How This Huge Liquor Company Plans to Develop Millennial Leaders

Millennials are pouring into the workplace at the speed of 75 percent of the global workforce by 2025. At that rate, understanding Millennials inside and outside of your organization becomes mission critical.

With a Millennial workforce of 43 percent, Bacardi, the largest privately owned spirits companies in the world who owns such brands as Grey Goose, Bombay, Sapphire, Martini and Dewars, is all-in on Millennials. Developing Millennials as future leaders is crucial if Bacardi wants to successfully hand the business to it’s 7th generation of family members. Secondly, understanding the Millennials as a Bacardi customer is crucial for the vitality of their business.

In light of this relevant need, Bacardi recently appointed Nim De Swardt as their Global Millennials Manager. It’s her responsibility to “develop Millennial champions within their careers [at Bacardi] while leveraging them as a ‘live think tank’ of target consumers.” De Swardt has created the Bacardi Rising Stars program where emerging Millennial leaders will be equipped with the knowledge, expertise, and experiences to prepare them to be future leaders.

Here are five ways Bacardi intends to own the Millennial market inside and out with this new initiative.

Development Rich

71 percent of Millennials who are likely to leave an organization in two years are dissatisfied with how their leadership is being developed. The number drops to 54% among Millennials planning to stay beyond 2020.

The Bacardi Rising Stars will initially be nominated by their managers. Once identified they will be giving live business projects to work on. Bacardi Rising Stars will also receive unparalleled exposure to executive leaders. The qualities that the program intends to build upon is high EQ, adaptable to change, hyper-connected (self-starters), curious, committed to a career at Bacardi, inspiring to others, strong communication skills, naturally driven to succeed and a strong brand ambassador to name a few.

Millennial to Millennial

55 percent of Millennials said they’re least likely to get along with someone from another generation.

Millennials get Millennials. It’s important (at least at first) to create an environment where Millennials can connect with other Millennials. When trying to recruit Millennials, use Millennials.

As the Global Millennials Manager, De Swardt, is the quintessential Millennial having traveled the world, repeatedly job hopped, oozing with optimism and enthusiasm, and eager to make her mark on the world. De Swardt is well positioned to ingrain a “youthful spirit” into the organization and to connect and lead the emerging Millennials at Bacardi because she is one.

Global Focus

50 percent of Millennials want opportunities for international assignments.

Online access, a passion for travel, and immigration have made Millennials the most global generation to date. They have more in common with their international peers than previous generations. Millennials only notice diversity when it’s absent. As a global brand, it’s imperative that Bacardi reflect its global customer base in its “think tank” of Millennials. The Bacardi Rising Stars program will place a priority on creating a global community and a global mindset.

Executive Buy-In

50 percent of Millennials believe their organization could do more to develop future leaders.

The future leaders of Bacardi are encouraged by the vision, bold decision making, and active participation of their CEO who is the primary catalyst and supporter for the Rising Stars. Even though the Rising Stars program has many HR elements, the program will not be a traditional talent development program, but instead will be a business led initiative where De Swardt will be working directly with the CEO of Bacardi, Mike Dolan.

Through the Rising Stars program, Dolan is committed in driving change within their corporate structures, remaining a relevant brand and employer in today’s fast times, and casting a vision for the future of work.

Infusing Intrapreneurship

79 percent of Millennials would consider quitting their regular job and working for themselves in the future.

These are ripe times to be an entrepreneur and Millennials are well equipped to dive into ownership. This presents a new challenge for organizations to recruit and retain Millennial talent.

Dolan provided De Swardt a “blank slate” to create the Rising Stars program. As a self-proclaimed intrapreneur (acting like an entrepreneur within a larger organization), De Swardt, intends to inject a new mindset for the company by harnessing her inner “misfit, rebel, and instigator.”

Like any great fearless entrepreneur, her goal is to “disrupt…in the most positive way possible.”