• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock

2

‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion

3

'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic

1

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock

2

‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion

3

'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic
CommentaryLeadership

Why Your Younger Employees Hate Performance Reviews

By
Tom Gimbel
Tom Gimbel
and
Bethany Cianciolo
Bethany Cianciolo
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Tom Gimbel
Tom Gimbel
and
Bethany Cianciolo
Bethany Cianciolo
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 13, 2017, 10:00 PM ET
Businesswomen discussing project on digital tablet
Mature businesswoman discussing project on digital tablet with coworker in startup officePhotograph by Thomas Barwick via Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

The Leadership Insiders network is an online community where the most thoughtful and influential people in business contribute answers to timely questions about careers and leadership. Today’s answer to the question, “How can you help millennials feel like they’re part of the company?” is written by Tom Gimbel, founder and CEO at LaSalle Network.

I love millennials. They make up 75% of my company. Hiring hundreds of them over the years has helped me learn the nuances of what they value and how they’re motivated. Here’s what I’ve learned:

Understand what success means to them
You might not agree, but you don’t have to.

Where a lot of companies fail is trying to offer millennials “success,” but without speaking their language. For other generations, it was often about how much money you made and what your title was. For a lot of millennials, those things matter less than the company mission, feeling challenged, and making a difference in the organization.

As employers, we have to ask them what their passions are, what they’re good at, and how can we find a role that’s a great fit for both sides.

See also: Why Businesses Should Stop Managing Millennials

Be transparent about company goals
Most millennials don’t want to sit on the sidelines and be a cog in the machine. They want to understand the big-picture company perspective. Be open: What’s the organization’s vision for the next five, 10, 20 years? How do they fit into it? I always tell my staff that if we grow as a company, they grow. One doesn’t happen without the other. Being transparent helps millennial staff understand what their work means to the company, which motivates them to deliver on their end of the bargain even more.

Highlight career growth opportunities
Be candid about how success is measured in their role, and create an environment where hard work is rewarded.

“Growth” doesn’t just mean climbing the ladder vertically like it used to. Many millennials see professional growth as moving horizontally and trying different roles within the company. Moving internally allows millennial employees (and anyone else, for that matter) to discover new strengths and find the best fit for their skill set. And it increases the chances of the company having a loyal employee.

Provide consistent feedback
One of the reasons I love working with millennials is they’re eager to learn. They ask for more to do. They think about solutions—not the problem. They don’t want to wait a year to get better. They want to know what they can improve today. That’s where annual performance reviews fall short.

Companies like GE (GE) and Accenture (ACN) are trying new approaches to feedback. The secret? Consistency. Whether a millennial employee’s work product is excellent or poor, if you wait a year to give constructive feedback or recognize good work, you’re going to lose them.

 

Focus on company culture and create meaning
Motivated millennials want their careers to be more than just a paycheck. They want a sense of belonging. There’s no better way to provide that than by having great culture. You can’t fake the synergy you feel when everyone buys into the company way.

A lot of “experts” say you need ping-pong tables and kegs to attract millennial talent—wrong. While it’s great to have fun things, those aren’t culture. Culture is having an open-door policy with senior leadership. It’s investing in training to grow their skills. It’s creating an environment where their ideas are valued and they’re friends with their co-workers. At the end of the day, millennials don’t want to punch in and punch out. They want to contribute to something meaningful.

About the Authors
By Tom Gimbel
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
By Bethany Cianciolo
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Commentary

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

Latest in Commentary

k
Commentarypower
What I keep hearing from Fortune 500 CEOs: ‘We have no idea what we’re actually paying for power’
By Kiran BhatrajuJuly 21, 2026
11 hours ago
Bolt CEO Ryan Breslow
CommentaryHuman resources
The CEO who fired HR was right. About the wrong thing.
By KeyAnna SchmiedlJuly 21, 2026
11 hours ago
ford
Commentary250 Years of Innovation
Alliance for America’s Skilled Trades: Skilled trades shaped America’s past. Here’s how they can build America’s future
By Jim Farley, Linda Hubbard, Bayo Ogunlesi and Ruth PoratJuly 21, 2026
13 hours ago
Sumeet Agrawal is VP of Product Management (Data, AI Governance & Context Engineering for Agentic Systems) at Salesforce.
CommentaryAI agents
Salesforce VP on the leaky AI pipeline: why cheaper tokens won’t fix enterprise AI
By Sumeet AgrawalJuly 20, 2026
1 day ago
japan
CommentaryJapan
Japan’s monetary conundrum — why the yen hit a 40-year low as interest rates hit a 31-year high
By Steve H. Hanke and John GreenwoodJuly 20, 2026
1 day ago
ryan
CommentaryLeadership
I’ve interviewed 700 leaders. The ones outsourcing their thinking to AI lose their best people first
By Ryan HawkJuly 20, 2026
1 day ago

Most Popular

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock
Success
Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 20, 2026
1 day ago
‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion
Success
‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion
By Sydney LakeJuly 20, 2026
1 day ago
'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic
AI
'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic
By Jason MaJuly 18, 2026
3 days ago
The Treasury is walking a tightrope on U.S. debt by relying so much on short-term rates that are at the mercy of a suddenly very hawkish Fed
Economy
The Treasury is walking a tightrope on U.S. debt by relying so much on short-term rates that are at the mercy of a suddenly very hawkish Fed
By Jason MaJuly 20, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of silver as of Monday, July 20, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Monday, July 20, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 20, 2026
2 days ago
Jamie Dimon won't put more of his own money into the long end of the bond market right now—thanks to the $39 trillion national debt
Economy
Jamie Dimon won't put more of his own money into the long end of the bond market right now—thanks to the $39 trillion national debt
By Eleanor PringleJuly 21, 2026
12 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.