Who are Generation Y?
Some key facts
Born between 1980 and the early 2000s.
The fastest growing employee segment. Will be 75% by 2020.
Known as ‘Generation Y’ or the ‘Internet Generation’.
Three key characteristics of Generation Y
1. Expert multitaskers
Pros: can juggle lots of different responsibilities at once.
Cons: are easily distracted.
What to do: establish clear goals. Make your expectations clear. Increase job variety.
2. Hyper-connected
Pros: high electronic literacy makes them natural online collaborators and networkers.
Cons: may lack face-to-face interpersonal skills such as listening and speaking.
What to do: provide coaching to help improve key interpersonal skills. Use online collaboration tools to encourage teamwork and engagement.
3. Highly tech-savvy
Pros: a natural aptitude for electronic and online communications such as email.
Cons: can get bored and disengaged if they can’t use current technology at work.
What to do: stay up to date with technology. Ask Generation Y for ideas on how technology can improve and streamline the work of the team. Set clear guidelines for appropriate use of technology at work.
Top tips for managers:
Be careful not to stereotype Generation Y.
Instead, talk to them and get to know their individual motivations and preferences.
Key things Generation Y want from their work environment
working with a manager I respect and can learn from.
working with like-minded people
having a good work-life balance
having a short commute
working for a socially responsible company
Five ways to manage Generation Y more effectively
1. Help them grow
Ongoing learning and professional development is important, so give them lots of opportunity for training and development. You could try mentoring programmes, rotating work assignments or work shadowing.
2. Give them responsibility
Generation Y crave new challenges and responsibility. Give them new challenges which will stretch them and enhance their skills.
3. Enable flexibility
Generation Y want flexibility in where and when they work.
69% believe office attendance is unnecessary on a regular basis.
80% say they would like to work from home for 30 to 70% of the time.
4. Give frequent feedback
Highlight their good work and outline areas they need to improve on. Generation Y also tend to benefit from a coaching rather than a directive style of management.
5. Provide teamwork opportunities
Generation Y are often team-oriented. Create opportunities for them to work in teams across other generations. Use the work environment to enhance team working with breakout spaces and places where people can collaborate.
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