Millennials at the Gates

Results from Accenture’sHigh Performance IT research

Executive summary ............................................................................................................2Key findings ..........................................................................................................................3Implications ..........................................................................................................................9About this study ..................................................................................................................10

Contents

The Millennial generation (defined asthose born between 1977 and 1997)is beginning to establish itself inthe workplace, flush with attitudesand expectations that are markedlydifferent from prior generations.Nowhere perhaps are the differencesbetween new workers and their moreexperienced colleagues more apparentthan with the use of technology.The Millennials have grown upmultitasking, enabled by a rapidevolution of consumer electronics andsocial networking applications thatallows them to stay “plugged in” 24/7.Students and young workers take forgranted the ability to connect withfriends and family at any time, fromanywhere, via the Internet or their cellphone. They are now bringing thoseexpectations into the workplace – andturning IT policies upside down in theprocess.To examine how the Millennialgeneration views and uses technology,Accenture embarked on a study inJune 2008 as part of its long-termprogram of research designed toidentify and understand the driversof (and challenges to) achieving highperformance within IT. The surveyqueried more than 400 U.S. studentsand employees across three age groups— 14-17 (“younger Millennials”),18-22 (“mid-Millennials”) and 23-27(“older Millennials”). We found anincreasing demand among theserespondents for high-tech devicesto connect with colleagues, peers,friends and family – both inside andoutside of the office or the classroom.From a corporate perspective, thefindings point to a disconnect betweenthe enterprise technology thatorganizations provide their employeesand how young workers actually wantto use technology and collaborate inthe workplace.The implications for enterpriseIT organizations are potentiallysignificant. As Millennials begin toexert more influence in the workplace,IT leadership teams will have to finda way to adapt their policies andprocedures to accommodate the newtechnology these younger workersare demanding. And they must do sowithout putting the enterprise at risk.This report provides a summary of theresearch and the potential impact oncorporate IT organizations.