Babies are cute until we realize they are here to replace us. That’s the Jerry Seinfeld one-liner Kirk Hulett often quotes when speaking about the millennial generation.

And, like it or not, millennials are here to replace today’s advisors.

Hulett, senior vice president of strategy and practice management with Omaha-based Securities America Financial Corp., spoke on Tuesday at the FPA Business Solutions 2010 conference held by the Financial Planning Association in Dallas.

Sooner or later, advisors will need to employ members of the millennial generation — those born between 1980 and 2000 — in their practices.

Understanding the experiences that shaped the values of this generation, which numbers more than 76 million in the U.S., will be key in helping these young people become valuable, productive emplyees, Hulett said.

Many of millennials’ charcteristics add to their value as employees, and other traits need to be adjusted to fit the business world.

For example, millennials are intuitive users of technology who would rather fiddle with a new gadget — with no fear of breaking it — than read the manual. They tend to multi-task, which is often inefficient in a business environment, and have a short attention span. Sometimes they need to be told which tasks have the highest priority.

To their credit, millennials are comfortable working in teams because they were encouraged to work in groups as children.

“They are tech-savvy,” Hulett said. “They will network around the world electronically and can track down information like a human search engine.”

Give them problems to solve, Hulett said, especially technology-based problems.

Millennials want to know the significance of the work they are doing. So, Hulett advised, tell them how their tasks fit your overall business vision.

Let them personalize their work spaces, Hulett advised. “This is a generation that had their own rooms,” he said. “Some even had private dorm rooms in college.” So, allow them to place their pictures, plants, and other personal items, within reason, around their work areas.

Millennials prefer laid-back bosses and a low-pressure work environment. Find fun activities to do in the offices to relieve the pressure occasionally. Young people love their music and, Hulett advised, you should allow them to wear their earbuds at work if it doesn’t interfere with their jobs.

Milliennials love to absorb information, Hulett said. They learn well in job- shadowing programs and mentoring relationships. And they respond well to coaching.

“They have been coached a lot,” Hulett said. “They started playing soccer when they were four years old.”

Millennials will add tremendous value to your business, Hulett concluded. “They are smart, hard-working, sociable and technologically brilliant.”

IE