Tips

How to Onboard Millennials

What do you need to teach your Millennial interns and new employees about the inner workings of the meetings industry?

Next month, Convene’s CMP series will explore best practices for building and managing internships.  We talked to meeting planners about how they work with Millennials to create the best experience for everyone.

There’s a certain mystique surrounding the demographic group. “I wish I knew more about them,” says Peggy Marilley, founder of Alexandria, Virginia–based Precision Meetings & Events. “That’s why I do have them [as interns], and why I really study them — to try to figure out how the relationship will be better and how I can benefit and they can benefit.”

Since many Millennial interns and employees are fresh out of school, it’s important that you help them understand that there’s no one-size-fits-all event template. “You’ve got to think on your feet, there’s no formula,” says Liz King, CEO of Liz King Events, who has hired some Millennials full-time after they completed internships at her company. “I think they sometimes are looking for, ‘First you do X, then Y, and then Z, and that’s how you plan an event.”

King also encourages her Millennial interns to learn about best business practices around social-media sharing. “We try to ask things like about their thoughts on attendee privacy,” says King. “Because I think a lot of times their lines are really blurred when it comes to privacy, like there’s no such thing.”

Kate Mulcrone

Kate Mulcrone is digital editor of Convene.