Addicted to new technology, seeking personal growth and anxious for greater flexibility at work – Generation Y charms recruiters as much as they perplex them. Yet the time for the next generation has arrived and now is the time for Canadian companies to open up to the expectations of young professionals who envisage being employed in new ways. Organizations that are rethought and corrected, flexible schedules, adjusted developments and compensation… Focus on essential measures.
It’s impossible to overlook a sociological phenomenon that goes so far as to disrupt companies’ operations. After the baby boomers, who are about to enjoy a well-earned retirement, and Generation X, now the majority of leaders in Canadian companies, Generation Y is taking its place in the world of work.
Although Generation Y workers represent only 23% of employees, their ranks will swell by 2020 to reach 40% of the overall number of workers. This is a sustained momentum which will take place in a context of the intensifying struggle by companies to recruit talent.
A sketch of Generation Y
While it is simplistic to deal with different personalities in the necessarily general guise of an entire generation, some details suggest themselves. As put by Marc Chartrand, member of the Order of Chartered Human Resources Advisors and partner of the firm PCI-Perrault Conseil: “young people of Generation Y are shopping for their jobs like their elders shop for a car: they question, compare and want them for the money. Other distinguishing features are that they are seeking work that is able to meet their goals for growth and development, both personally and professionally. They are also very comfortable with new technological tools and they discuss the question of their compensation openly. Their loyalty is granted only on condition of respect for their values. Above all, they are seeking the greatest possible flexibility within their company.” And he adds: “these young people are the product of their experiences – they are autonomous and independent, technologically in the forefront, used to getting everything quickly and open to the world."
The causes of evident differences between the Xs and the Ys, these details also provide information on the content of changes to be made within companies: immediate and effective recognition of skills, the possibility of rapid changes within the structure, greater autonomy conferred for performing assignments and other daily tasks… Much effort is now required to provide for companies as quickly as possible in view of sustainable and quality hiring.
Compensation in question
“People assume that for Generation Y financial issues are not a priority. But reality is more nuanced. Young people, here again, are concerned about flexibility, and focus on the different elements, that make up their overall compensation. They also have a great interest in the benefits they should receive and in the amount of time off they will be allowed”, explains Marc Chartrand. In short, they view their salary in a broader perspective. What is the key, faced with such a finding? Proposing innovative benefits, highlighting the achievements of each with personalized bonuses, discussed together, or providing rest days at the end of difficult or intense assignments. These are methods of compensation other than by simple systematic addition of a few dollars at the end of the year.
Another important topic is the amount of remuneration. When their elders waited patiently and relied on seniority in the hope of seeing their wages increase, members of Generation Y expect rapid progress, accurately and immediately reflecting their development within the company. “A young person 25 years old justifying a salary of $32,000 expects significant annual increases to allow for rapid progress to a salary of $45,000. If they do not receive these increases in your company, the will go elsewhere and you will then have trained them for others”, warns Marc Chartrand. How is this type of inconvenience to be avoided? By counting on regular increases, concurrent with the successes and development of the young employee within the company. Have results been achieved and new assignments entrusted? This should be reflected without delay.
A strong need for development
Increased skills, extra responsibilities, rethought and corrected job descriptions… There again, while Generation X could wait patiently for its bad news, the Ys are moving ahead and seeking promotion soon after having demonstrated their skills. “If they are changing jobs frequently, it’s because they feel that they will find better elsewhere, and faster”, says Marc Chartrand. It is therefore up to companies to review their policies on talent management, and to build career paths that can satisfy these new needs, using personalized training programs, clear career prospects and new challenges to be met.
Revisiting organization of work
“Generation Y is relatively unresponsive to the rules that govern their work habits in business. It’s not a question of seeing any systematic rebellion against authority, but to understand that any rule must, for those of this generation, make sense and allow for creativity”, says Cheryl Cran, president of the consulting firm Synthesis at Work. Allowing room for ideas and initiatives, encouraging, showing and suggesting, rather than ordering – this is the right road to take for these young people that wish to express their talent without being constrained. This is a shift in direction that can be expressed in a number of ways – whether by stating a goal and leaving complete freedom as to how it is to be accomplished, or opting for discussion rather than setting up strict directives where only management has the right to speak, their are several opportunities to offer Generation Y an inclination to autonomy or self-accountability.
“More than rules and being tried out with current managerial procedures, Generation Y is seeking flexibility and relaxation in general”, adds Cheryl Cran. It is a flexibility which must be expressed even in the pace of work. Far from exact and repetitive schedules, young people from Generation Y are demanding pliable working conditions that can be adapted case by case to the amount of work necessary to achieve their goals. It is a flexibility that may include working remotely – using remote work applications suits their requirements and can be an ideal compromise.
Concern for corporate responsibility, the importance of innovation… While the list of recommendations to attract and retain talents from Generation Y could apply at many other points, it is primarily about flexibility, dynamic evolution that is able for growth and especially a dialogue that must lead Canadian companies at all times.
It’s impossible to overlook a sociological phenomenon that goes so far as to disrupt companies’ operations. After the baby boomers, who are about to enjoy a well-earned retirement, and Generation X, now the majority of leaders in Canadian companies, Generation Y is taking its place in the world of work.
Although Generation Y workers represent only 23% of employees, their ranks will swell by 2020 to reach 40% of the overall number of workers. This is a sustained momentum which will take place in a context of the intensifying struggle by companies to recruit talent.
A sketch of Generation Y
While it is simplistic to deal with different personalities in the necessarily general guise of an entire generation, some details suggest themselves. As put by Marc Chartrand, member of the Order of Chartered Human Resources Advisors and partner of the firm PCI-Perrault Conseil: “young people of Generation Y are shopping for their jobs like their elders shop for a car: they question, compare and want them for the money. Other distinguishing features are that they are seeking work that is able to meet their goals for growth and development, both personally and professionally. They are also very comfortable with new technological tools and they discuss the question of their compensation openly. Their loyalty is granted only on condition of respect for their values. Above all, they are seeking the greatest possible flexibility within their company.” And he adds: “these young people are the product of their experiences – they are autonomous and independent, technologically in the forefront, used to getting everything quickly and open to the world."
The causes of evident differences between the Xs and the Ys, these details also provide information on the content of changes to be made within companies: immediate and effective recognition of skills, the possibility of rapid changes within the structure, greater autonomy conferred for performing assignments and other daily tasks… Much effort is now required to provide for companies as quickly as possible in view of sustainable and quality hiring.
Compensation in question
“People assume that for Generation Y financial issues are not a priority. But reality is more nuanced. Young people, here again, are concerned about flexibility, and focus on the different elements, that make up their overall compensation. They also have a great interest in the benefits they should receive and in the amount of time off they will be allowed”, explains Marc Chartrand. In short, they view their salary in a broader perspective. What is the key, faced with such a finding? Proposing innovative benefits, highlighting the achievements of each with personalized bonuses, discussed together, or providing rest days at the end of difficult or intense assignments. These are methods of compensation other than by simple systematic addition of a few dollars at the end of the year.
Another important topic is the amount of remuneration. When their elders waited patiently and relied on seniority in the hope of seeing their wages increase, members of Generation Y expect rapid progress, accurately and immediately reflecting their development within the company. “A young person 25 years old justifying a salary of $32,000 expects significant annual increases to allow for rapid progress to a salary of $45,000. If they do not receive these increases in your company, the will go elsewhere and you will then have trained them for others”, warns Marc Chartrand. How is this type of inconvenience to be avoided? By counting on regular increases, concurrent with the successes and development of the young employee within the company. Have results been achieved and new assignments entrusted? This should be reflected without delay.
A strong need for development
Increased skills, extra responsibilities, rethought and corrected job descriptions… There again, while Generation X could wait patiently for its bad news, the Ys are moving ahead and seeking promotion soon after having demonstrated their skills. “If they are changing jobs frequently, it’s because they feel that they will find better elsewhere, and faster”, says Marc Chartrand. It is therefore up to companies to review their policies on talent management, and to build career paths that can satisfy these new needs, using personalized training programs, clear career prospects and new challenges to be met.
Revisiting organization of work
“Generation Y is relatively unresponsive to the rules that govern their work habits in business. It’s not a question of seeing any systematic rebellion against authority, but to understand that any rule must, for those of this generation, make sense and allow for creativity”, says Cheryl Cran, president of the consulting firm Synthesis at Work. Allowing room for ideas and initiatives, encouraging, showing and suggesting, rather than ordering – this is the right road to take for these young people that wish to express their talent without being constrained. This is a shift in direction that can be expressed in a number of ways – whether by stating a goal and leaving complete freedom as to how it is to be accomplished, or opting for discussion rather than setting up strict directives where only management has the right to speak, their are several opportunities to offer Generation Y an inclination to autonomy or self-accountability.
“More than rules and being tried out with current managerial procedures, Generation Y is seeking flexibility and relaxation in general”, adds Cheryl Cran. It is a flexibility which must be expressed even in the pace of work. Far from exact and repetitive schedules, young people from Generation Y are demanding pliable working conditions that can be adapted case by case to the amount of work necessary to achieve their goals. It is a flexibility that may include working remotely – using remote work applications suits their requirements and can be an ideal compromise.
Concern for corporate responsibility, the importance of innovation… While the list of recommendations to attract and retain talents from Generation Y could apply at many other points, it is primarily about flexibility, dynamic evolution that is able for growth and especially a dialogue that must lead Canadian companies at all times.