Virtusa outlines technology adaptation to drive millennials

Thursday, 17 May 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Virtusa Human Resources head Chandi Dharmarathne delivering the keynote address – Pic by Sameera Wijesinghe

By Hasmath Hairudeen

An expert recently brought a few effective methods to align organisational management with expectations of the millennial work force.

Virtusa Human Resources Head Chandi Dharmarathne addressing the Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies (SLASSCOM) organised conference titled ‘Managing Millennials’ noted that businesses needed to change their performance systems to get maximum potential from younger workers.

Almost 70% of the present work force are millennials. Companies come across major problems when it comes to managing the new generation employees. In her keynote address she advocated that employers should attempt to adapt the company to fit millennial workers rather than expect the employees to change to the conventional systems within an organisation.

She added that tech-linked work systems and procedures are a crucial factor for this generation of employees since they are exposed to drastic changes in technology consistently. Moreover she highlighted the likeliness of the millennial generation to be involved in social media and information sharing platforms in their day to day life and therefore prefer to have access to it during their working day. “According to research, nowadays an average millennial surfs social media at least eight times a day.”

Therefore she recommended that companies should change and adapt social media platforms and other technology tools to improve efficiency and productivity rather than banning them in the workplace.

She reasoned employees as consumers constantly sample technology and as such expect some technological facilities within the organisation they work for. To meet this expectation Virtusa has built alternative platforms to Facebook, Google, and LinkedIn giving free access to their employees during work hours. They also have a system called “Yammer” that allows workers to give real time feedback on everything within the company and all employees including the top management are part of the platform.

Emotional wellbeing of an employee is a vital factor. New generation employees expect instant gratification from their managers right after an accomplishment. Moreover, work environment affects young workers’ emotional wellbeing significantly. Employing these techniques within an organisation will result in a productive team of young workers.