Get the Book Today
Get your copy of Gen Y Now and start learning how to be a better leader. If you need one copy for yourself or many copies for your team, we can accommodate your needs.
Leaders Should Learn About Employees 5-9 Activities to Recruit and Retain the Best Talent
Written by Buddy Hobart on April 19th, 2010
We recently discussed 5-9 jobs and how that might look in the future. After that post, we had a great deal of discussion as to how to strategically channel that type of energy for everyone’s benefit.
I do not believe that most traditional managers would be supportive of their employees’ 5-9 efforts. Many Gen X and Boomer managers would see this (and possibly rightfully so) as a threat. Most managers would be wary of their employees’ strayed focus and commitment.
My question to these managers would be “why are your people starting 5-9 jobs?” One of the first things we talk about in Gen Y Now is the need to create understanding then awareness. My guess is that these managers would be completely unaware of the lack of interesting and meaningful work for their employees during the 9-5 jobs.
I believe that if managers really begin to understand and become more self-aware, they would be seen as “leaders.” Once these leaders understand what is going on and become more self-aware, then they would understand the need to provide interesting and meaningful work. Once this realization is made, I believe Gen Y would focus some of their 5-9 energy into their 9-5 job.
For the sake of argument, let’s say that is not true. Let’s say that many Gen Yers will continue on their 5-9 path regardless of the positive leadership shown during their 9-5 job. Now what should the leader do?
One of the cornerstones of retaining Gen Y is understanding their vision. We talked a great deal about how leaders need to understand Gen Y’s long-term vision and constantly link the organization’s long-term vision to the individual’s vision.
Many Gen Yers will be pursuing their vision with 5-9 activities. A good leader will understand this and will try to learn more about the employee’s efforts. The reality is that whether or not the manager supports the after-hour activities, the after-hour activities will still occur. It will be important for leaders not to “put their heads in the sand” and pretend it is not happening.
By learning more about the 5-9 activities, leaders will be better able to align their workforce and channel their team’s energy appropriately. Ignoring the issue will not make it go away. Understanding it, and maybe even supporting it, just might help leaders recruit and retain the best talent.
Can You Opt Out of Hiring Gen Y?
Written by Buddy Hobart on April 9th, 2010
In the last few days, I have heard a few managers from two different organizations talking about “not hiring twenty-somethings” for job openings that have occurred. Each of these managers have cited a “lack of basic common courtesy” as the reason for not bringing them on board. When we probed into the issue deeper, we realized that each of these folks were repeating input that they’ve received from their team. In other words, their tenured employees simply didn’t want to work with “twenty-somethings.”
After a bit of research, we found that this is not unusual. Frankly, this type of thinking floors me. Not to be rude, but how can anyone allow the inmates to run the asylum? So we are not going to add talent to the team because other team members find it difficult to adapt? By 2025, 75% of the world’s workforce will be Gen Y. Are we going to simply refuse to evolve? I once heard the opposite of evolution is extinction.
Managers (I will not call them leaders) who refuse to infuse their team with new talent and ideas are dooming their team and organization to extinction. It is a statistical certainty that Generation Y will become the workforce of the future. There is no getting around it. Failing to incorporate this talented cohort into the organization is one of the worst managerial decisions a leader can make.
Since it is a statistical certainty that members of Generation Y are the future employees, why would anyone avoid trying to attract and retain the best talent available? I once heard that only a fool would fail to plan for inevitability.
I really don’t have any heartburn over the team members not wanting to hire twenty-somethings, but I have serious heartburn over the manager. A true leader would listen to the feedback and then figure out a strategy to get his team aligned appropriately. A leader certainly would not allow anyone, for any reason, to be discriminated against. A true leader would find a way to blend the talent across his or her team.