Monday, May 9th, 2011
The Gen Y Workforce
Reality from the eyes of a Gen Y Recruitment Consultant
Having spent almost half a decade working as a specialist in the resourcing of IT professionals, in an industry where the vast majority of people my age only last 6 months, I can safely say that I’ve learnt a thing or two. You see, to be successful in my job, one must be adept in the art of conversation and understanding the objective of others and why those objectives exist. This is one of the beautiful parts of my job. It has afforded me the chance to work with people across all age groups and social demographics and given me the opportunity to assess the disparity between motive and objective over different generations.
As a Gen Y’er, I found the differences quite interesting as I often read articles and blogs that brand Gen Y as a generation that is disloyal, lazy and a little too demanding. I’m not going to kid myself, or anyone else for that matter, into believing that this is completely untrue. The reality is that these attributes ring true to a proportion of my generation but before any generation branding is done, I think it’s important to ask the question; why?
Why.
To understand anything, it’s important to understand how it came to be. In past generations, children were raised to believe in the importance of hierarchy and loyalty. John F Kennedy once said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”, and this is precisely the mindset that is held by older generations. Things are a little different when it comes to Gen Y. You see, my generation is one that has been raised in a society that promotes high self esteem and confidence as a key to success and as such, Gen Y asks, “I know what I can do for my country, what will my country do for me?” What a contrast, I hear you say. Well, is it?
In my opinion, what Gen Y wants isn’t so different from what other generations have wanted. The difference is this; we don’t have the blind reverence for hierarchy that was present in older generations and as a result, we aren’t afraid to ask and we’re not afraid to say what we think.
I have grown up in a time where life without technology is almost incomprehensible. I don’t know where my phone is right now and it honestly feels like my arm is missing. You know, just thinking about it now, I don’t think I can remember a time in my life where I haven’t had a phone! I have truly been brought up in the generation of technology. I found that this dependence on technology has caused an evident change in the way we Gen Y’ers approach our work life and what we want from our careers and employers.
So, what does Gen Y want?
Learning and Development
Learning and development is high on the list of priorities for Gen Y, and for good reason. You see, previous generations expected their jobs to be long term, their employer to keep them in a job forever. Take Generation X, for example. They have a strong focus on loyalty and approach work with the “If I’m loyal to my employer, they will be loyal to me” attitude and mentality which is instilled in them.
Gen Y on the other hand, doesn’t share the same view. We have experienced at an early age that loyalty won’t generally mean job security. Nope, not in the slightest. I lived through the global financial crisis and saw firsthand how loyalty was secondary to organizational profit. Employees that had dedicated their working life to an employer, much of them middle aged with mortgages and children, were thrown on the street, so to speak. But hey, I get it, that’s business and you do what you have to do. What I and many others in my generation have learned from this is not to have an expectation of your employer to keep you in a job, that’s up to you.
So where does that leave us?
Essentially, Gen Y has replaced employment security with “employability security”. That is, the ability to be employable through a specific skill set rather than have the expectation of a job with an employer for life. Gen Y understands that employability is based on the value we bring to an organization. Knowledge increases value and without consistent learning and development, our value could be compromised and our employability could diminish in some way, shape or form.
Riches, Responsibility, Reward and Recognition
The Four R’s. I just made that up but it has a nice ring to it! The Four R’s. I wonder if I could copyright that? In any case, to me the four R’s identify, in essence, what Generation Y is looking for in a role and ultimately determines their loyalty to an organisation.
Let’s take a look at riches.
When you think about our recent and current economic climate, the prominence of money as a key driver for Gen Y isn’t really startling. In this day and age, where the cost of living is increasing at break neck pace and housing prices are so high, they are almost unattainable; there’s no wonder why Gen Y considers money as one of the most important factors when it comes to considering an employer.
The reality is this, if someone from my generation is good at what they do, they will more than likely know what they’re worth. If they know what they’re worth, they’ll more than likely seek that remuneration from their employer. If they don’t get it from their employer, they’ll find an employer that will give it to them, full stop. Robert Bosch once said, “I don’t pay good wages because I have a lot of money, I have a lot of money because I pay good wages”. More and more employers will need to adopt the Bosch approach as Gen Y ages. This is the mindset that will make the difference between average talent and top 5 percent talent. But don’t be fooled ladies and gentlemen, as the four R’s infer, money isn’t the only thing Gen Y look at. Responsibility and the prospect of doing valuable work play heavily on Gen Y’s decision when it comes to employment.
We Gen Y’ers, we don’t want to be doing the “grunt work” all the time. We want to be challenged and consistently learning. If Gen Y is not given the challenge, the responsibility, the reward, I’m afraid the reality is that Gen Y’ers won’t be around for very long. Disloyal? I don’t think so. It’s just the apparent focus on developing skills and experience, nothing personal. It’s imperative that Gen Y is given challenging work that really matters and increased responsibility as a reward for achievement. This, along with a solid training or mentoring structure sets a firm base for Gen Y talent retention. Do remember though, every level of accomplishment requires recognition.
Here’s the tip, everyone wants to be appreciated and valued in the workplace. Yes, EVERYONE. It’s a basic human need that we all share; Gen Y is simply voicing it openly and confidently. It’s important to recognize that Gen Y workers require praise, recognition and positive reinforcement as these are key to motivation and overall job satisfaction. The way in which Gen Y requires this recognition is a tad different to past generations.
Here’s a little trivia, Forrester Research published a study that highlighted the generational differences in the use of technology. Gen Y sees technology as integral to our lives whereas Gen X sees technology as a convenience but not central to their lives. The way the different generations use technology relates directly to the way they like to be managed. Generation X is generally happy with regular feedback whereas for Generation Y feedback has to be constant and immediate. This immediacy is linked to the use of technologies and how readily available information is.
Recognize, it’s how we were brought up!
Loyalty
“The reality is that corporations cannot guarantee anyone a lifetime job anymore than corporations have a guarantee of immortality”- John Snow, former US Secretary of Treasury.
Here at Milestone IT, we recently conducted a study of the Gen Y workforce to examine the disparities between generations within the workplace. To nobody’s surprise, we found that only one in every 15 respondents agreed loyalty to their employer was important. Does this confirm that Gen Y is disloyal? Again, No. Gen Y is loyal, but it’s not the same kind of loyal that was apparent in previous generations, the loyalty to the “kingdom” so to speak, is no longer there. The loyalty is more reciprocal in nature, we really see it as a two way street.
Gen Y is very career driven, but we expect a lot in return and if an employer won’t provide it, we will look elsewhere. Like I mentioned earlier, Gen Y has seen the ups and downs of the job market. We’ve read about it and we know the job market well. Gen Y understands that skill shortages do exist and if we have a skill that’s in demand, we can use it as leverage.
This is why it’s so important to understand the motive and objective. This will help to develop an effective retention strategy which inevitably, will start “at home”.
Organisation & Culture
When you go on a first date with someone, you don’t go dressed as a homeless sailor that hasn’t had a shower for a week. Unless of course, you are in fact a homeless sailor in which case that would be acceptable but as far as not having a shower for a week goes, definitely not! That’s deviating from the point a bit but what I’m trying to get at is the fact that first impressions last. Particularly with my generation, the generation that wants everything perfect and wants it right now. The point to take note of is this; information has never been so easily and readily available to other generations. Gen Y goes to the internet and researches your company, your branding, how well recognized you are as an organisation and forms an immediate opinion on your suitability as an employer.
The impression that potential candidates might get of your company is crucial in attracting Gen Y talent. Whether that is through your website, through your communication or through your reviews, every touch point is of absolute importance because this impression may be the difference between an excellent Gen Y candidate accepting or declining an offer.
Another important part of the equation is the work culture and work/life balance. In our recent study we found that Gen Y wants the workplace to be fun, welcoming and flexible. A place that is both social and productive, and let me just say I could’ve told you that without even having conducted the study! Here’s where the distinction lies; Gen X clearly separated their work lives from their personal but when we look at Gen Y, the line between work and home is not so clearly defined. Gen Y will work outside prescribed hours to get the job done, provided the culture allows us to do so. Creating a low-key, low-stress and flexible corporate culture that focuses on work outcomes, rather than the 9-5 approach which was required for other generations, will provide the working conditions for most Gen Y’ers to thrive. Creating the environment is one thing, management style is another.
In our age of immediacy, management must take up much of a similar approach when it comes to Gen Y. Things need to be snappy and if there’s an issue that can be resolved quickly, it’s essential to do so. Gen Y wants information to be delivered swiftly, whether that is through email, SMS, Phone or face to face. We tend to use mobile communications more so than anything else because we desire the ability to access information everywhere. Remember, not all the work we do is at our desk. For example, I could be out getting a coffee when something important comes up. In most cases, I wouldn’t rush back to the office to sort it out; I’d just do it from the coffee shop! Managers need to be mindful of this and not get hung up on the amount of time we’re right in front of them but more so, what the end result will be. Manager’s who can adopt this approach and team it up with strong learning and development programs and flexibility will be the ones who retain Gen Y talent.
Don’t forget, Gen Y are the recruits of today who are the leaders of tomorrow. It’s essential to understand and foster this talent now to put your organisation in the best possible position to attract this talent in the future.
Principal Consultant – Milestone IT
Tags: art of conversation, best performance of gen y, disparity, employer, Forrester Research, Gen X, Gen Y, gen-y research, generation, job, John Snow, kris chand, loyalty, management of gen y, recruitment, recruitment consultant, resourcing, US
| View all IT Jobs | View other IT opportunities | Milestone IT is a specialist in IT Contracting | Seeking another IT contract or IT Employment | View our latest news on IT recruitment |