation Formality. The level of formality in written documentation will decrease as the Millennial generation has the opportunity to lead technical documentation efforts. Don’t expect to see “text talk” like “LOL” and “ROTFL” pop up in technical documentation, but do expect to see some abandonment of the strictness prescribed by large, complicated style guides in favor of simpler or less rigid rules. Writers have already begun to feel more comfortable emulating speech patterns in the written word. Millennial writers will likely produce more informal documentation, and Millennial readers will likely welcome a more casual tone.
- Means of Information Gathering. Expect to see information gathering performed less through direct, face-to-face, or over-the-phone methods. Millennials will prefer to use emerging technologies like instant messaging, email, Twitter, forums, and wikis to contact subject matter experts (SMEs), work with clients, and communicate with management. Although members of most generations in the workplace have the ability and knowledge to gather information with the assistance of technology, unassisted communication may become almost non-existent in some organizations.
“Millennials are less likely to walk up to an SME or BA [business analyst] twenty steps away,” says Daniel Griesbeck, manager of project services at ProEdit, a technical communications staffing and consulting firm located in Atlanta, Georgia. “Instead, they send emails or instant messages and then spend the next twenty minutes trying to correct everything in the message. In turn, soft skills can be lacking to a major degree.” - Working Environment. Largely due to the recent changes in the economy and companies employing fewer full-time, regular staff, more Millennial technical writers will work as freelancers and contractors. Additionally, many Millennials express the desire to work from virtual offices. The allure to be their own boss, pick and choose assignments, and legitimize their expertise adds to their search for such opportunities.
“A lot of young technical writers come in and want to work part-time or be independent contractors already,” says Griesbeck. “Working from home used to be a privilege, but now people think it’s their right.”
Even Millennials with full-time, regular employment will be more likely to freelance part-time. Due to competition among writers, this will drive down the wages of freelancing and contract technical writers.
“The majority of companies [we work with] are not willing to pay the rate that writers with more than 10-15 years of experience charge,” says Griesbeck. “If you don’t lower your pay, you won’t get a job. In today’s economy, the concept of walking away from work is a shock.” - Association Participation. Involvement in professional organizations such as the Society for Technical Communication (STC) or the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) will likely decrease as economic factors make membership fees less appealing for both writers and their employers.
“A lot of companies used to pay for STC memberships,” says Griesbeck. “But now we’ve lost sight of the value of all of us being members. And, since the company doesn’t pay for it, I don’t want it to be on my dime and my time.” - Generalists. As companies look for ways to cut costs, Millennials will be asked to fill the gap that specialists once occupied. In other words, they’ll be expected to wear multiple hats and display a broader range of skills and proficiencies.
“We call it the Generalist Approach,” says Griesbeck. “If you’re going to succeed in this industry, you have to be able to do everything. The people who are having problems finding jobs now are people who in the mid-90s specialized in one thing. That’s the potential this new generation has because they have been stretched so thin in learning and new technology.”
Embracing Change
The Pentagon’s new marketing strategy proved successful. Based on the characteristics outlined by researchers, this generation is different. To use this group of people successfully, the change they bring to the workforce must be embraced.
Displaying a strong work ethic and a desire to make meaningful contributions to their employers and industries both, the up-and-coming generation shows tremendous promise. The technical communication field has the opportunity to embrace change and truly use this group of individuals and the many unique talents they have to offer.
How Millennial Are You?
Pew Research (http://pewresearch.org/millennials/quiz/) has developed an online quiz that rates how much you are like a typical Millennial (regardless of your true generation).
Stephanie Schrankler (stephanie.schrankler@sagitec.com), chief communication and learning officer for Sagitec Solutions, LLC (www.Sagitec.com), has spent the past 18 months researching the effects the Millennial Generation will have on the technical communication field as Sagitec continues to hire and prepare for young writers. Stephanie has a BS in technical communication from the University of Wisconsin–Stout.
REFERENCES
Behrens, William. “Managing Millennials: They’re Coming to a Workplace Near You.” Marketing Health Services (Spring 2009): 19-21.
Fogarty, Timothy J. “The Millennial Lie.” Issues in Accounting Education 23.3 (2008): 369-371.
Pew Internet & American Life Project. 1 April 2010. http://www.pewinternet.org/About-Us.aspx.
Pew Research Center. 8 April 2010. http://pewresearch.org/millennials/quiz/.
Safer, Morely. “The ‘Millennials’ Are Coming: Morely Safer on The New Generation of American Workers.” 60 Minutes. CBS, 23 May 2008.
