They want to work when it's convenient to their lives -- not punch in at some 9-to-5 job and be stuck sitting in a cubicle. They relish a challenge more than a paycheck, and resent it when bosses look over their shoulders or fail to reward them for a job well done.
For this, the 120 million members of Generations X and Y have been called self-centered, spoiled, slackers and lacking in motivation. But in the coming decade, 40 percent of America's baby boom workforce will be eligible for retirement. And ready or not, employers are going to have to reckon with the workplace desires of the next generation of workers -- and customers-- if they hope to survive.
"It's going to be the largest turnover in human capital in history, and many organizations are simply ill prepared," said Sarah Sladek, 37, of Limelight Generations. She is a consultant, former journalist and author who organized an all-day workshop on the issue last week in Minneapolis.
With more than 200 attendees from seven states, the event was a chance to share strategies for recruiting, retaining, managing and marketing to Gen Xers (aged 28 to 44) and to think ahead about the giant wave of Gen Yers (14 to 27) who will continue to roll into the workforce in the coming years.
Representatives from Target, Best Buy, Cargill, DreamWorks Animation and Quicken were there as were small business owners, nonprofits, consultants and recruiters.
With unemployment hitting 9.7 percent in September, companies aren't exactly in the hiring mood. But many conference attendees said the talent pool is shrinking, and they're feeling a growing urgency to figure out how to recruit young workers and to keep them in the fold as CEOs of the future.
"Talent sometimes comes through experience from old people like me, but sometimes talent comes from that 18- or 25-year-old," said Pamela Ostrom of Creative Process Consulting in Brooklyn Park, Minn. She works with Fortune 500s and mom-and-pops to make businesses work more effectively.
At the seminar, called "Rock Stars (at) Work," companies talked about tactics that seem to be working. Cargill has created a "talent development program" in which young workers rotate through various jobs for their first year, and all employees are encouraged to move horizontally into other divisions to keep learning about the business.
At Best Buy, about one-sixth of workers are 16 to 19 years old, said Tim Showalter-Loch, a community relations manager. Keeping them loyal to the company and its products is vital, he said. A Web-based initiative called "(at)15" gives teens in that age group a chance to invest money in social causes of their choosing. Best Buy's "Results Only Work Environment" helps give young workers flexibility to work from any location that works for them -- so long as they get their jobs done.
In job interviews, young workers like to turn the tables, and find out what makes the company so special. Boomer bosses might get asked about the company's social and moral values and whether volunteerism is encouraged.
Work doesn't define their lives as it did previous generations. And companies that can't find ways to support the younger generation's insistence on work-life balance have trouble holding onto them. On average, people under 30 spend 20 months on a job, Sladek said.
"Clearly they aren't happy and employers are scratching their heads to figure out what to do," she said.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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