Sparking Generation Y
By Erin Douglass
Generation Y—those born between 1980 and 1994, according to some yardsticks and 1978 and 1984, according to others—has flummoxed many employers since appearing on the workworld's radar.
Many of them pierced and tattooed and most bursting with self-esteem, Y Types have sauntered into companies with their own ideas about employment, reward and fair play. Older employees, cloaked in their own generation's values, have often responded by either ignoring their younger co-workers' peccadilloes or insisting on preserving the status quo.
Rather than writing them off or squishing them into company molds and modes, savvy employers are trying innovative ways to reach, inspire and retain the Y Generation. To do otherwise risks turning away the very workers who will soon dominate and define the workforce.
Profile of a Yer—The Tough Side
Generation Yers tend to share a number of common characteristics, many of which fly in the face of their Boomer and Xer predecessors' values.
They're impatient. Yers have been raised in a fastpaced world dominated by technology and instant gratification, according to Colorado-based speaker and author of GenerationWhy.com Eric Chester. The result: Speed, not patience, is their virtue. Don't be surprised if they chafe at many-stepped processes and bureaucracy—or prefer to vault over, rather than methodically ascend, the corporate ladder.
They're skeptical. "Generation Y wears a BS detector on top of its head," says Chester. "And why not? They've been scammed to, lied to, exploited to." This means traditional motivational cant often falls on deaf ears.
They're disengaged. According to a November 1999 Kaiser Family Foundation Report, "Kids and Media @ The New Millennium," 8 to 18 year olds are exposed to almost eight hours of media each day—including TV, videos, computers and video games. As a result, expect this generation to eschew single, focused challenges in favor of multiple and varied projects.
They're blunt and expressive. Told repeatedly to Just Do It, Yers value self-expression over self-control and speak their minds freely—a tendency that can get them in trouble when dealing with customers, co-workers or people in authority.
This doesn't mean, however, that Generation Y doesn't heed respect. But, says Chester, "Generation Y won't automatically offer up their respect just because someone is older or has a title."
They're image driven. Image is everything for Generation Yers. "They are always trying to make a statement and brand themselves," says Chester. Consequently, be prepared to explain the whys and wherefores of dress codes or uniforms—or allow for some room for expression.
They're young. It may not be something they can help, but Gen Y is green. "They will need life experience," says Carolyn Martin, a trainer, speaker and author of Managing Generation Y: Global Citizens Born in the Late Seventies and Early Eighties (HRD Press: 2001).
But, adds Martin, "Generation Yers know that they don't know everything." Be prepared for them to pepper in questions and more questions, as well as requests for help.
Profile of a Yer-The Bright Side
Like any generation, what makes Generation Y difficult to deal with on the job is also what makes it uniquely skilled. A number of talents and tendencies dominate, including the fact that they are:
- adaptable
- techno savvy
- able to grasp new concepts
- multi-taskers
- efficient, and
- tolerant.
Perhaps the most surprising attribute many Yers share is a sense of commitment. "They pledge their hearts and souls to causes that they believe in, which makes them very loyal employees," says Chester. The key: tapping into those values without sounding hollow or patronizing.
Emily Silverstein manifests a number of typical Gen Y strengths. A teenager who does backend Web testing for a publishing company in Northern California, Silverstein is uncowed by technology. "A lot of people my age know HTML and have their own websites," says Silverstein, who adds that she knows more HTML now than she did a year ago when she first designed her own site.
Silverstein values her independence on the job. "I'm pretty free to do my own thing," she says. She praises her employer—which boasts an Anything Goes dress code, funky building and flexible hours—for its ability to attract her generation: "There are a lot of other young people there who are in their 20s, so I don't feel uncomfortable. And people are really good at explaining things." Her sole complaint: She wishes she could tackle more of what she wants to do.
Money Isn't—Mostly—Everything
Compensation plays a tricky role for Generation Y. While it isn't the end all and reward all that it often has been for previous generations of workers, when the chips are down, it still makes a difference.
"If it's the only incentive, money matters," says Martin. "So if a kid works at one low-level, minimum wage job and then gets an offer for 50 cents more per hour at a similar job, he or she will move." Smart employers, she adds, can stem this tide by adding perqs such as bonuses for attendance and duration and discounts on merchandise.
Some experts contend that Gen Y has left materialism in the dust, but Chester doesn't buy it. "People say that because we've waved money at them and they haven't jumped," he says. But rather than indicating a lack of materialism, Chester posits that Yers' resistance stems from a willingness to do only so much to attain prosperity.
For example, Chester cites a Gen Y worker who recently got a job with a large retailer. The young employee attended weekly meetings at which sales managers exhorted the crowd to 'Leave customers broke in the aisles.' Rather than motivating the Gen Yer, says Chester, the sentiment completely turned him off.
Y Retention Strategies
To successfully retain Y Types brought on board, follow these practical strategies and steps.
Check your assumptions. It's counterproductive—and usually misguided—to project your values on younger workers. "Just assuming that they're like us is a major no no," says Chester. Simply because you and your co-workers haven't had a problem with the uniforms, the music piped over the sound system or the motivators handed out at company meetings doesn't mean that the Yers on staff won't scoff and balk.
Encourage their values. Allowing workers' true selves to shine is essential. Says Chester: "Anything employers can do to enable self-expression and autonomy is worth trying." One strategy: Tell young workers what you want done and then ask them how they would like to vary from the template.
Chester praises restaurant chain Tokyo Joe's for the ways it welcomes self-expression. The company gives young employees free reign to sport rock concert T-shirts, backward baseball caps, piercings, tattoos and shaved heads—in fact, just about anything so long as it doesn't violate a health code. And the strategy has worked. Says Chester: "Tokyo Joe's has learned that if you give kids their identity, they'll give you their loyalty."
Train them. Generation Yers love to learn—in fact, many experts tag them the most education-oriented generation in history. "Their Boomer parents are very education minded," says Martin, "and education is critical to them, too." Keep providing training and learning opportunities—or you'll watch Yers' interest flag and fade.
Training would have made a huge difference to 20 year old John Imrie during his tenure at a bagel shop in Chicago. "I would just stand around looking like an idiot because I was never trained to handle the food," says Imrie. "And I never felt like I was part of the crew because of this lack of training." After four months he was fired.
Imrie had a completely different work experience when he joined the staff of a Windy City sub shop. "Very, very quickly I got into the routine and I was one of the crew," he says. Among the many positives of this new workplace: comprehensive training, movie and band posters on the walls, staffwide participation when cleaning up and a nurturing manager who treated him like one of her own kids. Says Imrie: "I will always love my boss. Because she was a mom, she knew what a young kid is going through and gave me plenty of room for error. And she was really patient."
Mentor them. Feedback and support are essentials for Generation Y. Says workplace trainer Martin, "These are not sink or swim Boomers. Gen Yers are insisting, 'Get me up to speed now, so that I can add value.'" And they are grateful for all hands up they receive—as long as they aren't condescending.
"These kids want to know how to improve," says Martin. But the strongest motivating technique may be to give Yers room to do things creatively, to try and to fail. Adds Martin: "The best managers give directions, step back, give directions, step back."
Jenny Sawyer, a 21 year old college senior, praised the informal mentoring she received from a supervisor during her internship at a Massachusetts book publisher. "I felt like her peer," says Sawyer of the woman. "She treated me like someone who was knowledgeable and she showed me respect even though I was an intern." And the relationship didn't stop there. Adds Sawyer: "She went out of her way to show she cared about me as a person."
Make it valid. Yers need to know how they will be affected by a decision or policy before swallowing it whole hog. For example, rather than simply telling employees that the store needs to be clean, explain how such efforts benefit them directly: the atmosphere is more inviting, which leads to more customers coming inside, which leads to more purchases being made, which leads to bigger profits, which leads to more generous bonuses at the end of the year.
It's also important that Yers care about the product and mission of their employer. Says Sawyer: "It's hard to stay motivated when you don't care about what's going on at your company."