US research indicates that organisations have less than six months to ‘prove’ to Generation Y personnel that their company is the best place for them.
But the research by Boston-based consultancy Novations Group also indicated that providing evidence of a clear training path is one way to curb the impatience of younger employees.
“Impatience is hardly a new phenomenon among employees in their 20s,” noted Novations executive consultant Tim Vigue. “But HR departments are seeing unusually rapid turnover among Gen Ys, or Millennials, and they’re not sure what to do about it.”
Providing a clear career path helps satisfy the Gen Y’s desire to learn and grow.
Vigue explains: “Gen Y’s have learned the importance of developing new skills over and above loyalty to an organization or job. As a result, Gen Y’s are quite vocal when they do not see enough opportunities for development.”
Gen Y attitudes were shaped by their upbringing, believes Vigue. “Gen Y parents taught them they’re special, that they can do anything, and as such should not settle for less than what they deserve.
“At the same time, their boomer and Gen X parents experienced downsizing and taught them that loyalty to an organization is outdated…that they need to look out for themselves first.”
Dynamic Transitions MD Judith Germain agrees that Gen Y has a different approach to life in the workplace.
“Generation Y workers tend to go by the ‘ask, learn and succeed’ approach whereas senior management (Baby Boomers and to some extent Generation X managers) are more akin to the ‘work long hours and learn approach’,” she says.
Germain is calling for UK businesses to be tougher on senior management who abdicate talent management to HR, saying that developing and managing talent must be led by senior management if it is to have sufficient impact.
