ABA Banking Journal
No Result
View All Result
  • Topics
    • Ag Banking
    • Commercial Lending
    • Community Banking
    • Compliance and Risk
    • Cybersecurity
    • Economy
    • Human Resources
    • Insurance
    • Legal
    • Mortgage
    • Mutual Funds
    • Payments
    • Policy
    • Retail and Marketing
    • Tax and Accounting
    • Technology
    • Wealth Management
  • Newsbytes
  • Podcasts
  • Magazine
    • Subscribe
    • Advertise
    • Magazine Archive
    • Newsletter Archive
    • Podcast Archive
    • Sponsored Content Archive
SUBSCRIBE
ABA Banking Journal
  • Topics
    • Ag Banking
    • Commercial Lending
    • Community Banking
    • Compliance and Risk
    • Cybersecurity
    • Economy
    • Human Resources
    • Insurance
    • Legal
    • Mortgage
    • Mutual Funds
    • Payments
    • Policy
    • Retail and Marketing
    • Tax and Accounting
    • Technology
    • Wealth Management
  • Newsbytes
  • Podcasts
  • Magazine
    • Subscribe
    • Advertise
    • Magazine Archive
    • Newsletter Archive
    • Podcast Archive
    • Sponsored Content Archive
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
ADVERTISEMENT
Home Retail and Marketing

Satisfying Millennial Employees

March 8, 2016
Reading Time: 4 mins read

We must ensure that America's consumers continue to have access to safe, reliable and trusted banking services, says ABA Chairman John Ikard.

By Nick Romano

A seismic shift took place in the U.S. workforce last year—Millennials (ages 18-35) became the largest generation at work, surpassing Gen Xers and having already surpassed the now retiring Baby Boomers according to an analysis by Pew Research Center. Just look around any workplace today and you will know this analysis is correct.

It has been widely noted that Millennials are coming to work with a very different set of expectations. They want jobs where they can immediately make a difference and prefer a collaborative culture. They expect management to give them autonomy and plenty of opportunity for self-expression. They are interested in a flexible work environment and work-life balance. They are technology-savvy and accustomed to having instant access to information. They are also highly mobile and, if their expectations at work aren’t met, they will move on.

For those who have been in the workforce for a long time, the expectations of Millennials may seem somewhat unrealistic. Most seasoned employees see work as a place where they “pay their dues” so that they can advance in their career and make more money. Millennials, on the other hand, want to make an immediate impact and money is not their main driver. Meaningful work is.

In all of these ways, Millennials are bringing values to work that are very different from those of previous generations and they have high expectations concerning what they are looking for in their workplace environment. The implications for banks and bank marketers are significant. Here’s why.

Bank Implications

Improving customer experience has been the driving force in bank marketing for a long time. However, the influx of Millennials in the workforce requires a new focus on “worker experience” as well. It is no longer enough to provide the best tools to meet or exceed a bank customer’s expectations, we need to provide the right tools for the benefit of our employees too. There is now a need for banks to transform the work experience not only to retain talented Millennial employees, but also to make their work more efficient. The good news is that all this will have a positive impact on the customer experience.

According to research by PwC, 59 percent of Millennials surveyed said that an employer’s provision of state-of-the-art technology was important to them when considering a job and 78 percent said access to the technology they like to use makes them more effective at work.

In light of all this, it is incumbent on banking executives to look at the technologies they have in place today to evaluate whether they enable or hinder the workplace expectations of Millennials. The following are the kinds of questions that need to be asked about technologies, such as those used for customer communications:

  • Do they enable a collaborative work environment?
  • Do they put capabilities directly in the hands of those doing the work or do tasks need to pass through organizational gatekeepers?
  • Do they meet expectations for ease of use?
  • Do they support flexible work styles?

The benefits of streamlining communications workflows to improve the customer experience are clear. With the shift to a predominantly Millennial workforce, significant benefits can be obtained by improving the worker experience as well. Focus is needed on how to eliminate the frustration among marketing and business users, who complain that making even simple changes to customer communications they want to make so that they are more personal or responsive to market changes can take weeks or months. The headache of red tape and micro-management to get the job done must be eliminated.

Technology

Moreover, forcing Millennials to use antiquated applications built when their parents were their age instead of familiar and easy to use cloud-based technologies only serves to undermine the workplace environment they are seeking. Giving today’s bank employees the “hands-on” ability to create and deliver relevant communications to customers, when they want them and how they want them, puts the responsibility for all your bank’s customer communications where it belongs—with those closest to the customers’ needs.

In today’s banking world where everything is evolving to serve the customer more efficiently and in the manner they choose, it is imperative to deliver messages in the way they want them and when they want them. The Millennial workforce welcomes this evolution. They are a talented generation that comes to work equipped with technological skills not seen in any previous generation. Banks need to ensure that the tools are in place to let them get to work and produce results.

Nick Romano, P. Eng., is co-founder and CEO of Prinova. Contact him at [email protected] or 800-492-4103. Follow Prinova on LinkedIn and Twitter.

 

ADVERTISEMENT
Tags: EmployeesMillennials
ShareTweetPin

Related Posts

Podcast: Old National’s Jim Ryan on the things that really matter

Podcast: Old National’s Jim Ryan on the things that really matter

ABA Banking Journal Podcast
June 12, 2025

Jim Ryan has led Old National Bank to 250% asset growth. On the podcast, the ABA American Bankers Council chair discusses the bank's growing profile and footprint, his views on deposit insurance reform and the experience of leading...

Bank community engagement: Yes, you can help bank veterans

Bank community engagement: Yes, you can help bank veterans

Retail and Marketing
June 9, 2025

AMBA partners with the ABA Foundation to recruit banks to provide our nation’s veterans access to safe, reliable and flexible financial products and services.

FHFA finalizes strategic plan for 2022-2026

Marketing Money Podcast: Why leadership matters more than likes

Retail and Marketing
June 6, 2025

For bank marketers, the value of being strategic is great.

Looking for trouble?

Podcast: What bankers need to know about ‘First Amendment audits’

ABA Banking Journal Podcast
June 5, 2025

"First Amendment auditors" have long tried to provoke public officials into stopping them from recording in public settings. Now, some auditors are targeting banks.

ABA: Proposed quality control rule for AVMs would overburden banks

Bank survey: Uncertainty weighing on prospective homebuyers

Community Banking
June 4, 2025

Roughly 60% of current homeowners and prospective homebuyers are uncertain whether now is a good time to buy a home, up from 48% two years ago, according to a recent survey by Bank of America.

Looking for trouble?

Looking for trouble?

Compliance and Risk
June 4, 2025

So-called ‘First Amendment auditors’ target bank employees with provocative filming. Here are tips on responding.

NEWSBYTES

ABA, associations urge CFPB to rescind changes to adjudication process

June 13, 2025

ABA DataBank: May inflation cooler than expected, but still above Fed’s 2% target

June 13, 2025

Consumer sentiment rebounds in June

June 13, 2025

SPONSORED CONTENT

AI Compliance and Regulation: What Financial Institutions Need to Know

Unlocking Deposit Growth: How Financial Institutions Can Activate Data for Precision Cross-Sell

June 1, 2025
Choosing the Right Account Opening Platform: 10 Key Considerations for Long-Term Success

Choosing the Right Account Opening Platform: 10 Key Considerations for Long-Term Success

April 25, 2025
Outsourcing: Getting to Go/No-Go

Outsourcing: Getting to Go/No-Go

April 5, 2025
Six Payments Trends Driving the Future of Transactions

Six Payments Trends Driving the Future of Transactions

March 15, 2025

PODCASTS

Podcast: Old National’s Jim Ryan on the things that really matter

June 12, 2025

Podcast: What bankers need to know about ‘First Amendment audits’

June 5, 2025

Podcast: Accelerating banking for quick-service restaurants

May 8, 2025
ADVERTISEMENT

American Bankers Association
1333 New Hampshire Ave NW
Washington, DC 20036
1-800-BANKERS (800-226-5377)
www.aba.com
About ABA
Privacy Policy
Contact ABA

ABA Banking Journal
About ABA Banking Journal
Media Kit
Advertising
Subscribe

© 2025 American Bankers Association. All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Topics
    • Ag Banking
    • Commercial Lending
    • Community Banking
    • Compliance and Risk
    • Cybersecurity
    • Economy
    • Human Resources
    • Insurance
    • Legal
    • Mortgage
    • Mutual Funds
    • Payments
    • Policy
    • Retail and Marketing
    • Tax and Accounting
    • Technology
    • Wealth Management
  • Newsbytes
  • Podcasts
  • Magazine
    • Subscribe
    • Advertise
    • Magazine Archive
    • Newsletter Archive
    • Podcast Archive
    • Sponsored Content Archive

© 2025 American Bankers Association. All rights reserved.