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It is no secret that employee recruitment and retention are top problems
for organizations in the year 2002. With expansion of new technologies,
competition increases daily for skilled employees.
The primary new entrants in the workforce since 1986 are Generation Xers
and Generation Yers/Next. This group is also known as Generation D (“Digital”)
or Millennium Gen. Their history and motivations are considerably different
from Boomers and Traditionalists. The table below presents some of these
differences. Read it as you try to figure out how to best understand and
work with your younger employees.
| Generations
X, Y Top Attributes |
- Flexible and good at change
- Comfortable with information and technology
- Outside-the-box thinkers and workers, creative
- Independent
- Want to manage as much of their own time as possible
|
- Goal-oriented
- Entrepreneurial
- Not intimidated by authority
- Eager to prove themselves
- Want to see results every day
- Try to invest in themselves, creating security from within
- Interested in being volunteers
|
|
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Generations X, Y Turnover
Factors
Gen X and Y employees are driven crazy by managers
who:
|
- Play corporate
“politics” games;
- Use guilt
- Use command and
control as a leadership style
- Who are uneven
and unfair in their treatment of staff
- Give raises that
are virtually meaningless
- Give insincere,
gratuitous “thank you's” and pats on the back
- Throw people into
jobs they're not trained or qualified to do
- Allow the workplace
to be disorganized, cluttered, dirt
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- Have a “because
I said so” attitude
- Are unapproachable
and/or who hoard information
- Overlook unacceptable
behavior from staff members
- Ignore employee
ideas or opinions
- Fail to give immediate
feedback and regular performance reviews
- Are micromanagers
- Hold unproductive
meetings, especially ones dominated by the manager
|
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| |
Gen
D
Millennium Gen |
Gen
X |
Boomers |
Traditionalist |
| Birth
Years |
1981
— » |
1965
— 1980 |
1946
— 1964 |
Through
1945 |
| Age
of workers |
16—19 |
20—35 |
36—54 |
55+ |
| #
Working |
12
million |
40
million |
67
million |
NA |
Socio-Economic
Factors |
High
national debt;
fewer jobs;
fewer student loans |
Higher
taxes;
lower living standards;
high priced homes;
Desert Storm |
Nuclear
threat;
federal student loans;
Vietnam |
GI loans;
GI education; paternalistic corporations; WWII;
Korea
|
| Family |
1
parent family |
50%
divorced families; average marriage ages:
F-25, M-27 |
Multiple
marriages;
no marriages |
Traditional
Marriage at ages 18-22 |
| Outlook |
Cynical |
Skeptical |
Optimistic |
Practical |
| Work
Ethic |
Entrepreneurial |
Balanced |
Driven |
Dedicated |
| View
of Authority |
Cumbersome |
Unimpressed |
Love/hate |
Respectful |
| Leadership
by... |
Knowledge |
Competence |
Consensus |
Hierarchy |
Career
Goal
(i.e. how to have job security) |
Skill |
Skill |
Management |
Hierarchical |
Career
Very
Important |
|
67% |
54% |
|
| Relationships |
Independent
- no commitment |
Reluctant
to commit |
Personal
Gratification |
Self-sacrifice |
| Recreation |
Multi-tasking,
watch TV, listen to music with headphones, activities alone |
Computer
games- competitive, teams |
Foreign
travel, volunteerism |
Movies,
family, U.S. travel in groups |
Mass
Media
Breakthrough |
Internet |
Computer |
TV |
Radio |
| Media
Impact |
Resourceful,
can quickly sift through lots of information |
Easily
bored, need immediate feedback, flexible |
|
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| Perspective |
Peer-oriented
to complement skill sets |
Self-reliant;
work to live |
Team-oriented;
live to work |
Civic
minded |
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Generations
X, Y Respond to Managers Who...
1. Develop them.
- Provide skill training
and career opportunities, special projects and other chances for
learning and personal growth;
- Offer mentoring with
skilled individuals inside and outside the organization;
- Treat their questions
as opportunities to teach;
- Support their quest for
self-based career security.
2. Appreciate, recognize
employees demonstrating a caring attitude-listen, celebrate small
successes, show respect, recognize work well done. (Many Gen X/Yers
don't have a regular family life, so they value warm work relationships.)
3. Offer a variety
of things to do and move them around into different projects or
departments; provide work that is challenging and creative.
4. Recognize their need
for a work-life balance. They are not going to “live
to work”—a special problem as we face the loss of 50%
of our current workforce over the next 25 years due to retirement.
5. And more ...
- Involve them in decision
making; solicit suggestions on how to improve processes;
- Explain the “why's”
of work projects and delegate as much as possible, then stay out
of their hair; establish clear ownership of tangible end results;
- Create flexible schedules
and dress codes; recognize a high need for balance with outside
of work life and interests;
- Model attitude and behavior
managers want from staff;
- Create an environment
where it's acceptable to make mistakes and find ways to learn
from them; learn by doing;
- Don't grab all the glory;
share recognition among the team;
- Honor their commitments;
- Provide opportunities
to have fun in the workplace;
- Recognize that they probably
have a high-level of technical skills; ask them how to implement
more technology;
- Eliminate unnecessary
stress; lighten up; be cool;
- Keep lines of communication
open through regular staff meetings;
- Form community service
teams.
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