What can be done to include millennials in the boardroom
On December 10, 2021, I wrote about millennials in the boardroom. Refer to the link: https://www.theindependent.co.zw/2021/12/10/ millennials-in-the-boardroom/. This article serves as a follow up having introduced the subject and laid bare the benefits. The question which arises is therefore, what can be done?
Survey results
A survey was done on this question. Per the responses received, we noted that use of mentorship programmes and a change in company policy and culture received the most responses having 48% and 34% respectively. Age quotas and appointment of board members without prior experience having the lowest response with 9% both.
Companies should adopt an inclusive approach as it is extremely imperative that millennials be included in the boardroom due to the dynamic, radical, and positive change they will bring.
Change of corporate culture
Change of corporate culture and policy on diversity is one of the most crucial factors towards an inclusive approach. Although the mentorship programme has been selected as the most key factor, its effectiveness hinges on the willingness of the present board members to change the corporate culture.
Mentorship programmes are rather a creation of change in a company’s culture. The challenge emanates from the fact that those who have walked the journey believe that maturity begats position. As we have alluded before, the reality is that market and customer behaviour is rapidly changing, and it is important that young people come on board. To change this view is not one man’s effort. Both the older and younger generation must take part in the transition.
The older generation must accept and trust that young people can make sound business decisions and take the companies to greater heights. In the same way, the young generation must walk the talk by displaying maturity and tact in engaging those at the board. To do that, they must foremost show competence and thoughtfulness in making decisions at lower levels. This goes a long way in making a swift cultural change which has support from both parties.
Mentorship programmes
Mentorship programmes provide millennials with an opportunity to learn. There are two customs that the board can employ to ease mentoring of millennials and make the transition to the boardroom effective:
• Training
Firstly, the entity must have a programme that helps in identifying and selecting young people within the organisation that have reflected traits of being effective leaders for grooming into becoming board members. The criteria of identifying potential board members must be approved at board level, taking into consideration the inputs of the millennials within the company. The identified individuals must go under training. Considering that most board members are busy people, they may not have enough time to carry the responsibility of adequately mentoring and training the millennials concerning matters of the boardroom.
The entity can make use of external trainers to train all the persons that would have been identified and selected for the boardroom mentorship programme. The matters discussed by the trainers will be tailored to make the trainees effective board members of the company, who will bring forward meaningful change. Currently, we have the Chartered Accountants Academy Business School that has rolled out a new programme that focuses on training board members on matters that affect the boardroom. Companies can make use of this offering and train the next generation; this goes a long way in creating an effective succession plan of the organisation. The energy, knowledge, and willingness of the millennials to learn is not a thing to ignore.
• Subcommittees
“Only in water can one learn how to swim” Unknown. To evaluate the effectiveness of the mentorship programme, the board needs to involve the millennials in the decision-making process. This can be done without essentially including the trainees in the boardroom. For instance, the board can be planning a certain business project.
The board can share the same information with the trainees and allow them to decide as well. After a period, the board draws a comparison on the decision results of the trainees against the decision that the board has made. The board will evaluate the decision reached by the trainees, and weigh if they are in line with the vision and mission of the company and if it makes business sense.
This gives the millennials a feel of the decisions that are made at boardroom level, which goes a long way in reducing the performance and expectation gap when the young generation is finally in the boardroom. This further supplies an opportunity for millennials to be trained, evaluated, and have feedback provided. This requires a lot of time; which businesses normally may not have. A great level of commitment will be needed.
• Age quotas
Age quotas are a form of affirmative action or equal opportunity measure designed to address the slow pace of change in the participation of young and minority groups in areas of society where they are historically under-represented. Having an age quota would speed up the involvement of young people in the boardrooms.
Quotas can however result in young people not being appointed based on merit but to fulfil the quota requirements. It is imperative that young people be trained, and leadership circles be created to nurture millennials as a more permanent solution to bringing diversity in the board of directors. The author advocates that young people must not be appointed because of their age, but because of their qualifications and competences.
Conclusion
Millennials are the future of organisations. They hold the power to bring about diversity and effect operational changes in organisations. They can influence a more receptive corporate culture and lead good corporate governance. Digital transformation has become one of the main goals of all organisations and this can be swiftly carried out and spearheaded by millennials in the boardroom. It is time for radical changes to be implemented in organisations as future success of organisations lies in the hands of millennials. It’s now up to millennials to take up the stand and demonstrate both preparedness and commitment to lead organisations into greater heights.