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Work-life balance. Flexible work hours. Corporate mission. What is the point of focusing on these non-traditional hiring topics? Two letters – X and Y. Generation X (born between 1963 and 1980) and Generation Y (born after 1980) are establishing a more prominent position within the employment landscape as the Baby Boomers prepare to exit the workforce. The shift to these younger generations is prompting a new focus in hiring tactics.
The Baby Boomer generation was cut from the cloth of work first and foremost, climb the corporate ladder and retire with a healthy pension plan. Those days are all but gone. Today, younger workers are creating a paradigm shift in employee hiring based on their priorities. We have observed this accelerating transition firsthand over the past 2 years.
We work with companies in many market spaces, industries and geographic locations. The hiring landscape has already changed and companies that do not frequently hire may be unaware of the new focus. Certain patterns exist today that are universally consistent when hiring Gen X and Gen Y employees.
--WORK-LIFE BALANCE--
Perhaps there is no more profound shift in values than this topic. Gen X, and even more so Gen Y, is focused on a position's time requirements. This isn't to say the younger generations are not hard workers. On the contrary, they put tremendous effort into their work, but they also place a high value on their personal time away from the office. This balanced approach has been mistakenly interpreted by the Baby Boomers as a “slacker mentality.”
The younger generations search for opportunities where they can grow their skill set without having to sacrifice every other area of their life. As an employer, it is imperative to understand this desired balance. Positions that lack the needed support, tools or technology often will be a red flag to the Gen X or Y candidate. The reward for accepting such a position clearly has to outweigh the perceived imbalance it may cause in their life.
--SKILLS PATH--
Most people are familiar with the term “career path.” The Baby Boomer generation experienced a marketplace where preordained opportunities existed to climb the corporate ladder within the same company. Today's younger generations generally do not have such consistent opportunities before them. More importantly, many of the younger generation do not subscribe to the same loyalty as the Baby Boomers.
Gen X and Y candidates are looking for a “skills path.” They desire to understand what skills are needed to be successful in the position today. The long-term incentive is to understand what skills they will personally develop or acquire within the company. They prefer a horizontal management structure and respond to personal skill development. Titles are out. Responsibilities are in. It is imperative to share with the candidates the responsibilities they will inherit as their skills become more advanced over their tenure with the company.
--SHERPA MANAGERS--
As mentioned, the younger generations have a fairly horizontal view of the org chart – whether accurate or not. We have seen this approach wreak havoc in an office dominated by Baby Boomers. The Baby Boomers expect an almost military-style chain of command while the younger generations have a more fluid approach to positions of authority.
Gen X and Y highly value the manager-employee relationship. They view their manager as a guide – an experienced Sherpa to make sure they are on the right path. In debriefing Gen X and Y employees after they are hired, the vast majority consistently mention the impression of their manager as having the most influence on their decision to join the company. The hiring manager needs to connect with the Gen X and Y candidate on a personal level during the interview process. Clearly the manager-employee relationship is a two-way street so this approach affords the hiring manager a beneficial insight into the candidate also.
--WORK SMARTER NOT HARDER--
These generations are plugged-in to technology from Bluetooth to Blackberries. They have spent much of their working careers, even entire lives for some, having Internet information available to them at a moment's notice. This fact can work against employers in that these younger candidates are savvy about Internet job boards and have a tendency to always have an eye out for new opportunities.
However, the upside of this technological ability is far greater. A subtle item we have observed among Gen X and Y candidates is their strategic thinking. Their youthful age belies the fact that they have sharp minds for understanding macro markets. We have seen these younger candidates ask amazingly insightful questions that make the hiring managers pause during the interview. We have also seen strong candidates pass on opportunities because they were skeptical of the hiring company's shallow business plans.
The Gen X workforce will be ascending into prominent management positions at a brisk pace over the next 5 years. The next wave of change will occur in the management ranks as they shift the hiring process away from the Baby Boomer approach. The aforementioned topics will move to the forefront of the hiring process as the newly crowned Gen X managers hire the Gen Y employees. Until that happens, progressive companies will perceive these current shifts and adjust their hiring tactics in advance.
Demographics research, the statistical study of a population, shows that people born within similar time periods share common beliefs, morals, expectations as well as work and spending habits.
By using this categorising philosophy we gain an insight in to why some people find a brand name product a must have whilst others find it a turn off; and why some consider a hierarchical workplace reporting structure an imperative whilst others consider it to be alien and counter productive.
The post world war II Baby boomers born between 1945 and 1962 have been well documented and discussed, but there have been numerous demographic eras since this lauded group, each bringing a new focus to the employment and marketing landscapes.
Generation Xers were born between 1965 and 1980 and are now aged between 25 and 40 years old. These post baby boomers were brought up on television, Pacman and personal computers and having been raised in the 1970s and 1980s saw Australia undergo a greed is good phase that they do not want to see repeated.
Generation X has little loyalty to organisations instead loyalty is to their career which they see as portable and advanced by working with several organisations. Their desire is to work on stimulating projects and to be managed by good leaders who are inclusive, collaborative and can build cohesive teams. Generally, Generation Xers stays with an organisation three to five years.
From a marketing perspective this group is characterised by being technology savvy, sceptical of advertising claims and attracted to personal style rather than designer price tags.
Generation Yers, aka net-genners, millennials, digital natives, echo boomers were born between 1978 and 1994.
According to Peter Sheehan, author of Generation Y: Thriving and Surviving, Generation Y is “inherently contrary, have technology flowing through their veins; have little respect for the age-old conformities of marriage, 2.5 kids and staying with the same employer for life, and they're obsessed with pace. They love stimulation and they thrive on intense experiences, and are committed, passionate and diligent employees if they're suitably engaged”.
From a marketers viewpoint they are cashed-up and brand-conscious, spend money on DVDs, mobile phones and iPods, which is why advertisers and hi-tech manufacturers are bending over backwards to attract them.
They differ from previous generations having been raised in dual-income and single-parent families, having already had considerable financial responsibility and been heavily involved in family purchases being integral to the decision making and purchasing process.
They are also a cashed up and willing to spend group who are highly cynical of traditional advertising methods and can see right through the hype and tactics.
From an employers viewpoint Generation Y workers are less motivated by money and more so by personal fulfilment - not because they don't want the money but because it's a given that they're going to get it. The traditional start at the bottom and work your way to the top is not a philosophy they follow preferring instead to move straight to the top, whilst keeping their relaxed lifestyles high on the list of priorities.
They are also likely to change employers more often, on average every two to three years, in the pursuit of new opportunities and challenges. This does not mean that they do not work hard and give 100%, but in return for their loyalty and working 10 -12 hours days they may request a two month holiday, long weekends off, or time in lieu and if you don't agree, you're likely to lose them.
Generation Y's know what they want and they're willing to take risks to make it happen.
The most recently identified demographic group is the Millennium Generation, those born between 1980 and the present, that are also known as Generation W.
This newly emerging group (with dates that overlap Generation Y) are ambitious, focused and prepared to put in the hard yards to achieve great things and believe Generation X and Y's were a drug-taking, promiscuous generation. In recent research this group's top three “in” things are: being drug-free, eating healthily and being a virgin.
This group use x-ray like vision to see through marketing and clearly understands the tactics behind it. An increasing number of Generation W are anti brand as evidenced by the growing number of highly successful “soft non promoted brands” that have developed.
To have any chance of being accepted by this discerning group your product and brand must demonstrate substance, honesty, transparency and foster a sense of community.
As with Generation Y (with whom they chronologically overlap) they are technology, internet and SMS savvy and see these as integral to their lives and lifestyles rather than mere luxuries.
As employees they want to work for ethical companies that are achieving not only the company's ambition but also society's broader good and they easily transition from one employer to another.
These generational demographic evolutions are constantly reshaping our society, our values, our workplaces. What was true for the baby boomers is now the antithesis of what is true for Generation W's. None of the generational groups are more correct, it is rather a matter of understanding the core beliefs of the person, or group, before you and framing your intentions appropriately.