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Written by Buddy Hobart on September 8th, 2009
Last week we completed a corporate strategic plan for one of our clients. They are a 100 year old company and have grown tremendously over the past several years. Their goal is to continue this growth and triple the size of their business over the next three years.
During the planning process the conversation about Gen Y came up as a strategic initiative. Our client realizes that in order to grow they will need to attack some aggressive recruiting and retention strategies. This is really the first time that we had a client who made this a stand alone initiative. Over the years we have had many clients focus on talent acquisition, but this is the first time a client is focusing solely on Gen Y. In the past this was usually buried under a broader goal.
A recent article written by Business 24/7 stated that by 2025 over 75% of the global workforce will be Gen Y! The last of the baby boomers (1964) will be 61 in 2025. While Gen X will fill in the leadership and experience gap, there simply are not enough of them to make up for the retiring baby boomers. Gen Y will be called upon to fill in, even in locations and positions where they may not be ready or have the requisite experience.
Our client seemed to deeply understand this demographic reality. Not only are they focused on recruiting the right talent, they are also focusing on TRAINING their talent for this eventuality. ALSO, our client realizes how CRITICAL it will be to give the proper time and attention to their Gen X leaders. In a very short time experienced Gen X talent will be in HIGH DEMAND. If an organization wants to retain their best performers, the time to start is now.
Fortunately, these two initiatives do not have to be separate. The right performance management tools for Gen Y are also the right tools for Gen X (and Boomers!). Gen Y only wants what every generation of work wants. The good news is that Gen Y will force this positive change.
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