Yudu - September 2015

UNLOCKING Y TALENT

BONUS IDEA:

Give your employees the day off for their birthday. At the Center for Generational Kinetics, all employees get a paid day of vacation on their birthday. This is especially meaningful for Millennials, who often view their birthday as a national holiday!

important and valued by Millennials than a raise or pro- motion. We’ve also seen this ini- tiative come to life in informal lunches with leadership – which could be in small groups or one- on-one for top performers. The key is to open the dialogue for Millennials to learn from senior leaders, for senior leaders to meet with Millennials, and for execu- tives to better view their talent pipeline. This is a true win/win/win for the Millennial, executive, and company.

3. Give Millennials a chance to prove themselves

through stretch projects. A stretch project is a specific challenge that a Millennial requests or is assigned, leading to a specific outcome. A stretch project

FIVE GENERATIONS OF EMPLOYEES IN TODAY’S WORKFORCE

anagers and leaders are responsible for solving an unprece- dented challenge: up to five generations working side-by- side in their workforce. Each generation brings its own life stage, communication preferences, priorities, and more. Here is a quick overview of the five generations by birth years: • iGen, aka Generation Z: born 1996 and after • Millennials, aka Generation Y: born 1977 to 1995 • Generation X: born 1965 to 1976 • Baby Boomers: born 1946 to 1964 • Traditionalists: born 1945 and before Many converging trends have created today’s up-to-five-gen- eration workforce. These trends include: • People living longer, more active lives so they’re able to work longer

• Traditionalists and Baby Boomers not being in a financial posi- tion to retire

• Traditionalists and Baby Boomers wanting to work until an older age, as work has helped define them for decades

• Baby Boomers financially supporting their “adult” Millennial children into their late 20s and even 30s

• Generations potentially becoming shorter in duration as the rate of change increases in areas such as communication, tech use, etc.

• This all leads to more generations in a single workforce Managers and leaders who are able to understand, communi- cate, motivate, train, and retain four or five different generations at the same time are sought after in every industry. This is becoming a mission-critical skill, whether you’re in technology, healthcare, fi- nance, automotive, or retail.

50 Automotive Recycling | September-October 2015

should challenge a Millennial’s skillset and offer an opportunity for the Millennial to demonstrate his or her potential. The project might be an analysis of non-traditional competitors, creation of a new product or service, or a presentation on a new technology that has major potential impact on your business. 4. Make the first day unforgettable by doing some- thing unexpected and memorable. This shows Millennials you are truly excited they joined your team. Barnum Financial Group welcomes new employees by putting them on a pedestal, literally. On their first day, new employees have their picture taken standing on a stage with a backdrop featuring the company logo – similar to walking the red carpet at the Academy Awards. The photo is taken with the new hire’s camera phone so that they can post it to their social networks – and all their friends can see the celebrity welcome they received at their new job! 5. Show Millennials that you have a vision for their talent development. Millennials believe they have tal- ent and want you to help them unlock it. You do this by showing them your talent development plan or letting them create their own.

At The Center for Generational Kinetics, each employee identifies the areas where they want to grow and finds internal or external training that fits this area. They then take this training quarterly to grow in the areas that interest them and benefit the company.

Whether you are a manager, executive, entrepre- neur – a Baby Boomer, Gen Xer, or a Millennial – we believe our findings and insights will help you imme- diately. We know for a fact that every generation brings something different and valuable to the work- place and to the culture. The companies and organ- izations that embrace these generational differences the fastest grow stronger, innovate more quickly, and create a competitive advantage for themselves. Thank you for taking the lead to unlock the poten- tial of Millennials and increase the value of every generation in your workplace.