Friday, May 9, 2008

Is Early Burn-Out Part of the Gen Y Mix?

During a business networking after hours this week, I had an interesting conversation with a woman, now retired from 30 years in financial services. In explaining to her how Knowledge Advantage helps organizations, I got on my soapbox around talent management -- the search for "good" talent and the challenge of retaining that talent. I explained how the impact of the boomers retiring, and the Gen Ys coming onboard, confound these issues, specifically around retention. We know Gen Ys like to move quickly, like to be involved in many things simultaneously and are pros at multi-tasking. So, the importance of on-boarding new hires becomes even more critical. If an organization provides valuable orientation to new hires, they feel informed, and knowledgeable about the company and their work, and ready to contribute. Conversely, without immediate immersion into the organization, new hires are left feeling uninformed, at a loss of what to do, directionless and not productive. Add to this mix the Gen Y who wants to have an impact, who wants to perform to show what they know and can do, and the Gen Y who gets restless quickly and has no qualms about moving from job-to-job to find personal success and gratification quickly. Remembering this, it's easy to see how onboarding is win/win. On-boarding fuels the energy and confidence of a new hire; while showing commitment and belief in the new hire, from the organization, particularly to a Gen Y. On-boarding produces more confident, productive, loyal and satisfied employees. Without it, the organization makes a bad impression on the new hire and risks the possibility of losing that employee sooner, to an employer of choice, who provides training and personal and professional development.

After my great speech on the value of organizational learning, beginning with on-boarding and continuing throughout an employee's tenure, to ensure individual growth and retention, she asked, "do you think the ways of the Gen Y, moving so quickly, multi-tasking, always wanting everything now, puts them on a fast road to burn-out?" MMMM, I thought, interesting question and do we know the answer yet?

To add your experiences and thoughts around new hires, on-boarding and Gen Ys, please click below, on Comments, and add your post.


Ruth

http://www.knowledgeadvantage.biz

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Why Learn in the Workplace?

For my first blog, I thought I would pose the question - why learn and why learn in the workplace? What is the value and benefit to an organization to support and encourage learning? Well, the answer is easy - and we all know it - learning improves individual performance success, shows increased levels of motivation and creativity among staff, and, it's good for business. So, why aren't we all actively learning, and why is it so hard to create an organization that can integrate learning into its everyday practices? Because learning is a process that requires clear defined steps, with goals and objectives identified, and systems in place to support it that allow learning to take place, and to actually be adapted into the core organizational structure.

This blog will continually return to this - is learning a competitive advantage and does it contribute to organizational success? And if we know the answer is yes, why aren't we all fighting to create an organization that can learn?

Please click on comments to add your thoughts and feedback.

Regards,
Ruth

http://www.knowledgeadvantage.biz

Monday, May 5, 2008

Multi-Generations in the Workplace - Part II

In Part I of this article, we identified differences between us because of our generation, while recognizing how these differences can provide an opportunity for a dynamic team. Let's take a closer look now specifically at Gen Y and how their differences can be an organizational advantage.

How Gen Y Grew Up
The Millennials grew up differently than either of their predecessors:

* They had more opportunities in all aspects of growing up,
* More knowledge readily available to them and their parents,
* They've been told their whole life they've done a "good job."
* Their stereotype is around entitlement and, ungratefulness and a fear of hard work. In reality though, Gen Y is poised to take on the world.

As a group, Gen Y:

* Is motivated, and desire upward mobility,
* Likes to see where they are going and know what's available to them,
* Are quick learners and want the opportunity to grow and to show what they can do,
* Want to have an impact and make a difference.
Actually, all good qualities; though managing them may require some adjustment in style and use of new skills for Gen X'ers or Baby Boomers.

Solutions for Working Across the Generations
Don't waste time with a Gen Y. This generation moves quickly, is accustom to multi-tasking and doesn't get overloaded easily. Capitalize on this by providing them with early opportunities that include:

* Company training programs, specifically a comprehensive on-boarding course.
* Creation of work teams around Gen Ys and Boomers, to facilitate a natural rapport so they begin to coach one another in their respective areas of knowledge and expertise.
* Communication with everyone they know, in a way they are accustom -- online, IM, text messaging. Gen Y are accustom to sharing personal information and updating their personal pages on their network. Use this extended community to your advantage - give them good things to say about their job, their work and the company.

An area of appeal to both Gen Y and Boomers is a flexible or alternative work environment. As Boomers age and start to think about retiring, or need to meet the demands of caring for aging parents, the option of telecommuting, or participating in a job share is a motivator. This same flexibility appeals to the Millennial - though for different reasons.

Think out of the box in how to create opportunities for these groups to work together by changing the current culture and accepted norms of the work environment. Since many senior manager positions are currently filled by Boomers, it is important to identify ways in which Gen X and Y can move into these roles.

Appealing to Gen Y
With so much discourse around a talent shortage and how best to recruit and retain talent, one opportunity is to identify and recognize rising stars earlier in their career. This can be accomplished by attracting Gen Y recruits by being an employer of choice. Appeal to the Gen Y mentality by providing early career growth opportunities and easy access to company information and job performance success. Companies that know the value of training and know how to help staff resources to be successful, will be successful too in this changing work environment.

Summary
I hope this two-part article provided you with insights on:

* The differences in how we work due to generational experiences.
* What motivates each of us and how to capitalize on it.
* How to work side-by-side and across three generations.
* A better understanding of how diversity between us can have creative results.
Please give me a call if you'd like to talk about your multi-generational challenges, or if you have any questions about your learning or training needs.

Regards,

Ruth Kustoff, Principal
Knowledge Advantage - It's What Works, LLC

http://www.knowledgeadvantage.biz

Knowledge Advantage - It's What Works, LLC helps clients solve business challenges around knowledge management, information dissemination, on-boarding and other training requirements. We identify educational and technology solutions that improve staff retention, motivation, and productivity -- improving individual performance success for greater organizational success.