What You Might Not Know About Gen Y

Part 1 of 2 BOSTON—In November 2015, Sperry Van Ness International Corp. , the commercial real estate franchisor for the SVN brand, collected data from Millennials about their views on the commercial real estate industry. Authored by Boston-based SVNIC COO, Diane K. Danielson , the findings were just recently published. The report surveyed more than 326 members of Gen Y in the US, Canada and South America about careers, specifically asking about commission-based jobs and what they are looking for in future employers. Sample takeaways for the CRE industry to attract millennial talent included: Expanding your commission-based recruiting pool; create a collaborative work environment through common goals, brainstorming and problem solving; and boost your entrepreneurial spirit by rewarding innovation—supporting risk taking and problem solving sessions. GlobeSt.com recently caught up with Danielson to discuss some of those findings in this Q&A series on the subject. GlobeSt.com: How would you describe how accommodating companies are when it comes to Millennials? Diane K. Danielson: At any company there are going to be generational culture clashes. Baby Boomers and Generation X grew up under command and control leadership. By contrast, Millennials have been raised to collaborate and they excel under coaching and co-leadership opportunities. Companies that provide mentoring and training for Millennials will bridge that cultural gap better than others. CRE companies also need to embrace technology, not just reluctantly accept it. Anyone born after 1980 is a digital native who can’t recall a world without computers. If your company is still tied to a landline and Rolodex system (and yes there are some still out there), Millennials are going to pass you right by and head to the next company, or even start their own. GlobeSt.com: Why is diversification important in commercial real estate? Danielson: A diversified workforce in any industry is going to be important for talent acquisition and diversity of thought. What really struck us in the SVN Gen Y/Millennial Study was how only 25% of respondents would consider a commission-based career. If you only have 25% of the population to choose from, smart commercial real estate companies will cast as wide a net as possible when recruiting. It’s not just finding the best and the brightest, diverse employees and leaders avoid “group think” and “we’ve always done it that way” management ruts. Diversity is especially important to CRE because very few young people went into our industry from 2008-2013 and now, in 2016 we have much of our leadership on the cusp of retirement. CRE is going to face a brain drain if we don’t start recruiting young men and women from as many different backgrounds as we can. Check back with GlobeSt.com in the next day or so for more from this interview, where Danielson talks about what surprised her about the findings and what this study says about the Millennial professional.