Gen Y, AKA the Millennial Generation, Echo Boomers or Trophy Kids, are individuals born from 1979 through 1994. Gen Y has been described as the generation in which nobody loses and often receives the tag of feeling entitled, being assertive communicators, wanting to make a difference in the world and having considerable flexibility in their transition between work and play. As smart, empowered and innovative as Gen Y'ers are, they are the TV/Computer generation and come with the stereo-type of a short attention span. Employers will do well to heed this information by learning how to continually keep Gen Y employees engaged and interested in their job and the company. There are very specific reasons Gen Y'ers change employers so frequently and the so-called short attention span is one of the key components to this. As much as employers expect the workforce to adapt to the needs of business, companies must tailor their employee engagement efforts, if they wish to retain top Gen Y talent.
Some hiring managers may ask the question Why should I cater to the Gen Y crowd? Why shouldn't they be expected to get in line with the needs of the business like every other employee? This is a fair question, to which the response would be To maximize their performance and retain the special talents this generation has to offer. As Boomers retire or reduce their schedules to part-time or consultation in nature, Gen X is numerically incapable of filling the vacuum. Exit roughly 70 million Baby Boomers. Gen X'ers only fill 46 million vacancies in the workforce. -Enter 70 million Gen Y'ers and you have a formula that heavily favors Gen Y.
In referencing the alleged short attention span of Gen Y'ers it isn't in regard to task completion but long-term corporate engagement. The intention here is not that Gen Y needs to be baby sat or coddled but that companies who require highly talented individuals (and they always do), will need to modify their retention tactics to fill the gap left by the Baby Boomers. And the gap most certainly will be filled by Gen Y! A few unique aspects to the Gen Y culture are critical to pay attention to. 1) They have grown up in a highly structured environment with an overload of planned activities, camps and other social engagements. If you have tried scheduling time with parents of a Gen Y kid, then you will know they must first check their child's activity calendar and you will be lucky to get on said calendar within the next month. Unlike Boomers and Gen X'ers, whose parents kicked them out of the house Saturday morning and said 'Don't come back until the sun goes down!' and they didn't require much prompting to follow these instructions. 2) Gen Y is used to overachieving and being in 'first place'. They have been brought up to believe that they can not fail. It is the 'everybody wins' generation and they were raised to believe there are no losers. Failure to them simply means there is a bug in the system. -Think in terms of a computer on this concept. 3) Gen Y'ers require stimulation and challenge on a continual basis. As much as they may have a short attention span, it is self preservation really, and in response to the overload of data we now receive via computer every day. Gen Y is used to scanning information quickly and disseminating what is needed from what is not...And then moving on to the next thing. They have become survivors in an evolving world.
Solution attitudes companies will want to embrace to be successful with Gen Y should include building greater structure around more frequent deadline driven goals and objectives; stepping up recognition at all phases of the organization for a variety of smaller, measurable accomplishments; and embracing sound bite dissemination of information, rather than fighting it. As much as Boomers and Gen X'ers may bristle at this sort of business environment, it works well for Gen Y and will not only optimize their performance but keep them coming back for more. Gen Y'ers can be motivated to embrace responsibility but when they have successfully met one challenge, they're ready to move on to the next level Now! Their sense of commitment and reliability may be lacking however, without the right incentive, which may remain one of the most significant pitfalls in employing this generation.
In summary, the model of highly successful businesses is those which are able to intuitively meet the laws of supply and demand and remain flexible to the changing needs of the American population. These same successful businesses will continue to thrive, as they understand how to hit the hot buttons with their Gen Y workforce. If employers are able to supply the right environment, Gen Y'ers will buy into it, stay and exceed the demands of the business.