Generations in the Workplace
What a fascinating time to be working the business world. For the first time in history, we have four separate, distinct generations working together. I have gotten a kick out of how each generation is able to easily find the faults of the other generations. In particular, I find it interesting to hear the negative comments about Generation Y (born between 1980 and 1999).
Personally, I have been recruiting for public accounting for 10 years and have never been so impressed with a group of young professionals. They are intelligent, well spoken, open-minded, techno-savvy and goal oriented. Our business world needs these young minds that excel at multi-tasking and scheduling of work. They appreciate their family, diversity and have a strong social conscience. I believe that business can learn a lot from this generation and should embrace them into our work world.
First of all, they know how to network with people from other cultures/borders. Consequently, employers can greatly benefit from these skills as we move forward. Secondly, they want a balanced approach to work and life. This flexibility in the workplace will generate healthier workers, families and communities. And thirdly, Generation Y has never known the world without computers and cell phones. They are comfortable with technology and finding ways to improve efficiency and connecting globally.
Rather than focusing on the negative aspects of Generation Y (and believe me, every generation has negative aspects), welcome their talents and competencies into your business. Let’s face it, at eighty-million strong, they will soon account for the majority of American workers. If we don’t learn how to manage this generation, businesses may soon be without staff.
Here are some tips for managing Generation Y:
- Provide a well-organized orientation program that gives them a clear picture of the work environment and overall goals.
- Provide detailed expectations and well-defined goals.
- Establish a mentor program. Your most seasoned professionals will mix well with Generation Y.
- Grow your training department. This is the most educated generation of our time and they want continual education and development of their skills.
- Provide immediate and constant feedback. Performance reviews once or twice a year will not work for them.
- Provide meaningful work and challenge them. Be family friendly. This generation appreciates their family and wants a balance between work and home. Flexibility and time off is critical to this generation.
- Provide a fun and welcoming environment. Teambuilding and fun is crucially important to this generation.
- Encourage technology. This generation knows how to integrate work into their social experience, so don’t restrict access to social networking sites. Your company may grow in visibility through this.
- Allow for change. This generation expects growth and change. This means that their assignments and positions may need to change fairly quickly or they’ll make a job change fairly quickly.
- Communicate and answer their questions. This generation is the “Y” generation for a reason. They have lots of questions and they want answers.
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