“What words come to mind when I say “Gen Y”? Aaron Kesher asked the many SHRM 2011 attendees packed into the room.  “Entitled!” shouted one person. “Job hoppers,” chimed in another. Soon, many in the room (many of them non-Gen Yers, with some Gen Y members sprinkled in) were shouting things like “smart,” “resume builders,” “technically savvy,” “stereotype,” “comfortable with change,” and “creative.”

Obviously, we all have specific words and phrases and ideas that match how we perceive Gen Y to think and behave in the workplace. Gen Y, made up of those born between 1980 and 2000, has their own notions of themselves, too. In Aaron Kesher’s “Why Y? Plugging Into a Generational Powerhouse” session at SHRM 2011, Kesher encouraged all of us in the room to rethink our notions of what we think Gen Y is all about, to consider the strengths they bring to today’s dynamic workplace, and to use this knowledge and understanding to more successfully recruit and retain Gen Y workers.

“Do not doubt that this generation will change the face of the American workplace as their parents did,” Kesher said. “In the next five to 10 years, Kesher said, the number of Gen Yers in the workforce will increase dramatically.”

As the number of Gen Y workers is only getting larger, it’s about time we as a collective workplace learn more about Gen Y so that we can understand them, appreciate their unique strengths, and more successfully integrate them with other generations in the workplace.

What is work from a Gen Y Perspective?

• Work ethic: Job loyalty, for a long time, was shown by how long you stuck around and paid your dues — and older generations still think in line with this. Gen Y, on the other hand, says, “I show you love by how hard I work, not how long I stick around.”
• Tech savvy: It’s not so much that Gen Yers are tech savvy, Kesher pointed out – they’re tech dependent.They’re the generation that’s come of age with the explosion of technology, so it’s natural that they would be comfortable with it.
• Communication and teamwork: Gen Y is not necessarily entitled; they just feel comfortable asking for what they want. When it comes to communication, you can often count on Gen Yers to spread out the message fast and often. We need to realize, Kesher said, that throughout Gen Y’s public education, the majority of the work was done in groups, and that their role wasn’t usually as the leader of a group – instead, many were “equal” team members. Therefore, many Gen Y members function fairly well as a group and as “team players,” but some struggle in standing out as individual, assertive leaders.
• Money:  Employers, listen up: Gen Y is talking to each other about the money they are (or aren’t) making at your organization. They are comparing how competitive your salary is with your competitors — and they’re not afraid to share their findings. One audience member mentioned recently hearing Gen Yers discussing openly the job offers and bonuses they were getting — and she was shocked.  After all, discussing how much money you make is one of the last great American taboos — yet Gen Y seems more comfortable with discussing this sort of information.
• Recognition: Gen Y is a generation of the “there are no losers – everyone’s a winner” mentality. “But they didn’t make that up (boomer parents),” Kesher pointed out, to a round of laughter. Gen Yers don’t care how it gets done – they just want to get it done. And they want to be told they did a good job once they do it; recognition is very important.
• Diversity: “Why do only white people work here?” might be something a Gen Y worker thinks while viewing a company site or sitting in the lobby while waiting to be interviewed and noticing the lack of diverse employees. Gen Y doesn’t embrace diversity – they expect it — and if your company says you believe in diversity, but then a Gen Y worker shows up and all workers look the same – they will think you’re not living up to your diversity message. This generation has grown up with a greater awareness of and comfort with diversity of all kinds. From home lives, to school experiences, to messages absorbed from pop culture, they often don’t see what all the fuss is. This can manifest as difficulty in understanding why others struggle with issues around differences. A question of whether gay marriage should be legalized, for example, is a non-issue for many Gen Y individuals — and this shift ties into a larger cultural shift in general.
• Work versus life: “I love my job, but I love my life more” — that’s something you may hear a lot of Gen Yers say. One of the critical issues that will need to be ironed out at work in the future, Kesher said, will revolve around workplace flexibility. We’re increasingly seeing workplace flexibility issues evolving in the workplace, and Gen Y workers in particular (though they’re not alone) want to know how they can maintain their relationship with work while still having the flexibility to live the life they envision. As mentioned above, Gen Y has no problem with work, or with the idea of working hard — it’s just that their job will never be the whole of their identity. They raised with the imperative to “follow your dreams!”, and their job and life may intersect in new ways than we’ve seen in past generations. “Gen Y,” Kesher stressed, “doesn’t want a job – they want a life that hopefully includes a job.”
• Being green: This is the generation that’s leading the green movement – so give them the power to build, make changes, and become leaders in your organization’s (existing or non-existing) green movement.

Why worry about Gen Y?

Ensuring that the different generations working together under one roof actually work well together is a big concern for many employers. After all, if knowledge isn’t able to be sufficiently shared from generation to generation, older generations will eventually retire — taking with them decades of experience. In addition, workers who work well together are likely to be happier, more productive, and better brand ambassadors for your company.

To effectively work with Gen Y workers, Kesher said, you don’t need to change who you are – just your approach. In a great reverse example of this, an audience member told the story of her (as a Gen Y worker) learning to compromise with a Silent Generation worker. The older worker, she said, took a long time to respond to emails, but whenever she had a printed piece for him to look at, he worked much more quickly. After figuring this out, she started printing out  her emails to him and putting them on his desk – and now his turnaround time on feedback to her is much faster. It’s small steps like this that can make a big difference between two generations that don’t always see eye to eye — or medium to medium.

By learning the “why” behind this generation’s interests, ideas, and behaviors, you will understand how Gen Y workers function best in the workplace, and you will be better prepared to recruit and retain them. Here are some ideas to get you started, courtesy of Kesher:

6 ways to more successfully recruit Gen Y:

1. Have fun. Use the media to get your company message out there. Gen Y is all over social networks, and as mentioned above, they are very comfortable with technology, so get in front of them on various mediums — and get creative in your efforts. Speak their language; what have you learned about the things that matter to them that you as an employer are able to provide? Connect work to their lives; how do the two successfully intersect in your work environment? Are you able to offer workers a great work/life balance and opportunities for them to enrich their lives outside of the office walls? Show them.
2. Challenge them. Gen Y workers are attracted to a challenge, so by providing your employees with interesting work that asks them to get outside their comfort zone and take risks, and lets them make mistakes and fail, you are likely to get these workers’ attention.
3. Give them opportunities. Do you give your employees multiple paths to explore when taking on a project, or find ways for their work to have an impact on the organization as a whole? Demonstrate to job seekers that you encourage employees to do work that is meaningful and and makes a difference outside of your organization. Do you give employees opportunities to further their training, brush up on their skills, or learn new disciplines outside of their current role to help them grow both inside and out of work?
4. Support their lifestyle. Recognize the importance their life outside of work has to them, and understand that they have often strong, close connections with their families (Kesher gave the example of parents calling to ask why their son or daughter got a bad review example, or dropping off a resume for their child — it happens more than you might think). Offer flexibility in your benefits, and realize that for many Gen Y workers, the line between work and personal life has blurred. Work happens at home, and vice versa — does your organization support a flexible workplace?
5. Embody diversity. Show it, don’t just talk about it! Demonstrate to potential employees how diversity integrates with your organization’s mission – but be authentic. Job seekers can see right through empty words; be true to your values by actually being a diverse workplace.
6. Reinforce your mission. Show job seekers the “why” – why is the work your organization does important to the rest of world? What is the larger context of the projects you take on, or of your core business? Reinforce your mission constantly, and help workers find connections to others in the organization through social media, your website, or in-person interactions.

… And 5 ways to retain them:

1. Make them feel at home the first day. This does not mean simply showing them the employee handbook, their cubicle, bathroom code, and then leaving them alone. Plan on a longer orientation duration than in the past. Establish personal connections with employees — and continue building those relationships throughout your employees’ tenure.
2. Give them feedback. They want more rather than less, and they want it sooner rather than later. Recognize everything employees are doing, and give them honest and open feedback. Waiting five years to get to the next step in an organization isn’t realistic anymore, Kesher pointed out — so provide them with the tools they need for success and career advancement. Give employees more chances for lateral development by helping them learn new skills, get new certifications, and expand their knowledge base.
3. Allow them to fail! Define clear expectations for tasks and projects, give them incremental goals along the way, and find ways to connect the work they’re doing to their personal values and goals. Let them stretch their boundaries, make mistakes, and learn from them — and most of all, listen to your employees. They want to give you input, so make it easier on them by asking for it where you can, and being available as a resource and mentor.
4. Again, listen. Pay attention to them (they’re going to talk to you a lot), be aware of their personal goals, and lead horizontally. They’re living in a world of connectedness and entitled communication; hierarchy isn’t as built into their mindset as it is in generations past. Try to be their leader without looking down on them.
5. Connect with them. Get to know them and what they’re all about (and hey, maybe even their helicopter parents, too). If you want respect from Gen Y workers, you have to give it. Many Gen Y workers feel misunderstood by their peers or their leaders; by working to connect with them and encouraging other employees to do the same, you will begin to chip away at the negative Gen Y stereotypes that are actually hindering generational progress in the workplace.

 Moving forward, together

During the session, a Gen Y professional raised her hand and pointed out that as an HR professional, she’s noticed a lot of overly negative critiques of Gen Y workers. She wondered why we couldn’t focus on the positive traits of Gen Y to hook into as a great resource — a great point, and one that Kesher drove home in his presentation.

After all, every time we think another generation doesn’t have something we have, Kesher said, we’re stereotyping. Every generation has boundaries and a work ethic — they may just happen to be different than ours.

But isn’t the fact that such a multitude of perspectives, ideas, backgrounds and behaviors exist what makes the workplace so great?

While at HRPA 2011, Canada’s conference and trade show focusing on HR issues and trends, I stopped in to check out Howard Wallack’s session, 10 Global HR Trends for 2011 and What You Need to Know to Manage Them. Wallack is the Director of Global Member Programs for Society for Human Resource Management, and in his discussion at HRPA 2011, he drew from several studies and surveys (EIU’s Global Firms in 2020, IBM’s Working Beyond Borders, BCG/WFPMA’s Creating People Advantage 2010, and more) and gathered input from SHRM’s Global Expertise panel to determine the 10 most prevalent global HR trends for the rest of 2011.

The business world is becoming increasingly global, yet as Wallack mentioned in his presentation, there aren’t HR standards across the globe right now. Inconsistent economies and policies add complications to an already complex mix; for example, while low job growth is an issue in the U.S. and Canada, it’s not an issue in Asia, where places like China, India, Singapore and Thailand are all currently experiencing at least 9 – 10 percent growth. The U.S. is less friendly than Canada when it comes to immigration, which can present a challenge. In addition, employee engagement is driven by very different factors around the globe: In Asia, employees want titles and learning opportunities, compensation and benefits comes down the chain; in the U.S., health care coverage is most important, then compensation, then responsibility. With that said, let’s take a look at what Wallack says are the most noticeable trends for the rest of this year:

10 Global HR Trends for 2011

1. The importance of globalization and integrating markets: Companies will become larger and more global in the next 10 years, handling operations in more countries than they do today.
   —We’re living in an increasingly border-less world.
2. Talent management: Finding and retaining quality talent continues to be essential to business sustainability. Finding and retaining quality talent continues to be essential to business sustainability, though its importance in relation to other challenges differs by location. (AUTHOR UPDATE: Respondents from Brazil and Sweden rated this issue in the BCG/WFPMA study as being of lesser importance than other top-10 HR challenges relative to respondents from 15 other countries. And when polled further to rate if there were no/some/high/very high talent shortage or skills gaps across 12 different specific industries/sectors, the Brazilian and Swedish respondents rated it uniformly as “No” across all the industries.)
   —There are more contingent workers, and the rationale behind work force investment is changing and moving in multiple directions. 

   —Most industries and countries are to experience a widening talent gap, notably for highly skilled positions and for next generation of mid and senior leaders.

3. Working virtually across functions and geographies will intensify, with implications for intercultural communication, business ethics and organizational effectiveness.
   —Localizing management of overseas operations is key, but a global outlook is just as important as local knowledge. 

   —Businesses need to find new ways to connect people to each other and to information, both internally and externally.

   —The expectation of having an “always-available” employee varies around the world.

4. Global employee engagement is tentative; companies that have implemented multiple layoffs have eroded a sense of security in the global work force.
   —There is a disconnect between what companies currently have to offer employees and what employees really value. 

   —Retaining valued talent is more important, but the drivers to retain that talent are different depending on the type of market (growth opportunity is paramount in growth markets; new or challenging responsibilities is paramount in mature markets).

   —The gap in creative leadership, executing for speed, and managing ‘collective intelligence’ must be addressed.

   —Employee engagement has suffered; companies are now trying to restore pride and trust.

5. The economic crisis and fewer existing business opportunities create a high demand on the global HR function to demonstrate greater adaptability.
   —HR will be an important link between corporate headquarters and overseas operations. 

   —HR is conducting too many initiatives, with mediocre outcomes.  Companies need to reboot their HR function and boost resources devoted to HR.

6. Economic uncertainties fundamentally change motivators that attract and retain employees.
   —There is a disconnect between what companies have to offer employees and what employees really value.
7. Human capital protectionism may continue to increase in many countries in non-tariff, nationalistic forms.
   
8. Global mobility of high-value workers continues as multinational companies restrict new hires and relocate talented employees from within their existing work force.
9. Companies that originate in emerging economies will continue to succeed in the global marketplace.
   
10. Increased demand for HR metrics may bring about a widely accepted set of analytic measures and methods (global standards) to describe, predict and evaluate the quality and impact of HR practices and the productivity of the work force.  However, globalization is also driving impetus toward the use of more metrics with greater cultural sensitivity.

How can HR do more to manage these trends?

First, Wallack says, as an HR professional, you must make sure your organization understands what globalization means to you, your company and your business sector — you must be the the one to advocate full understanding of what the drivers are. It’s important, too, to keep in mind that globalization means different things to different people across the world. Ernst & Young describes globalization in The New Mindset as “the level of a country’s integration with the world economy through the exchange of goods and services, movement of capital and finance, movement of labor, exchange of technology and ideas, and cultural integration.” Martin Wolf, in Why Globalization Works, sums it up more simply as, “economic integration across borders through markets.” And every person you ask will probably define it a bit differently.

A “global mindset” is often defined as a way of seeing the world and the globalization of markets, organizations and individuals. Developing a more global mindset enables your organization to be more effectively tackle functional, organizational, and cross-cultural boundaries and move forward.

Wallack offered some ideas to help organizations adopt a more global mindset:

• Global mobility: Deepen your employees’ knowledge pool by offering short-term, focused opportunities for individuals to work in new markets and geographies.
• Develop global leadership pipelines: There is a growing expectation for leaders to have work experience outside one’s country of origin; simply having an education that includes global topics is no longer enough. Travel is a strategic management development tool.
• Get involved in efforts to create global HR standards.
• As there is a higher demand on the global HR function to demonstrate greater adaptability, provide HR managers more exposure to and rotations in global business that they need to be effective internationally. Make HR the link between corporate headquarters and overseas operations.
• As far as talent management: Include nationalities and experience in your efforts to diversify talent in other functions and other industries. Increase the span of responsibilities and decision-making of employees.

You can find more information about Wallack and SHRM’s global work here.

Which of the global HR trends mentioned above (or others not mentioned) are you seeing in your own organization?

The last thing you might expect to hear when walking into a presentation about how to inspire creativity from your employees is: “Tell your employees to think inside the box”…and yet, that’s pretty much the advice Disney’s business program consultant, Scott Milligan, had for the audience when he presented at SHRM 2010 in San Diego last month. 

“We tell our cast members to think INSIDE the box,” Milligan boasted to the audience of HR professionals during his presentation, “Disney’s Approach to Inspiring Creativity”. (“Cast members,” by the way, is Disney’s term for employees.) After all, he reasoned, how creative is it, really, to tell people to “think outside the box” anymore? (Finally, someone said it!)

The other surprising thing about this idea of “thinking inside the box” is that it seems awfully practical and structured for a company that prides itself on the very idealistic notions of making magic happen and dreams come true, etc…And yet, this structured approach works for Disney.

Thinking inside the box, Milligan said, provides companies guidance and direction, helps them avoid wasting resources and keeps everyone focused.  But what is the box? As Milligan explained it, the box is your company’s organizational identity – who you are or what you intend to be – and it encompasses four things:

• Your Customers – Who are they? What do they need from you?
• Your Vision – What do you want to be?
• Your Mission – What do you want to do?
• Your Essence – How do we want people to feel when they experience your product or service?

Find Your Essence
A lot of companies, Milligan believes, leave essence out of the equation – and that, he explained, is an unfortunate oversight, especially when it comes to recruiting: In order to find the best people, hiring managers and recruiters must understand their company’s essence in order to seek out and identify the very people who share that essence.

As an example, he cited how Disney makes it a goal to create happiness for people. Milligan then challenged the audience to find their own companies’ essence, and look to that when hiring employees. 

(When considering your company’s essence, it might help of it to think of it in terms of how blogger Derrick Daye defines essence: ”…the heart and soul of a brand – a brand’s fundamental nature or quality. Usually stated in two or three words, a brand’s essence is the one constant across product categories and throughout the world.”)

Structure, Not Confinement
Again, while you might think that a company that tells its employees to think inside the box would be fostering a culture of confinement, discouraging creative thinking by setting up rules and restrictions, the box model actually serves the opposite purpose for Disney – and it can do the same for others as well.

“Within that box, companies can expand their identity,” Milligan said, explaining how the box model has enabled Disney to expand its brand identity - from being merely about cartoons to also encompassing live action features and then expanding to theme parks, hotels and resorts and then even on to cruise lines – all while staying focused on the mission to enable “magic” to happen.

What do you think? Does your company think “inside the box” as well? Is essence something that you talk about or communicate at your company? How does it play into attracting and engaging employees?