Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/414972
November/December 2014 51 Changing the Way You Cook since 1990 800.988.8103 360.650.1111 woodstone-corp.com STONE HEARTH & SPECIALTY Commercial Cooking Equipment Discover why OVER 13,000 OVENS, rotisseries, charbroilers, tandoors, and planchas have been SOLD IN 75+ COUNTRIES worldwide. Made in the USA. 800-328-4493 WWW.SERVICEIDEAS.COM WWW.SERVICEIDEAS.COM WWW.SERVICEIDEAS.COM Celebrate It Our partner Alfi celebrates its 100th Anniversary May 2014. Check out their variety of carafes! Gusto Diana Eco *NEW* continued on page 53 warranted? Gustafson: Actually, there was an article in FEDA First Thing about the 10 best ways to encourage your millennial talent. It actually implies that Millennials are not that different from any- one else in the workforce. I was so focused on "we're special," but we may be making a bigger thing out of it than it really is. Millennials want some of the same things that everyone wants: Career success, recognition and career-path assistance. Of course, there are differences as it relates to technology. We rely on it and we want to use it whenever we can. I couldn't imagine writing numbers and analyzing trends without using some sort of spreadsheet application. Other people want to write it down or print everything. I want to do it paperless. I want to use technology and not fight it. Those are just a few of the little quirks you have to be cognizant of. N&V: Do you have any other advice for dealers hoping to attract and keep Millennials? Gustafson: Be open to suggestions and ideas. Part of what I think makes Millennials tick is that we want to do a good job, we want to be important and we want to make a difference. Depending on the perspective of other people in the com- pany, that could also be seen as a weakness. N&V: How so? Gustafson: Because making a difference and doing well often requires a lot of feedback. You need guidance and you want someone to tell you you're doing well. Sometimes I think there's a fine line between coddling and help. That's where it gets really complicated. There's also the possibility that this could be interpreted as being very needy and I can envision a Millennial person being portrayed negatively instead of some- one in management identifying those characteristics as posi- tive traits. I think that is something that we have to be aware of. N&V: It's that find-your-own-way and sink-or-swim mentality. Gustafson: Exactly, and that doesn't always lead to the best results. N&V: In terms of the external customer, are you seeing more Millennials among them? Gustafson: In the stores, we're seeing a lot of the younger chefs coming in and we're also seeing some young entrepre- neurs. They have a different set of needs and Amazon or online shopping is second nature to them. This past October, in our managers meeting, our website manager and I did a presenta- tion on the next phase of customers. N&V: Would you mind sharing any specifics?