New Generations at Work Whitepaper Mark McCrindle

New Generations at Work: Attracting, Recruiting, Retraining & Training Generation Y foreword Over฀the฀last฀couple฀of฀years฀the฀realities฀of฀massive฀generational฀ change฀have฀dawned฀on฀many฀business฀leaders.฀While฀the฀issues฀ of฀ an฀ ageing฀ population฀ and฀ a฀ new฀ attitude฀ to฀ work฀ have฀ literally฀ been฀emerging฀for฀a฀generation,฀it฀has฀been฀a฀sudden฀awakening฀ for฀ many฀ organisations.฀ In฀ fact฀ dealing฀ with฀ these฀ demographic฀ changes฀ and฀ specifically฀ recruiting,฀ retaining฀ and฀ managing฀ Generation฀Y฀ has฀ emerged฀ as฀ one฀ of฀ the฀ biggest฀ issues฀ facing฀ new฀generations฀at฀work employers฀today.฀฀ So฀ in฀ 2006฀ Mark฀ McCrindle฀ of฀ McCrindle฀ Research฀ was฀ commissioned฀ to฀ conduct฀ some฀ groundbreaking฀ research฀ into฀ Generation฀ Y฀ and฀ their฀ attitudes฀ to฀ work.฀ Mark฀ McCrindle฀ is฀ regarded฀as฀one฀of฀the฀Nation’s฀foremost฀social฀researchers฀and฀a฀ leading฀authority฀on฀Australia’s฀changing฀generations.฀฀ This฀whitepaper฀came฀as฀the฀result฀of฀the฀need฀for฀significant฀original฀ research฀ into฀ Generation฀ Y;฀ ฀ both฀ qualitative฀ and฀ quantitative.฀ There฀ is฀ a฀ lot฀ written฀ about฀ Generation฀Y฀ but฀ much฀ of฀ it฀ is฀ mere฀ observation฀ or฀ opinion.฀ Therefore฀ McCrindle฀ Research฀ surveyed฀ 3000฀Australians฀in฀all฀States฀and฀Territories฀and฀benchmarked฀the฀ findings฀of฀Generation฀Y฀against฀the฀older฀generations.฀฀This฀was฀ followed฀up฀with฀a฀series฀of฀in-depth฀focus฀groups฀of฀Generation฀Y’s฀ which฀were฀moderated฀by฀Mark฀McCrindle฀and฀assessed฀against฀ ongoing฀research.฀In฀addition฀this฀whitepaper฀has฀been฀referenced฀ against฀the฀latest฀Australian฀Bureau฀of฀Statistics฀data฀making฀this฀ study฀one฀of฀the฀largest฀and฀certainly฀the฀most฀up฀to฀date฀analysis฀ of฀Australia’s฀Generation฀Y. We฀ believe฀ that฀ this฀ complimentary฀ whitepaper฀ will฀ be฀ invaluable฀ for฀you฀in฀this฀critical฀endeavour,฀and฀at฀this฀time฀of฀great฀change. 2 www.mccrindle.com.au Copyright฀©฀2006฀McCrindle฀Research table of contents 1.฀Introduction฀ ฀ The฀Ageing฀Population ฀ Transitioning฀Generations ฀ Increasing฀options ฀ Redefined฀Work฀life new฀generations฀at฀work 2.฀The฀4฀Big฀Shifts: 3.฀Defining฀the฀Generations ฀ A:฀The฀Definitive฀Classification: ฀ ฀ Builders ฀ ฀ Baby฀Boomers ฀ ฀ Generation฀X ฀ ฀ Generation฀Y ฀ ฀ Generation฀Z ฀ B:฀The฀Generations฀defined฀sociologically 4.฀Generation฀Y-฀Myths฀busted: ฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀ Generation฀Y฀is฀irrelevant:฀it’s฀an฀ageing฀population ฀ Generation฀Y฀is฀just฀a฀label:฀they’re฀the฀same฀as฀the฀youth฀of฀my฀day ฀ Generation฀Y฀is฀just฀a฀passing฀fad-฀they’ll฀grow฀out฀of฀it! 5.฀The฀Research฀Findings: ฀ Attracting฀Generation฀Y ฀ Recruiting฀Generation฀Y ฀ Retaining฀Generation฀Y ฀ 6.฀฀Developing฀a฀Retention฀Strategy. ฀ The฀Top฀5฀Factors: ฀ Work-Life฀Balance ฀ Workplace฀Culture ฀ Job฀Role ฀ Management฀Style ฀ Training฀and฀Development 7.฀฀A฀Final฀Word Copyright฀©฀2006฀McCrindle฀Research www.mccrindle.com.au 3 introduction Demography,฀not฀technology฀is฀creating฀the฀future. new฀generations฀at฀work It฀is฀essential฀for฀business฀leaders฀to฀do฀more฀than฀just฀observe฀ the฀changing฀times฀-฀they฀must฀understand฀the฀changing฀times.฀ When฀it฀comes฀to฀keeping฀up฀with฀the฀trends฀and฀preparing฀for฀ the฀ future฀ the฀ focus฀ tends฀ to฀ be฀ on฀ technological฀ shifts.฀ Clearly฀ the฀ ever-changing฀ technologies฀ in฀ business฀ and฀ in฀ life฀ are฀ redefining฀ our฀ world.฀Yet฀ interestingly฀ it฀ is฀ the฀ sociological฀ and฀ demographical฀ changes฀ that฀ have฀ more฀ profound฀ implications฀ on฀ our฀ future฀ than฀ even฀ the฀ massive฀ technological฀ ones.฀ For฀ example฀ the฀ paperless฀ office฀ is฀ possible฀ technologically,฀ but฀ psychologically฀people฀are฀tactile฀and฀at฀times฀still฀like฀to฀hold฀a฀ report,฀handle฀a฀manual,฀and฀open฀a฀book.฀While฀telecommuting฀ and฀ virtual฀ offices฀ have฀ long฀ been฀ touted฀ as฀ the฀ new฀ way฀ of฀ work,฀they฀can฀never฀replace฀the฀timeless฀social฀need฀to฀work฀in฀ groups,฀meet฀physically฀and฀interact฀with฀others. The฀ key฀ to฀ business฀ success฀ therefore฀ is฀ to฀ understand฀ these฀ human฀traits,฀attitude฀shifts,฀social฀trends฀and฀the฀mindset฀of฀the฀ ever-changing฀customer฀and฀employee. Occasionally in history massive demographic change combines with relentless technological change and within a generation society altogether changes. Today we are living in such an era. 4 www.mccrindle.com.au Copyright฀©฀2006฀McCrindle฀Research As the present now will later be past, the order is rapidly fadin’. For the times they are a-changin’.1 Bob Dylan 1964. the 4 big shifts For฀managers฀there฀are฀four฀big฀shifts฀that฀have฀radically฀redefined฀the฀workforce฀and฀their฀recruitment,฀ retention,฀and฀training฀strategies.฀They฀are:฀the฀ageing฀population;฀the฀transitioning฀generations;฀the฀ increasing฀options฀for฀workers;฀and฀changing฀tenure. new฀generations฀at฀work 1. The Ageing Population Australia฀like฀most฀developed฀nations฀is฀experiencing฀a฀rapid฀ageing฀of฀the฀population.฀฀The฀median฀ age฀of฀an฀Australian฀in฀1976฀was฀28.3฀compared฀to฀36.4฀today2฀and฀in฀a฀decade฀it฀will฀be฀40.13.฀So฀in฀ the฀space฀of฀4฀decades฀the฀median฀age฀of฀an฀Australian฀will฀have฀increased฀nearly฀12฀years฀and฀the฀ impacts฀of฀this฀across฀the฀society฀are฀huge.฀฀ Nowhere฀ are฀ the฀ implications฀ more฀ significant฀ than฀ in฀ employment.฀ An฀ ageing฀ population฀ leads฀ directly฀to฀an฀ageing฀workforce.฀Australia’s฀population฀aged฀15–64฀years,฀which฀encompasses฀much฀ of฀ the฀ working-age฀ population,฀ is฀ projected฀ to฀ decline฀ as฀ a฀ proportion฀ of฀ the฀ total฀ population.฀This฀ ageing฀is฀true฀even฀though฀the฀population฀is฀continuing฀to฀grow.฀For฀example฀although฀the฀number฀of฀ Australians฀aged฀15–64฀years฀will฀increase฀over฀the฀next฀50฀years฀(from฀13.5฀million฀today฀to฀around฀ 16฀million฀in฀2051)฀the฀proportion฀of฀the฀total฀population฀aged฀15–64฀years฀will฀decline฀from฀66%฀in฀ 2006฀to฀around฀57%฀in฀2051.4 This฀ageing฀workforce฀is฀even฀more฀evident฀in฀some฀industries฀and฀occupations.฀For฀example฀while฀ the฀ median฀ age฀ of฀ a฀ worker฀ today฀ averaged฀ across฀ all฀ industries฀ is฀ 39,฀ for฀ a฀ Bookkeeper฀ it฀ is฀ 43฀ and฀for฀a฀registered฀nurse฀it฀is฀45.฀Planning฀now฀to฀deal฀with฀this฀ageing฀workforce฀is฀a฀key฀role฀of฀ managers. ฀ Employer Insights: •฀ Greater฀ focus฀ is฀ required฀ to฀ effectively฀ attract฀ and฀ recruit฀ young฀ people฀ who฀ relative฀ to฀ the฀ total฀ population฀ are฀ less฀ numerous.฀ Dedicated฀ campaigns฀ specifically฀ targeting฀ the฀ interests฀and฀attitudes฀of฀this฀unique฀cohort฀does฀bring฀about฀more฀effective฀outcomes. •฀ However฀just฀focussing฀on฀Generation฀Y฀won’t฀solve฀the฀problem.฀In฀an฀ageing฀population฀ accommodating฀ an฀ older฀ workforce฀ by฀ setting฀ up฀ the฀ right฀ flexibility฀ and฀ Occupational฀ Health฀&฀Safety฀requirements฀is฀an฀essential฀part฀of฀the฀strategy.฀฀ 2. Transitioning Generations Australia฀is฀currently฀experiencing฀the฀biggest฀generational฀shifts฀that฀have฀been฀seen฀for฀6฀decades.฀ It฀ was฀ 1946฀ that฀ began฀ the฀ birth฀ of฀ the฀ largest฀ generation฀ (as฀ a฀ percentage฀ of฀ population)฀ that฀ Australia฀has฀ever฀seen:฀the฀Baby฀Boomers.฀So฀this฀year฀there฀will฀be฀more฀60th฀birthdays฀than฀ever฀ before฀with฀over฀218,000฀Australians฀turning฀60.฀Next฀year฀the฀number฀will฀rise฀by฀40,000฀with฀over฀ 258,000฀turning฀606.฀The฀point฀is฀that฀over฀the฀next฀18฀years฀this฀huge฀generation฀will฀all฀sail฀past฀60฀ and฀ease฀out฀of฀the฀workforce฀leaving฀a฀very฀significant฀labour฀and฀management฀void.฀฀ Copyright฀©฀2006฀McCrindle฀Research www.mccrindle.com.au 5 Now is the time to begin the succession planning in businesses of all sizes. The฀complexity฀of฀Australia’s฀changing฀age฀structure฀is฀affirmed฀by฀these฀latest฀ABS฀statistics:฀the฀ proportion฀of฀the฀population฀aged฀under฀15฀years฀is฀projected฀to฀fall฀from฀20%฀today฀to฀around฀14%฀ by฀2051.฀Over฀the฀same฀period฀the฀proportion฀of฀the฀population฀aged฀65฀years฀and฀over฀will฀double,฀ increasing฀from฀14%฀today฀to฀more฀than฀28%฀in฀2051.7฀ In฀ a฀ growing฀ economy฀ there฀ is฀ a฀ need฀ to฀ both฀ fill฀ the฀ ongoing฀ labour฀ demands฀ as฀ well฀ as฀ replace฀ retiring฀or฀downshifting฀staff.฀At฀the฀strategic฀level฀there฀is฀the฀need฀to฀ensure฀that฀the฀knowledge฀and฀ leadership฀of฀the฀Baby฀Boomers฀is฀effectively฀transferred฀to฀the฀emerging฀Generation฀X฀managers,฀ and฀the฀commencing฀Generation฀Y฀employees. ฀ With฀ all฀ these฀ generations฀ mixing฀ in฀ the฀ workforce฀ at฀ all฀ levels฀ there฀ is฀ a฀ need฀ to฀ understand฀ the฀ generational฀ differences฀ and฀ get฀ the฀ most฀ out฀ of฀ this฀ generational฀ diversity.฀ Having฀ a฀ mix฀ of฀ generations฀ in฀ the฀ workplace฀ is฀ nothing฀ new฀ but฀ traditionally฀ the฀ different฀ age฀ groups฀ have฀ been฀ stratified฀ with฀ the฀ older฀ people฀ in฀ the฀ senior฀ managerial฀ positions฀ while฀ the฀ younger฀ people฀ were฀ new฀generations฀at฀work at฀the฀front฀desk,฀on฀the฀factory฀floor,฀or฀out฀in฀the฀field.฀Not฀so฀today.฀The฀new฀reality฀is฀one฀where฀ teams฀of฀diverse฀ages฀work฀on฀a฀project,฀where฀older฀leaders฀manage฀across฀several฀generations,฀or฀ increasingly฀where฀young฀graduates฀manage฀older฀workers.฀฀ Without฀ an฀ effective฀ understanding฀ of฀ the฀ different฀ values฀ and฀ perspectives฀ that฀ each฀ generation฀ brings฀this฀is฀a฀breeding฀ground฀for฀conflict.฀Indeed฀of฀all฀of฀the฀diversity฀in฀the฀modern฀workplace฀it฀is฀ the฀generation฀gaps฀that฀are฀causing฀most฀of฀the฀angst.฀We฀have฀had฀a฀few฀decades฀dealing฀with฀the฀ gender฀diversity,฀and฀cultural฀diversity฀is฀nothing฀new฀in฀multicultural฀Australia฀but฀the฀emerging฀and฀ disparate฀generations฀have฀brought฀new฀issues฀to฀the฀fore. Employer Insights: •฀ Age฀ is฀ just฀ a฀ number฀ today.฀ In฀ the฀ workplace฀ it’s฀ not฀ about฀ age฀ or฀ life฀ stage฀ but฀ one’s฀ mindset฀ and฀ understanding฀ that฀ matters.฀ In฀ our฀ study฀ while฀ 27%฀ of฀ those฀ aged฀ under฀ 26฀stated฀that฀they฀preferred฀working฀with฀colleagues฀of฀a฀similar฀age,฀32.7%฀said฀that฀a฀ mix฀of฀different฀ages฀was฀better฀and฀a฀further฀35.1%฀said฀that฀age฀doesn’t฀matter฀at฀all.฀ Therefore฀create฀a฀culture฀where฀interaction฀can฀take฀place,฀where฀those฀of฀different฀ages฀ can฀mix฀and฀thus฀where฀intergenerational฀perspectives฀are฀shared. •฀ The฀generation฀gaps฀need฀to฀be฀bridged฀from฀both฀sides.฀While฀Baby฀Boomers฀and฀Xers฀ must฀ better฀ understand฀ and฀ engage฀ with฀ the฀ emerging฀ Generation฀Y’s,฀ it฀ is฀ imperative฀ that฀the฀Gen฀Y’s฀are฀facilitated฀to฀better฀connect฀with฀the฀older฀staff฀and฀customers.฀This฀ is฀ particularly฀ the฀ case฀ with฀ younger฀ leaders฀ managing฀ teams฀ comprising฀ some฀ older฀ workers. 3. Increasing options: It฀has฀never฀been฀harder฀to฀attract,฀recruit฀and฀retain฀staff.฀The฀unemployment฀rate฀is฀the฀lowest฀that฀it฀ has฀been฀for฀a฀generation,฀sitting฀at฀5.1%฀which฀is฀nearly฀half฀what฀it฀was฀in฀the฀early฀1990’s.8฀฀As฀we฀ have฀seen฀this฀employees’฀market฀is฀unlikely฀to฀change฀with฀an฀ageing฀population฀and฀transitioning฀ generations.฀฀ Further฀creating฀this฀employees’฀market฀is฀the฀increased฀number฀of฀options฀available฀today฀when฀it฀ comes฀to฀vocation.฀There฀are฀more฀post-compulsory฀education฀options฀than฀ever฀for฀young฀people,฀ opportunities฀to฀travel,฀to฀work฀overseas,฀or฀to฀retrain฀for฀yet฀another฀career.฀The฀statistics฀bear฀this฀ out:฀those฀aged฀20-24฀are฀three฀times฀more฀likely฀to฀change฀jobs฀in฀a฀year฀than฀those฀aged฀45-54.฀In฀ fact฀nearly฀1฀in฀4฀of฀those฀aged฀20-24฀change฀jobs฀in฀any฀given฀year.9฀฀ 6 www.mccrindle.com.au Copyright฀©฀2006฀McCrindle฀Research For Generation Y the old adage has become their credo: “we don’t live to work - we work to live” This฀huge฀decline฀in฀tenure฀is฀often฀put฀down฀to฀a฀character฀flaw฀in฀Generation฀Y.฀Yet฀the฀cause฀is฀not฀ a฀lack฀of฀loyalty,฀nor฀a฀poor฀work฀ethic฀but฀simply฀a฀response฀to฀the฀changed฀times.฀They฀have฀come฀ of฀ age฀ in฀ an฀ era฀ where฀ there฀ is฀ little฀ job฀ security,฀ a฀ competitive฀ environment,฀ and฀ no฀ employment฀ guarantees฀and฀so฀they฀have฀just฀played฀to฀the฀new฀rules฀of฀the฀employment฀world.฀By฀understanding฀ this฀we฀can฀respond฀to฀the฀situation฀and฀overcome฀the฀massive฀expense฀of฀this฀high฀turnover. ฀ Employer Insights: •฀ This฀ high฀ job฀ mobility฀ is฀ not฀ just฀ a฀ factor฀ of฀ being฀ young,฀ but฀ also฀ a฀ factor฀ of฀ the฀ new฀ career฀expectations,฀today’s฀market฀opportunities฀and฀a฀solid฀job฀market฀created฀by฀these฀ economic฀and฀demographic฀times.฀In฀other฀words฀don’t฀expect฀the฀Gen฀Y’s฀to฀“get฀over฀it”฀ and฀settle฀down.฀฀We’re฀talking฀lifestyle฀not฀life฀stage. •฀ The฀ world฀ for฀ Generation฀ Y฀ has฀ become฀ incentivised.฀ Customer฀ loyalty฀ is฀ bought฀ new฀generations฀at฀work with฀ frequent฀ buyer฀ programs,฀ points,฀ or฀ discounts.฀ ฀ And฀ so฀ is฀ employee฀ loyalty.฀ ฀ By฀ understanding฀ and฀ meeting฀ their฀ needs,฀ and฀ motivating฀ through฀ relevant฀ reward฀ and฀ recognition฀strategies,฀retention฀can฀be฀heightened. •฀ Mentoring฀is฀a฀great฀vehicle฀for฀values฀sharing฀and฀knowledge฀transfer.฀However฀rather฀ than฀just฀the฀traditional฀“older฀manager฀mentors฀younger฀employee”฀set฀up,฀some฀reverse฀ mentoring฀ where฀ the฀ knowledge฀ flows฀ both฀ ways.฀ Let฀ the฀ older฀ share฀ experience฀ and฀ expertise฀while฀the฀younger฀can฀give฀insights฀into฀engaging฀with฀their฀generation฀and฀the฀ new฀times. 4. Redefined Work life: The฀21st฀century฀life฀is฀rarely฀linear฀and฀sequential.฀Traditionally฀one฀would฀complete฀the฀education฀ stage,฀move฀into฀the฀working฀years,฀and฀perhaps฀after฀a฀career฀change฀or฀two฀head฀into฀retirement.฀ These฀days฀the฀lives฀of฀Generation฀Y฀are฀more฀of฀a฀mosaic฀of฀different฀roles,฀phases฀and฀careers.฀ Today฀the฀education฀phase฀extends฀well฀into฀adulthood,฀and฀throughout฀the฀work฀life.฀This฀multi-career฀ generation฀may฀retrain฀several฀times฀with฀these฀careers฀taking฀them฀to฀other฀states฀and฀countries.฀฀ Therefore฀ workers฀ today฀ look฀ to฀ have฀ multiple฀ needs฀ met฀ at฀ work:฀ sure฀ it’s฀ about฀ achieving฀ task฀ outcomes฀and฀receiving฀financial฀rewards,฀but฀it’s฀also฀about฀fun,฀social฀connection,฀training,฀personal฀ development,฀greater฀fulfilment฀and฀even฀environmental฀sustainability. Employer Insights: •฀ Ensure฀ that฀ the฀ triple฀ bottom฀ line฀ is฀ more฀ than฀ a฀ vague฀ ideal.฀ Generation฀Y฀ truly฀ want฀ to฀help฀achieve฀profit฀outcomes,฀but฀environmental฀considerations,฀and฀socio-economic฀ concerns฀mean฀that฀they฀are฀looking฀to฀make฀a฀difference฀to฀more฀than฀just฀the฀financial฀ bottom฀line.฀By฀running฀a฀values-based฀organisation,฀making฀societal฀contributions,฀and฀ empowering฀staff฀to฀actively฀support฀causes฀that฀they฀believe฀in,฀a฀company฀can฀become฀ a฀ corporate฀ citizen.฀ Increased฀ commitment฀ from฀ Gen฀ Y฀ staff฀ often฀ comes฀ directly฀ by฀ achieving฀congruency฀with฀the฀values฀and฀resonance฀with฀their฀causes. •฀ Rather฀ than฀ just฀ announcing฀ the฀ company฀ values,฀ or฀ supporting฀ the฀ traditional฀ charity,฀ empower฀the฀employees฀to฀create฀and฀own฀the฀values,฀and฀choose฀where฀and฀how฀any฀ charitable฀contributions฀will฀be฀distributed. Every organisation, every product, and every brand is just one generation away from extinction. Copyright฀©฀2006฀McCrindle฀Research www.mccrindle.com.au 7 defining the generations It฀ is฀ self฀ evident฀ that฀ unless฀ we฀ can฀ understand฀ and฀ meet฀ the฀ needs฀ of฀ each฀ new฀ cohort฀ of฀ customers,฀as฀well฀as฀effectively฀engage฀with฀each฀new฀era฀of฀employees฀then฀we฀will฀edge฀towards฀ irrelevancy.฀฀฀ So who comprise the different generations, and how are they defined? Historically฀ a฀ generation฀ has฀ been฀ defined฀ as฀ “the฀ average฀ interval฀ of฀ time฀ between฀ the฀ birth฀ of฀ 10 parents฀and฀the฀birth฀of฀their฀offspring” .฀Traditionally฀this฀places฀a฀generation฀at฀around฀20฀years฀in฀ span฀and฀this฀matches฀the฀generations฀up฀to฀and฀including฀the฀Baby฀Boomers.฀However฀while฀in฀the฀ past฀this฀has฀served฀sociologists฀well฀in฀analysing฀generations,฀it฀is฀irrelevant฀today.฀฀ Firstly,฀because฀cohorts฀are฀changing฀so฀quickly฀in฀response฀to฀new฀technologies,฀changing฀career฀ and฀study฀options,฀and฀because฀of฀shifting฀societal฀values,฀two฀decades฀is฀far฀too฀broad฀to฀contain฀all฀ new฀generations฀at฀work the฀people฀born฀within฀this฀time฀span. Secondly,฀ ฀ the฀ time฀ between฀ birth฀ of฀ parents฀ and฀ birth฀ of฀ offspring฀ has฀ stretched฀ out฀ from฀ two฀ decades฀to฀more฀than฀three.฀In฀1976฀the฀median฀age฀of฀a฀woman฀having฀her฀first฀baby฀was฀24฀while฀ 11 today฀it฀is฀just฀over฀30 .฀฀ So฀today฀a฀generation฀refers฀to฀a฀cohort฀of฀people,฀born฀and฀shaped฀by฀a฀particular฀span฀of฀time.฀And฀ the฀span฀of฀time฀has฀contracted฀significantly. However฀when฀it฀comes฀to฀defining฀and฀labelling฀generations฀we฀must฀avoid฀subjective฀observations฀or฀ marketing฀spin.฀In฀fact฀the฀generations฀as฀outlined฀below฀and฀widely฀referenced฀are฀demographically฀ and฀sociologically฀defined.฀฀ Australia’s Generations - The Definitive Classification description born Age 61+ Pop’n฀(mill) (%฀of฀Pop’n) 3.5m 17% Builders Before 1946 Boomers 1946 –1964 42 – 60 5.3m 26% Generation X 1965 –1979 27 – 41 4.4m 21.5% Generation Y 1980 –1994 12 - 26 4.2m 20.5% Generation฀Z฀ 1995฀–฀2009฀ Under฀12฀ 3.1m฀฀฀ 15% ABS Population Pyramid 2006 & McCrindle Research Study 2006 Baby Boomers: The฀key฀event฀that฀formed฀the฀social฀marker฀of฀the฀generations฀in฀the฀western฀world฀was฀the฀end฀of฀ the฀Second฀World฀War.฀Rarely฀in฀history฀is฀there฀an฀event฀that฀so฀shapes฀a฀culture.฀The฀years฀after฀ the฀war฀were฀the฀mirror฀opposite฀of฀the฀war฀years:฀the฀Depression฀and฀war฀period฀were฀replaced฀by฀ economic฀growth฀and฀full฀employment.฀฀Austerity฀was฀overtaken฀by฀technological฀advancement฀and฀ increasing฀freedom.฀Yet฀even฀more฀significantly฀in฀the฀years฀after฀the฀war฀there฀was฀an฀unparalleled฀ baby฀ boom฀ and฀ immigration฀ programme฀ and฀ this฀ 19฀ year฀ population฀ boom฀ literally฀ birthed฀ a฀ generation.฀฀ The฀Australian฀Bureau฀of฀Statistics฀defines฀the฀Baby฀Boomers฀as฀“those฀who฀were฀born฀in฀Australia฀ or฀overseas฀during฀the฀years฀1946฀to฀1964”.12฀In฀fact฀the฀fertility฀rate฀began฀its฀rapid฀rise฀in฀1946,฀ peaking฀in฀1961฀and฀by฀1965฀it฀had฀dropped฀just฀below฀the฀1946฀level.฀Therefore฀the฀baby฀boomer฀ demographic฀is฀clearly฀defined. 8 www.mccrindle.com.au Copyright฀©฀2006฀McCrindle฀Research Employer Insights: •฀ Boomers฀have฀lived฀through฀incredible฀change฀and฀have฀adapted฀to฀(and฀in฀many฀cases฀ created)฀the฀change.฀They฀are฀therefore฀a฀very฀adaptive฀and฀flexible฀generation฀and฀this฀ can฀ be฀ seen฀ in฀ everything฀ from฀ their฀ embracing฀ of฀ technology฀ (even฀ if฀ they฀ couldn’t฀ all฀ programme฀their฀VCR’s)฀to฀their฀collaborative฀management฀style.฀Therefore฀it฀is฀important฀ that฀ age฀ stereotypes฀ don’t฀ replace฀ real฀ research.฀ This฀ generation฀ are฀ likely฀ to฀ remain฀ in฀ leadership฀ positions฀ for฀ longer฀ than฀ any฀ previous฀ generation฀ and฀ their฀ experience฀ combined฀with฀their฀adaptivity฀will฀keep฀them฀relevant. Generation X: Generation฀X฀is฀also฀clearly฀demographically฀defined฀as฀those฀born฀from฀1965฀to฀1979฀inclusive.฀In฀ 1965฀the฀number฀of฀births฀began฀to฀increase฀from฀the฀Post-baby฀boomer฀low฀hitting฀a฀peak฀in฀the฀ early฀1970’s฀before฀dropping฀back฀to฀another฀low฀in฀1979.฀Just฀to฀show฀how฀solid฀this฀definition฀of฀ Generation฀X฀is฀in฀Australia,฀in฀1965฀there฀were฀223,000฀births฀and฀after฀a฀rise฀and฀fall฀there฀were฀in฀ new฀generations฀at฀work 1979฀also฀223,000฀births.13฀The฀peak฀year฀was฀1972฀when฀there฀were฀268,711฀births-฀the฀highest฀ number฀of฀births฀ever฀in฀Australia฀and฀a฀record฀that฀will฀stand฀for฀decades฀to฀come.฀By฀comparison฀ in฀2005฀there฀were฀only฀254,341฀births฀even฀though฀the฀population฀was฀54%฀larger฀than฀it฀was฀in฀ 1972.14 Originally฀labelled฀as฀the฀Baby฀Busters,฀Post฀Boomers,฀or฀the฀Slackers฀Generations฀only฀the฀label฀ Generation฀ X฀ (or฀ Xer)฀ has฀ stuck.฀ It฀ was฀ in฀ 1991฀ right฀ at฀ the฀ time฀ that฀ this฀ new฀ generation฀ were฀ emerging฀ that฀ Canadian฀ author฀ Douglas฀ Coupland฀ wrote฀ a฀ book฀ which฀ he฀ entitled฀“Generation฀ X:฀ Tales฀for฀an฀accelerated฀culture”.฀Ironically฀the฀book฀was฀about฀a฀generation฀that฀defy฀labels฀–฀“just฀ call฀us฀X”฀he฀said,฀yet฀the฀label฀has฀stuck,฀and฀spored฀the฀labels฀for฀Generation฀Y฀and฀Z฀also! Employer Insights: •฀ Generation฀ X฀ is฀ the฀ perfect฀ bridge฀ generation.฀They฀ understand฀ and฀ usually฀ adopt฀ the฀ work฀ethic฀and฀focus฀of฀the฀Boomers฀(remember฀the฀Xers฀began฀their฀economic฀life฀when฀ jobs฀were฀harder฀to฀get฀and฀keep฀in฀the฀early฀1990’s฀during฀which฀there฀was฀a฀recession฀ and฀much฀downsizing฀of฀the฀workforce฀–฀very฀different฀to฀the฀near-full฀employment฀today).฀ Yet฀they฀are฀closer฀in฀age฀to฀the฀Gen฀Y’s฀and฀so฀can฀connect฀somewhat฀with฀their฀culture,฀ views,฀and฀even฀values. Generation Y: Generation฀Y฀ are฀ those฀ born฀ from฀ 1980฀ to฀ 1994฀ inclusive.฀ Again฀ the฀ definition฀ is฀ demographically฀ reliable.฀In฀1980฀the฀number฀of฀births฀again฀began฀to฀increase฀gradually฀hitting฀a฀peak฀of฀264,000฀ births฀in฀1992฀–฀the฀highest฀number฀of฀birth฀since฀1972.฀The฀births฀then฀dropped฀away฀through฀the฀ rest฀of฀the฀1990’s฀before฀beginning฀a฀recovery฀in฀2002฀which฀signals฀the฀start฀of฀Generation฀Z. There฀have฀been฀many฀attempts฀to฀give฀alternative฀labels฀to฀Generation฀Y฀from฀the฀trendy฀“Millennials”฀ and฀the฀“Dot.Com฀generation”,฀to฀the฀more฀disparaging฀acronym฀KIPPERS฀(Kids฀In฀Parents฀Pockets฀ Eroding฀Retirement฀Savings!).฀But฀the฀global฀label฀that฀has฀stuck฀is฀Generation฀Y,฀and฀perhaps฀after฀ Generation฀Z฀there฀will฀be฀the฀opportunity฀for฀some฀more฀creative฀nomenclature. Copyright฀©฀2006฀McCrindle฀Research www.mccrindle.com.au 9 Employer Insights: •฀ While฀derided฀as฀fickle,฀self-focussed,฀and฀transient฀the฀reality฀is฀that฀they฀just฀reflect฀their฀ times.฀Economic฀cycles฀come฀and฀go,฀jobs฀aren’t฀guaranteed,฀and฀profits฀are฀seemingly฀ pre-eminent฀-฀so฀it฀is฀not฀an฀inherent฀selfishness฀but฀a฀response฀to฀the฀corporate฀realities.฀ When฀managers฀step฀from฀behind฀the฀corporate฀image฀and฀build฀staff฀rapport฀and฀relate฀ to฀individuals฀then฀loyalty฀and฀commitment฀from฀Gen฀Y฀can฀indeed฀be฀garnered. Generation Z: As฀the฀birth฀rate฀at฀the฀end฀of฀Generation฀Y฀picked฀up฀in฀1995฀we฀have฀the฀beginnings฀of฀Generation฀ Z.฀Marketers฀are฀tempted฀to฀begin฀a฀generation฀at฀a฀key฀year฀like฀say฀2000.฀฀However฀there฀is฀no฀ demographic฀or฀sociological฀justification฀for฀such฀date฀picking.฀It฀is฀the฀birth฀rates฀in฀addition฀to฀the฀ social฀changes฀and฀trends฀that฀give฀a฀solid฀basis฀to฀generational฀definitions. new฀generations฀at฀work Employer Insights: •฀ Generation฀Z฀are฀almost฀exclusively฀the฀children฀of฀Generation฀X.฀And฀so฀the฀Generation฀ Z’s฀ are฀ powerful฀ players฀ in฀ today’s฀ work฀ culture฀ as฀ the฀ maternity฀ &฀ paternity฀ leave,฀ childcare฀options,฀and฀the฀rostering฀flexibility฀offered฀to฀their฀parents฀are฀critical฀retention฀ factors฀to฀the฀Generation฀Xers.฀Expect฀the฀politics฀of฀child฀care,฀parental฀leave,฀and฀paid฀ maternity฀leave฀to฀continue฀to฀dominate฀employment฀debates. 10 www.mccrindle.com.au Copyright฀©฀2006฀McCrindle฀Research The Generations defined sociologically15 Generation฀X Born฀1965-1979 Aged฀late฀20’s฀&฀30’s Generation฀Y Born฀1980-1994 Aged:฀Teens฀and฀20’s William฀McMahon Gough฀Whitlam Malcolm฀Fraser Bob฀Hawke Paul฀Keating John฀Howard Iconic Technology TV฀1956,฀ Audio฀Cassette฀1962 Colour฀TV฀1975 VCR฀1976 Walkman฀1979 IBM฀PC฀1981 Internet,฀Email,฀SMSing DVD฀1995 Play฀Station/X-Box Music Elvis Beatles Rolling฀Stones INXS Nirvana Madonna Eminem Brittany฀Spears Puff฀Daddy ET Hey฀Hey฀Its฀Saturday MTV฀ Titanic Pay฀TV Reality฀TV Prime฀Ministers TV฀&฀Movies Easy฀Rider The฀Graduate Jaws Popular฀Culture Flare฀Jeans Mini฀Skirts Barbie,฀Frisbee฀1959 Rollerblades Hyper฀colour Torn฀Jeans Body฀Piercing Baseball฀caps Men’s฀cosmetics Social฀Markers/ Landmark฀Events Decimal฀currency฀1966 Neil฀Armstrong฀1969 Vietnam฀War฀1965-1973 Cyclone฀Tracy฀1974 Advance฀Australia฀Fair฀‘74 Challenger฀explodes฀‘86 Haley’s฀Comet฀1986 Stock฀Market฀crash฀1987 Berlin฀Wall฀down฀1989 Newcastle฀earthquake฀‘89 Thredbo฀disaster฀1997 Columbine฀shootings฀1999 New฀Millennium฀2000 September฀11,฀2001 Bali฀Bombing฀2002 Influencers Evidential Experts Pragmatic Practitioners Experiential Peers Training฀focus Technical Data/evidence Practical Case฀studies/applications Emotional Stories/participative Learning฀format Formal Structured Relaxed Interactive Spontaneous Multi-sensory Round-table฀style Relaxed฀ambience Café฀฀Style Music฀and฀Multi-modal Learning฀ environment Classroom฀style Quiet฀atmosphere Sales฀&฀Marketing Mass/traditional฀media Above฀the฀Line Direct/targeted฀media Below฀the฀line Viral/electronic฀media Through฀the฀friends Purchase฀ influences Brand-loyal Authorities฀ Brand-switchers Experts No฀brand฀loyalty Friends Financial฀values Long-term฀needs Cash฀and฀credit Medium-term฀goals Credit-savvy Ideal฀Leaders Command฀&฀Control Thinkers Copyright฀©฀2006฀McCrindle฀Research Short-term฀wants Credit-dependent Coordination฀&฀Cooperation Doers Consensus฀&฀ Collaborative Feelers www.mccrindle.com.au 11 new฀generations฀at฀work Baby฀Boomers Born฀1946-1964 Aged฀40’s฀&฀50’s generation y - myths busted ฀ When฀assessing฀any฀different฀cohort฀or฀group,฀it฀is฀important฀that฀the฀differences฀are฀not฀overstated,฀ but฀nor฀must฀we฀brush฀over฀real฀differences.฀In฀dealing฀with฀the฀intergenerational฀workforce฀there฀are฀ a฀number฀of฀fallacies฀that฀are฀raised฀and฀that฀must฀be฀addressed:฀฀ “Generation Y is irrelevant: it’s about engaging with an ageing population” As฀discussed฀it฀is฀an฀ageing฀population฀as฀shown฀by฀many฀measures฀from฀the฀increasing฀median฀ age฀to฀the฀pending฀retirement฀of฀many฀Baby฀Boomers฀and฀this฀is฀precisely฀why฀Generation฀Y฀is฀so฀ relevant. Enormous: While฀ there฀ are฀ increasing฀ numbers฀ of฀ older฀ people฀ as฀ a฀ percentage฀ of฀ population,฀ it฀ must฀ be฀ remembered฀ that฀ Generation฀ Y฀ are฀ still฀ an฀ enormous฀ generation฀ comprising฀ more฀ than฀ 1฀ in฀ 5฀ new฀generations฀at฀work Australians.฀Yes฀the฀population฀pyramid฀is฀beginning฀to฀look฀more฀rectangular฀but฀for฀now฀there฀are฀a฀ massive฀4.2฀million฀Generation฀Y’s฀in฀Australia.฀ Employment This฀is฀the฀very฀age฀group฀either฀entering฀employment฀or฀in฀the฀education฀system฀from฀which฀they฀will฀ emerge฀into฀employment.฀From฀an฀employment฀perspective฀the฀20฀–฀26฀year฀olds฀have฀a฀labour฀force฀ participation฀rate฀of฀around฀90%฀which฀is฀second฀only฀to฀those฀in฀their฀30’s฀and฀40’s.16฀฀฀ Extrapolation: From฀a฀trend฀analysis฀this฀is฀the฀emerging฀generation฀of฀workers฀and฀they฀will฀continue฀to฀be฀the฀main฀ generation฀of฀workers฀for฀at฀least฀two฀decades.฀In฀20฀years฀even฀the฀youngest฀Baby฀Boomers฀will฀be฀ hitting฀retirement฀age,฀closely฀followed฀by฀the฀oldest฀of฀the฀Gen฀Xers฀but฀the฀Gen฀Y’s฀will฀then฀be฀in฀ the฀prime฀of฀their฀careers. Education: Greater฀ sophistication฀ is฀ needed฀ when฀ engaging฀ with฀ Generation฀Y.฀We฀ are฀ dealing฀ with฀ the฀ most฀ formally฀educated฀generation฀ever.฀High฀school฀retention฀rates฀are฀hovering฀near฀an฀all-time฀high฀with฀ 77.1%฀of฀year฀10฀students฀going฀on฀to฀complete฀Year฀12.17฀฀After฀completing฀Year฀12฀almost฀half฀of฀all฀ students฀go฀on฀to฀University฀and฀another฀quarter฀study฀at฀TAFE.18 ฀So฀hype฀and฀superficiality฀won’t฀ cut฀it฀with฀this฀educated฀generation. Expenditure: From฀ an฀ economic฀ perspective฀ this฀ generation฀ is฀ growing฀ in฀ importance฀ as฀ they฀ move฀ into฀ employment฀and฀their฀wealth฀accumulation฀years.฀As฀customers,฀even฀now฀they฀punch฀above฀their฀ economic฀weight฀because฀beyond฀spending฀their฀own฀money฀they฀influence฀government฀spending,฀ corporate฀spending,฀and฀even฀many฀of฀their฀parents’฀purchasing฀decisions. 12 www.mccrindle.com.au Copyright฀©฀2006฀McCrindle฀Research “I’m not trying to cause a big sensation. I’m just talkin’ ‘bout my generation.” The Who, 1965. “Generation Y is just a label: they’re the same as the young people of my day” It฀is฀interesting฀that฀the฀Pete฀Townsend฀authored฀hit฀“My฀Generation”฀that฀became฀an฀anthem฀for฀the฀ Baby฀Boomers฀in฀their฀teenage฀years฀has฀over฀the฀last฀few฀years฀been฀re-recorded฀by฀the฀Gen฀X฀ bands฀Oasis฀and฀Greenday,฀and฀even฀the฀Generation฀Y฀singer฀Hillary฀Duff.฀Its฀lyrics฀highlight฀the฀ageold฀generation฀gaps฀that฀are฀felt฀by฀every฀cohort฀of฀young฀people.฀So฀how฀does฀Generation฀Y฀differ฀ from฀the฀other฀generations,฀and฀from฀the฀twenty-something’s฀of฀the฀1980’s฀or฀the฀1960’s? Age: Children nowadays are tyrants- they gobble their food, contradict their parents, and tyrannise their teachers! Socrates, 425BC19฀ Obviously฀ the฀ age฀ or฀ life-stage฀ of฀ this฀ generation฀ separates฀ them฀ from฀ the฀ older฀ generations.฀The฀ new฀generations฀at฀work challenge฀of฀managing฀the฀young฀and฀bridging฀the฀generation฀gaps฀has฀been฀with฀us฀for฀millennia฀as฀ illustrated฀by฀this฀Socrates฀quote. Being฀young฀they฀have฀different฀priorities฀to฀older฀generations.฀For฀example฀the฀Australian฀Bureau฀ of฀Statistics฀shows฀that฀Generation฀Y฀is฀the฀most฀likely฀to฀rent฀and฀the฀least฀likely฀to฀have฀children฀ compared฀to฀any฀older฀generation.฀The฀point฀is฀that฀people฀operate฀in฀different฀ways฀because฀of฀their฀ age.฀ However฀ age฀ is฀ not฀ the฀ sole฀ reason฀ for฀ generational฀ behaviours฀ otherwise฀ teenagers฀ today฀ would฀be฀indistinguishable฀from฀teenagers฀of฀a฀generation฀ago.฀Yet฀this฀is฀clearly฀not฀the฀case,฀and฀it฀ is฀because฀life฀stage฀is฀just฀one฀of฀three฀broad฀factors฀that฀differentiate฀the฀generations.฀฀ Conditions: The฀current฀economic,฀social,฀and฀political฀conditions฀which฀we฀all฀live฀under฀actually฀further฀divide฀ the฀generations.฀The฀same฀conditions฀act฀upon฀people฀of฀different฀ages฀in฀different฀ways.฀This฀is฀the฀ whole฀point฀of฀Marc฀Prensky’s฀oft฀referenced฀paper฀Digital฀natives,฀Digital฀Immigrants20:฀while฀anyone฀ can฀ send฀ a฀ text฀ message฀ or฀ access฀ a฀ pod฀ cast,฀ Generation฀Y฀ have฀ been฀ exposed฀ to฀ these฀ new฀ options฀during฀their฀formative฀years฀and฀so฀the฀digital฀language฀and฀technology฀is฀almost฀their฀first฀ language.฀They฀ are฀ technological฀“natives”฀ compared฀ to฀ say฀ the฀ Baby฀ Boomer฀“digital฀ immigrants”฀ who฀migrate฀to฀the฀latest฀technology.฀฀ Experiences: Experiences฀ that฀ occur฀ during฀ the฀ formative฀ childhood฀ and฀ teenage฀ years฀ also฀ create฀ and฀ define฀ differences฀between฀the฀generations.฀These฀social฀markers฀create฀the฀paradigms฀through฀which฀the฀ world฀is฀viewed฀and฀decisions฀are฀made.฀฀Baby฀Boomers฀were฀influenced฀by฀the฀advent฀of฀the฀TV,฀ Rock฀and฀Roll,฀the฀Cold฀War,฀Vietnam฀War,฀the฀threat฀of฀nuclear฀war,฀and฀the฀decimal฀currency.฀Xers฀ saw฀in฀the฀Personal฀Computer,฀AIDS,฀single฀parent฀families,฀the฀growth฀in฀multiculturalism,฀and฀the฀ downsizing฀of฀companies.฀Generation฀Y’s฀have฀lived฀through฀the฀age฀of฀the฀internet,฀cable฀television,฀ September฀ 11,฀ globalisation,฀ and฀ environmentalism.฀ Such฀ shared฀ experiences฀ during฀ one’s฀ youth฀ unite฀and฀shape฀a฀generation.฀฀ There is an ancient saying that bears much truth: “People resemble their times more than they resemble their parents”. Copyright฀©฀2006฀McCrindle฀Research www.mccrindle.com.au 13 “Give me a child until he is seven, and I will show you the man” Traditional Jesuit saying “Generation Y is just a passing fad- they’ll grow out of it!” Another฀ mistake฀ is฀ to฀ view฀ generational฀ characteristics฀ as฀ merely฀ a฀ life฀ stage,฀ or฀ fad฀ that฀ they฀ will฀ outgrow฀ as฀ they฀ age.฀This฀ was฀ said฀ of฀ Generation฀ X฀ -฀ that฀ the฀ high฀ percentage฀ of฀ their฀ income฀ considered฀ disposable฀ (70%),฀ the฀ constant฀ changing฀ of฀ jobs,฀ and฀ residence,฀ their฀ high฀ priority฀ on฀ work-life฀balance฀etc฀were฀behaviours฀that฀they฀would฀eventually฀outgrow.฀However฀with฀the฀leadingedge฀ Xers฀ now฀ in฀ their฀ early฀ 40’s฀ there฀ is฀ little฀ change฀ in฀ these฀ areas.฀What฀ has฀ been฀ proved฀ is฀ that฀values,฀attitudes,฀and฀priorities฀are฀established฀and฀identifiable฀early฀in฀life.฀Generations฀do฀not฀ change฀over฀time฀to฀look฀identical฀to฀how฀their฀parents฀looked฀at฀the฀same฀age฀but฀rather฀a฀generation฀ is฀a฀product฀of฀their฀current฀age,฀their฀times,฀and฀importantly฀the฀formative฀technologies฀and฀social฀ markers฀that฀uniquely฀shaped฀them. Keep฀in฀mind฀that฀this฀employees฀market฀of฀today฀where฀it฀is฀competitive฀to฀attract฀and฀retain฀good฀staff฀ new฀generations฀at฀work is฀a฀creation฀of฀both฀a฀solid฀economy฀and฀changing฀demography.฀฀Therefore฀these฀new฀employment฀ realities฀ won’t฀ disappear฀ as฀ soon฀ as฀ the฀ economy฀ slows฀ -฀ because฀ the฀ demography฀ shows฀ that฀ demand฀ for฀ staff฀ will฀ outstrip฀ supply฀ for฀ decades฀ to฀ come.฀ For฀ example฀ while฀ our฀ population฀ hit฀ 20.5฀million฀in฀February฀2006,฀the฀population฀growth฀rate฀is฀now฀relatively฀low.฀In฀fact฀the฀growth฀of฀ Australia’s฀population฀is฀projected฀to฀slow฀down฀even฀further฀during฀the฀next฀50฀years,฀from฀1%฀per฀ year฀over฀the฀next฀ten฀years฀to฀0.2%฀per฀year฀between฀2041฀and฀2051.21 Employer Insights: •฀ Adapt฀our฀management฀and฀recruitment฀strategies฀to฀better฀engage฀the฀new฀generations฀ rather฀than฀expecting฀them฀to฀conform฀to฀old฀styles. •฀ Generational฀trends฀are฀not฀like฀a฀pendulum฀that฀swings฀back฀and฀forth.฀Their฀focus฀on;฀ work/life฀balance,฀flexibility,฀flat฀structures,฀social฀environment,฀fun฀culture,฀and฀access฀to฀ information฀reveals฀permanent฀priorities. 14 www.mccrindle.com.au Copyright฀©฀2006฀McCrindle฀Research the research findings To฀ ensure฀ that฀ our฀ analysis฀ of฀ Generation฀ Y฀ was฀ accurate฀ a฀ representative฀ sample฀ of฀ working฀ Australians฀were฀surveyed฀and฀3000฀surveys฀were฀completed.฀฀The฀responses฀to฀the฀31฀questions฀ were฀ then฀ collated฀ and฀ analysed.฀ Also฀ 32฀ Generation฀Y฀ employees฀ were฀ interviewed฀ in฀ research฀ groups฀ to฀ validate฀ the฀ quantitative฀ findings฀ and฀ to฀ gain฀ further฀ explanation.฀The฀ following฀ findings฀ were฀based฀on฀this฀extensive฀research. Attracting Generation Y Generation Y don’t seek a job as much as they seek an opportunity They฀have฀multiple฀expectations฀of฀an฀organisation฀-฀it฀isn’t฀just฀the฀job฀description฀but฀the฀workplace฀ culture,฀the฀variety,฀fun,฀training,฀management฀style,฀and฀flexibility฀that฀drives฀them. When฀ seeking฀ a฀ position฀ 37.5%฀ preferred฀ a฀ larger฀ company฀ of฀ more฀ than฀ 50฀ staff฀ compared฀ with฀ new฀generations฀at฀work 27.3%฀of฀Baby฀Boomers. In฀another฀part฀of฀this฀study฀a฀panel฀of฀Gen฀Y’s฀reviewed฀5฀pages฀of฀career฀classifieds฀and฀selected฀ over฀100฀of฀the฀most฀appealing฀jobs฀based฀on฀the฀advertising.฀฀As฀expected฀many฀responded฀to฀the฀ recognised฀brands฀of฀larger฀employers.฀Yet฀size฀alone฀didn’t฀define฀an฀employer฀of฀choice฀but฀rather฀ perceived฀opportunity/challenge,฀as฀well฀as฀enjoyment/variety/lifestyle,฀which฀were฀often฀offered฀by฀ small฀employers฀and฀sometimes฀even฀non-profit฀organisations.฀฀ Why did you select the career advertisement chosen? “Well฀known฀brand”฀ “Well฀recognised฀organisation”฀ “Great฀opportunity...promotion”฀ “Secure฀and฀credible฀to฀work฀at” “A฀challenging฀role” Interestingly฀ salary฀ alone฀ wasn’t฀ a฀ drawcard฀ and฀ out฀ of฀ the฀ 100+฀ ads฀ selected,฀ remuneration฀ was฀ only฀mentioned฀a฀few฀times฀by฀the฀Gen฀Y’s.฀The฀fun,฀interest,฀variety฀and฀ease฀of฀application฀were฀all฀ regularly฀mentioned. What attracted you to the job advertisement? “Sounds฀really฀interesting”฀ “Picture฀of฀an฀employee฀enjoying฀himself”฀ “The฀photo฀caught฀my฀attention฀-฀looks฀fun”฀ “Easy฀to฀apply฀-฀just฀go฀online” “Slick...professional…stands฀out” “Sounds฀like฀a฀fun฀place฀to฀work” Generation฀Y฀are฀inundated฀with฀job฀ads฀so฀in฀this฀competitive฀labour฀market฀employers฀need฀to฀offer฀a฀ compelling฀Employee฀Value฀Proposition.฀The฀Gen฀Y’s฀wanted฀a฀clear฀reason฀to฀join฀the฀organisations-฀ Copyright฀©฀2006฀McCrindle฀Research www.mccrindle.com.au 15 and฀one฀that฀resonated฀with฀their฀workplace฀priorities.฀฀As฀in฀any฀competitive฀marketplace฀branding฀ is฀ important฀ and฀ so฀ today฀ employment฀ branding฀ (and฀ for฀ certain฀ job฀ sectors฀ industry฀ branding)฀ is฀ essential. Employer฀Insights: •฀ Some฀employers,฀after฀bad฀Gen฀Y฀experiences฀are฀tempted฀to฀focus฀purely฀on฀employing฀ more฀mature฀workers฀with฀whom฀they฀get฀better฀loyalty฀and฀commitment.฀However฀only฀ the฀ Gen฀Y’s฀ can฀ bring฀ youthful฀ idealism฀ and฀ energy,฀ a฀ fresh฀ view฀ to฀ the฀ industry,฀ better฀ connection฀ with฀ Generation฀ Y฀ customers,฀ and฀ a฀ 21st฀ Century฀ perspective฀ to฀ life฀ and฀ technology.฀ Generational฀ diversity฀ is฀ the฀ key฀ to฀ a฀ balanced฀ workforce฀ that฀ reflects฀ the฀ varying฀ages฀of฀customers฀and฀society. Recruiting Generation Y new฀generations฀at฀work Generation Y are more of an outsourcing generation than a DIY one. 20.8%฀ of฀ Generation฀ Y฀ found฀ their฀ current฀ job฀ through฀ a฀ recruitment฀ agency฀ -฀ a฀ growing฀ trend฀ meeting฀ the฀ approval฀ of฀ both฀ this฀ generation฀ of฀ candidates฀ as฀ well฀ as฀ today’s฀ employers.฀ A฀ close฀ second฀ at฀ 20.7%฀ being฀ through฀ an฀ online฀ job฀ board฀ -฀ very฀ suitable฀ for฀ this฀ net-savvy,฀ connected฀ cohort.฀Interestingly฀only฀3%฀found฀their฀job฀through฀a฀company฀website.฀As฀we฀found฀out฀in฀our฀focus฀ groups:฀the฀candidate฀is฀willing฀but฀the฀websites฀are฀weak!฀The฀3-click฀rule฀is฀even฀more฀important฀for฀ the฀fast-moving฀Gen฀Y’s:฀if฀job฀opportunities฀or฀a฀click฀trough฀to฀the฀employment฀section฀of฀the฀website฀ is฀not฀simple฀to฀find฀and฀access฀(in฀just฀a฀few฀clicks)฀then฀its฀efficacy฀will฀be฀low. Even฀ though฀ almost฀ half฀ of฀ all฀ respondents฀ had฀ been฀ to฀ TAFE฀ or฀ University฀ only฀ 2%฀ found฀ their฀ job฀through฀their฀campus฀Careers฀Advisor฀or฀through฀a฀Careers’฀Expo.฀฀This฀is฀another฀case฀of฀lost฀ opportunities฀-฀Generation฀Y฀are฀happy฀to฀get฀help฀in฀getting฀a฀job฀(as฀shown฀through฀their฀use฀of฀ recruitment฀agencies)฀but฀the฀campus฀careers฀centres฀need฀to฀better฀engage฀with฀this฀generation.฀In฀ the฀focus฀groups฀the฀Gen฀Y’s฀discussed฀employment฀stands฀staffed฀by฀“older”฀HR฀professionals฀when฀ they฀wanted฀to฀talk฀to฀recent฀recruits฀actually฀on฀the฀graduate฀program฀or฀just฀a฀few฀years฀ahead฀of฀ them฀in฀the฀world฀of฀work. Tell me about your experiences in finding your current job “I฀often฀look฀up฀companies฀(websites)฀that฀I฀know฀but฀most฀don’t฀have฀a฀place฀to฀apply”฀ “Unless฀you฀can฀find฀it฀(the฀job฀vacancies฀area)฀in฀a฀few฀clicks฀you฀move฀on”฀ “We฀had฀to฀go฀to฀a฀careers฀day฀as฀part฀of฀our฀course฀but฀it฀was฀a฀waste฀of฀time”฀ “A฀few฀big฀companies฀set฀up฀stalls฀on฀campus฀but฀nothing฀really฀came฀of฀it” “They฀(online฀job฀boards)฀have฀great฀information฀-฀interview฀tips,฀resume฀help...” “I฀find฀recruitment฀agencies฀good฀-฀I฀still฀keep฀my฀details฀with฀a฀few฀(of฀them)” One interviewer and two interviews… max Regarding฀ the฀ interview฀ process฀ Generation฀ Y฀ also฀ had฀ strong฀ ideas.฀ They฀ almost฀ exclusively฀ preferred฀ the฀ traditional฀ one-on-one฀ interview.฀ In฀ fact฀ this฀ received฀ 10฀ times฀ the฀ response฀ of฀ the฀ second฀most฀preferred฀option:฀an฀interview฀by฀prospective฀team฀members.฀฀ 16 www.mccrindle.com.au Copyright฀©฀2006฀McCrindle฀Research What is your preferred interview process? “You฀just฀want฀an฀interview฀with฀the฀recruiter฀–฀an฀open฀and฀honest฀chat”฀ “They฀need฀to฀understand฀that฀we฀are฀also฀interviewing฀them” ฀“One฀or฀two฀interviewers฀is฀fine฀but฀3฀or฀more฀is฀just฀intimidating”฀ “It’s฀great฀to฀have฀an฀interview฀with฀your฀eventual฀manager-฀not฀just฀HR฀or฀recruiters” “You’re฀prepared฀for฀all฀the฀typical฀questions฀so฀it’s฀better฀if฀it฀is฀just฀a฀real฀conversation” “I฀definitely฀think฀that฀two฀interviews฀is฀the฀limit.฀Anything฀more฀starts฀getting฀ridiculous” When฀ jobs฀ are฀ readily฀ available฀ this฀ instant฀ generation฀ don’t฀ respond฀ well฀ to฀ too฀ many฀ stages฀ in฀ the฀ recruitment฀ process.฀ 67.4%฀ of฀ Generation฀Y฀ believes฀ that฀ 1฀ or฀ 2฀ interviews฀ at฀ the฀ most฀ are฀ acceptable.฀฀ new฀generations฀at฀work And฀as฀for฀the฀interviewer,฀again฀age฀is฀not฀important฀for฀the฀majority฀(69.3%).฀Dispelling฀the฀myth฀ that฀the฀best฀group฀to฀really฀understand฀and฀relate฀to฀Generation฀Y฀are฀Generation฀Y,฀only฀4.4%฀felt฀ most฀comfortable฀being฀interviewed฀by฀someone฀of฀the฀same฀age. Retaining Generation Y Dinosaurs, the Tasmanian Tiger and now long service leave Could฀long฀service฀leave,฀the฀10฀year฀gold฀watch,฀and฀the฀20฀year฀club฀be฀heading฀for฀extinction?฀ With฀Generation฀Y฀it฀seems฀so.฀As฀for฀how฀long฀one฀should฀stay฀with฀a฀single฀employer฀almost฀half฀ of฀Baby฀Boomers฀believe฀at฀least฀5฀years฀whereas฀only฀one฀in฀four฀Gen฀Y’s฀would฀consider฀staying฀ 5฀years.฀The฀longitudinal฀studies฀back฀this฀up:฀in฀1959฀average฀tenure฀across฀all฀ages฀and฀industries฀ was฀15฀years.฀Today฀average฀tenure฀is฀just฀over฀4฀years. 22 Promotion Promotion Promotion Generation฀Y฀has฀a฀reputation฀for฀little฀company฀loyalty฀and฀poor฀job฀commitment.฀฀Clearly฀Generation฀ Y฀have฀a฀shorter฀tenure฀in฀a฀job฀but฀the฀cause฀isn’t฀so฀much฀a฀lack฀of฀loyalty฀or฀commitment฀but฀a฀ desire฀for฀variety,฀challenge,฀and฀change.฀฀฀฀ They฀are฀in฀a฀hurry฀and฀they฀are฀unlikely฀to฀stick฀around฀for฀long฀without฀a฀promotion.฀86%฀of฀Gen฀Y’s฀ expect฀a฀promotion฀within฀2฀years฀compared฀to฀70%฀of฀Baby฀Boomers. When฀observing฀Generation฀Y฀many฀people฀mistakenly฀believe฀that฀their฀regular฀rotation฀across฀jobs฀ is฀just฀a฀factor฀of฀their฀age฀and฀that฀“I฀was฀like฀that฀once”. Yet฀as฀cited฀above฀studies฀show฀that฀tenure฀is฀at฀the฀lowest฀levels฀ever฀across฀all฀age฀groups฀and฀ no฀ previous฀ generation฀ began฀ their฀ working฀ lives฀ moving฀ between฀ jobs฀ as฀ frequently฀ as฀ today’s฀ Generation฀Y.฀ ฀ So฀ if฀ it฀ is฀ partly฀ a฀ reflection฀ of฀ life฀ stage,฀ it฀ is฀ also฀ a฀ reflection฀ of฀ their฀ times฀ -฀ high฀ employment,฀economic฀growth,฀personal฀optimism,฀and฀career฀opportunity. Empowered and Optimistic: Despite฀just฀beginning฀careers฀and฀still฀developing฀their฀employability,฀52.3%฀of฀Generation฀Y฀states฀ that฀it฀was฀currently฀“easy”฀or฀“very฀easy”฀to฀get฀a฀new฀job฀compared฀to฀43%฀of฀the฀Baby฀Boomers฀ surveyed. Copyright฀©฀2006฀McCrindle฀Research www.mccrindle.com.au 17 developing a retention strategy- the top 5 In฀ both฀ the฀ discussion฀ groups฀ and฀ the฀ surveys฀ there฀ were฀ many฀ factors฀ mentioned฀ that฀ led฀ to฀ attracting฀and฀retaining฀Generation฀Y฀to฀their฀jobs.฀However฀there฀were฀5฀that฀stood฀out. 1.Work/Life Balance: For฀Generation฀Y฀their฀employment฀matters฀to฀them฀and฀it฀is฀a฀major฀part฀of฀their฀life.฀฀However฀it฀is฀ not฀their฀life฀-฀but฀rather฀it฀provides฀the฀funds฀to฀fuel฀their฀life.฀฀Therefore฀a฀career฀that฀allows฀them฀ the฀opportunity฀to฀continue฀the฀other฀aspects฀of฀their฀life฀stage฀whether฀they฀be฀educational,฀social,฀ spiritual,฀or฀entrepreneurial฀is฀highly฀attractive. One฀quarter฀of฀all฀focus฀group฀participants฀placed฀this฀at฀the฀top฀of฀their฀list.฀฀ new฀generations฀at฀work Attraction and Retention Issues: Work-Life Balance “At฀the฀end฀of฀the฀day฀it’s฀just฀a฀job”฀ “I฀definitely฀keep฀it฀in฀perspective”฀ “Flexibility฀is฀the฀key”฀ “There฀is฀a฀lot฀going฀down฀in฀our฀lives฀today” “If฀there’s฀going฀to฀be฀a฀clash฀with฀the฀work-life฀balance,฀life฀wins” Employer Insights: •฀ Gen฀Y฀ generally฀ has฀ a฀ strong฀ relationship฀ ethic.฀ ฀They฀ are฀ collaborative฀ learners,฀ enjoy฀ working฀in฀teams,฀and฀thrive฀in฀a฀relaxed฀consensus-driven฀group. •฀ Gen฀Y฀can฀be฀considered฀Gen฀“Why?”฀฀Assess฀policies฀and฀ground฀rules฀and฀ensure฀that฀ there฀are฀good฀reasons฀that฀underpin฀them.฀฀And฀keep฀in฀mind฀that฀providing฀a฀flexible฀ workplace฀will฀meet฀the฀needs฀of฀not฀just฀the฀Y’s฀but฀of฀all฀of฀the฀generations.฀฀We฀all฀want฀ work-life฀balance฀today฀-฀regardless฀of฀age.฀The฀main฀difference฀is฀that฀while฀it฀is฀a฀“want”฀ for฀most฀it฀is฀an฀“expectation”฀for฀the฀twenty-somethings. 2. Workplace Culture: This฀has฀to฀do฀with฀the฀relationships฀with฀others฀at฀work.฀42%฀of฀all฀Gen฀Y฀survey฀respondents฀placed฀ “relationship฀with฀peers”฀as฀one฀of฀the฀3฀top฀reasons฀for฀getting฀or฀keeping฀their฀job.฀An฀environment฀ where฀they฀could฀interact฀socially฀and฀work฀collaboratively฀was฀highly฀regarded.฀ Interestingly฀ they฀ didn’t฀ necessarily฀ want฀ a฀ workplace฀ full฀ of฀ people฀ their฀ own฀ age:฀ Gen฀Y’s฀ have฀ known฀ nothing฀ but฀ cultural฀ diversity,฀ gender฀ diversity,฀ and฀ respond฀ well฀ to฀ generational฀ diversity.฀฀ 32.7%฀ preferred฀ colleagues฀ to฀ be฀ of฀ all฀ different฀ ages฀ with฀ a฀ further฀ 35.1%฀ stating฀ that฀ age฀ didn’t฀ matter฀at฀all. 18 www.mccrindle.com.au Copyright฀©฀2006฀McCrindle฀Research Attraction and Retention Issues: Workplace Culture “You’ve฀got฀to฀enjoy฀the฀people฀you฀work฀with฀-฀it’s฀a฀not-negotiable”฀ “I฀suss฀it฀out฀at฀the฀interview฀to฀see฀if฀I’ll฀connect฀with฀the฀people”฀ “They’re฀not฀colleagues฀-฀they’re฀workmates,฀friends”฀ “Age฀isn’t฀an฀issue,฀it’s฀just฀whether฀you฀can฀fit฀in฀and฀enjoy฀the฀people” Employer Insights: •฀ Having฀a฀family฀or฀even฀being฀a฀valued฀part฀of฀a฀family฀is฀the฀experience฀of฀fewer฀young฀ people฀ today.฀ And฀ with฀ less฀ neighbourhood฀ connections฀ and฀ declining฀ membership฀ of฀ service฀ clubs฀ etc฀ Gen฀Y’s฀ are฀ looking฀ for฀ a฀ place฀ to฀ belong.฀The฀ one฀ social฀ bottleneck฀ through฀which฀most฀pass฀is฀the฀workplace฀and฀so฀ensuring฀social฀and฀connection฀needs฀ •฀ new฀generations฀at฀work are฀met฀here฀is฀essential฀for฀retention. Life฀today฀is฀non-partitioned,฀and฀holistic.฀Therefore฀there฀is฀less฀differentiating฀between฀ work-life฀ and฀ social-life,฀ or฀ one’s฀ corporate฀ job฀ and฀ one’s฀ personal฀ values.฀ Therefore฀ ensure฀ the฀ prospective฀ employee฀ fits฀ the฀ role฀ not฀ just฀ based฀ on฀ their฀ Competence,฀ but฀ also฀that฀their฀Culture฀suits฀the฀organisations,฀and฀their฀Character฀is฀a฀values฀match. 3. Varied Job role: A฀job฀description฀involving฀variety฀and฀the฀opportunity฀for฀advancement฀was฀critical฀for฀Gen฀Y.฀38%฀of฀ respondents฀selected฀“opportunity฀for฀advancement”฀in฀a฀job฀as฀one฀of฀their฀top฀3฀must-haves.฀It฀was฀ selected฀by฀half฀of฀the฀focus฀group฀participants฀too.฀฀Clearly฀a฀job฀that฀doesn’t฀lock฀them฀into฀a฀narrow฀ task฀but฀offers฀variety,฀change,฀and฀the฀chance฀of฀a฀promotion฀is฀sought฀after. Many young people leave jobs not because there is a compelling reason to leave but ecause there is no compelling reason to stay. Offering฀variety฀and฀flexibility฀in฀the฀role฀provides฀this.฀Why฀have฀them฀change฀jobs฀by฀moving฀to฀a฀ new฀organisation฀when฀they฀may฀be฀able฀to฀change฀jobs฀within฀their฀existing฀organisation. Attraction and Retention Issues: Varied Job description “Unless฀I’m฀loving฀the฀job฀-฀sure฀I’ll฀be฀looking฀around”฀ “If฀everything฀is฀fine฀I’ll฀stay฀but฀only฀up฀to฀a฀point”฀ “I฀love฀a฀change.฀฀I฀always฀tend฀to฀keep฀a฀look฀out”฀ “Yeah฀if฀there฀is฀lots฀of฀variety฀and฀challenge฀it’s฀great” “In฀my฀graduate฀programme฀we฀have฀rotations฀every฀few฀months.฀฀I฀like฀that” “They฀get฀us฀involved฀in฀things฀even฀outside฀our฀area฀which฀is฀great-฀it฀keeps฀you฀sharp” For฀Generation฀Y฀change฀is฀like฀the฀air฀they฀breathe.฀They฀keep฀up฀with฀the฀changing฀technologies,฀ move฀house฀more฀frequently฀than฀the฀average฀and฀they฀have฀just฀come฀out฀of฀an฀education฀system฀ that฀ has฀ offered฀ greater฀ subject฀ choice฀ than฀ ever฀ before.฀ So฀ at฀ this฀ stage฀ of฀ their฀ life฀ variety฀ is฀ all฀ they’ve฀known. Copyright฀©฀2006฀McCrindle฀Research www.mccrindle.com.au 19 Employer Insights: •฀ The฀reality฀is฀that฀there฀will฀always฀be฀lower฀retention฀rates฀of฀young฀staff฀than฀the฀older฀ generations฀but฀retention฀can฀be฀improved.฀Here’s฀what฀will฀help:฀Accessibility:฀take฀the฀ mystery฀ out฀ of฀ how฀ decisions฀ are฀ made,฀Variety:฀ give฀ junior฀ staff฀ greater฀ responsibility/ roles฀in฀their฀work,฀let฀them฀conduct฀exit฀interviews,฀give฀presentations,฀and฀organise฀staff฀ events.฀฀ •฀ Understand฀the฀revolving฀door:฀if฀they฀leave฀for฀a฀new฀job,฀or฀further฀study:฀keep฀in฀touch฀ -฀ they฀ may฀ later฀ want฀ to฀ return.฀ They฀ don’t฀ view฀ leaving฀ an฀ organisation฀ as฀ an฀ act฀ of฀ disloyalty฀ but฀ a฀ simple฀ life฀ change฀ and฀ so฀ they฀ see฀ no฀ problem฀ with฀ returning฀ should฀ circumstances฀change.฀ 4. Management Style: new฀generations฀at฀work If you’re leading, and no one’s following- then you’re just out for a walk” John Maxwell, leadership expert. Before฀we฀can฀manage฀and฀lead฀we฀must฀be฀able฀to฀understand฀and฀connect.฀฀Generation฀Y฀are฀not฀ only฀at฀a฀different฀life฀stage฀to฀most฀managers,฀but฀they฀have฀been฀raised฀and฀educated฀in฀a฀very฀ different฀era.฀Their฀expectations฀of฀a฀boss,฀attitudes฀to฀the฀job,฀and฀preferred฀styles฀of฀work฀have฀all฀ been฀shaped฀by฀their฀times฀-฀not฀ours.฀฀ Also฀it฀must฀be฀remembered฀that฀while฀we฀are฀ageing,฀the฀new฀recruits฀from฀University฀or฀TAFE฀are฀ invariably฀in฀their฀early฀20’s฀and฀so฀the฀gap฀between฀the฀employers฀and฀the฀new฀next฀generation฀of฀ staff฀is฀ever-growing. The฀ findings฀ are฀ clear:฀ unless฀ their฀ direct฀ supervisors฀ and฀ the฀ leadership฀ hierarchy฀ manage฀ in฀ an฀ inclusive,฀ participative฀ way,฀ and฀ demonstrate฀ people฀ skills฀ and฀ not฀ just฀ technical฀ skills,฀ retention฀ declined. Their฀ideal฀manager฀is฀one฀who฀values฀communication฀and฀creates฀an฀environment฀of฀transparency฀ and฀ respect฀ for฀ staff.฀ Their฀ preferred฀ leadership฀ style฀ is฀ simply฀ one฀ that฀ is฀ more฀ consensus฀ than฀ command,฀ more฀ participative฀ than฀ autocratic,฀ and฀ more฀ flexible฀ and฀ organic฀ than฀ structured฀ and฀ hierarchical. Attraction and Retention Issues: Management Style “They’ve฀got฀to฀walk฀the฀talk-฀that’s฀for฀sure”฀ “Their฀age฀doesn’t฀matter-฀I฀had฀an฀old฀manager฀once฀but฀he฀took฀time฀to฀get฀to฀know฀us”฀ “Not฀the฀old-school฀styles฀of฀authority฀and฀the฀closed฀door”฀ “Our฀senior฀managers฀hardly฀ever฀appear฀and฀it฀isn’t฀good฀for฀morale” “I฀want฀to฀share฀my฀opinions.฀฀We฀have฀good฀ideas฀so฀they฀have฀to฀include฀us.” Employer Insights: •฀ In฀ the฀ focus฀ groups฀ stated฀ that฀ their฀ ideal฀ leader฀ gives฀ public฀ affirmation,฀ pats฀ on฀ the฀ back฀ -฀ both฀ figurative฀ and฀ literal,฀ remembers฀ names/interests฀ of฀ their฀ staff,฀ and฀ creates฀ an฀ emotionally฀ safe,฀ friendly,฀ collegial฀ environment฀ where฀ people฀ feel฀ free฀ to฀ contribute฀ ideas. 20 www.mccrindle.com.au Copyright฀©฀2006฀McCrindle฀Research •฀ This฀ generation฀ are฀ definitely฀ keen฀ to฀ lead฀ in฀ new฀ ways,฀ but฀ they฀ first฀ need฀ effective฀ leadership฀ role฀ models฀ who฀ can฀ engage฀ with฀ them.฀ The฀ ever-present฀ generation฀ gap฀ is฀very฀visible฀when฀we฀attempt฀to฀lead฀Gen฀Y฀in฀our฀old฀method.฀฀Traditional฀leadership฀ stresses฀ controlling,฀ they฀ want฀ relating.฀ ฀We฀ focus฀ on฀ structure,฀ they฀ are฀ influenced฀ by฀ style.฀We฀think฀framework,฀they฀think฀freedom.฀฀The฀answer฀is฀to฀take฀the฀time฀to฀better฀ understand฀them,฀and฀then฀we฀are฀well฀on฀the฀way฀to฀being฀able฀to฀engage,฀train,฀and฀lead฀ this฀emerging฀generation.฀฀ 5. Training: Generation฀Y฀ have฀ heard฀ the฀ mantra฀ of฀ lifelong฀ education฀ all฀ through฀ school฀ and฀ they’ve฀ come฀ to฀ accept฀it.฀After฀all฀many฀of฀them฀are฀today฀working฀in฀industries฀and฀with฀technologies฀that฀didn’t฀even฀ exist฀ when฀ they฀ were฀ beginning฀ high฀ school-฀ web฀ design,฀ multimedia฀ production,฀VoIP฀ telephony฀ etc. Therefore฀the฀key฀to฀remaining฀relevant฀in฀changing฀times฀is฀ongoing฀training.฀This฀will฀keep฀them฀ new฀generations฀at฀work effective฀in฀their฀current฀job,฀but฀also฀employable฀for฀their฀future฀careers฀which฀after฀all฀may฀be฀just฀a฀ few฀years฀away. How important is training and development to you? “You฀have฀to฀keep฀your฀skills฀up฀today฀and฀if฀the฀boss฀is฀paying฀I’ll฀be฀there” “I฀like฀training฀that฀helps฀you฀in฀your฀job฀but฀is฀also฀for฀personal฀development”฀ “We’ve฀just฀come฀out฀of฀years฀of฀education฀so฀we’re฀used฀to฀it.฀฀It฀is฀important”฀ “I฀took฀this฀job฀because฀they฀offered฀support฀to฀help฀complete฀further฀studies” “If฀I฀was฀getting฀good฀training฀yes฀it฀would฀definitely฀keep฀me฀there฀(in฀the฀job)” Training leads to retaining: 78.9%฀stated฀that฀career฀development฀through฀additional฀training฀was฀“very฀important”฀to฀them.฀More฀ remarkable฀than฀this฀was฀the฀finding฀that฀training฀is฀more฀than฀a฀tool฀for฀productivity-฀it฀is฀a฀tool฀for฀ retention:฀฀89.6%฀of฀Generation฀Y฀agreed฀that฀if฀they฀received฀regular฀training฀from฀their฀employer฀it฀ would฀motivate฀them฀to฀stay฀longer฀with฀the฀employer. Develop People Skills not just Technical Skills: With฀this฀generation฀not฀just฀changing฀jobs฀but฀careers฀so฀frequently,฀equipping฀them฀with฀transferable฀ skills฀is฀important.฀Many฀technical฀skills฀are฀relevant฀only฀for฀a฀current฀job฀but฀the฀people฀skills฀are฀ both฀transferable฀and฀lifelong. They฀are฀also฀most฀preferred฀by฀Generation฀Y฀themselves.฀The฀preferred฀area฀of฀training฀for฀Gen฀Y฀ was฀the฀“soft฀skills”฀area฀(presentation฀skills,฀management฀and฀communication฀skills฀etc)฀as฀opposed฀ to฀the฀“hard฀skills”฀technical฀training฀and฀the฀formal฀University฀courses.฀ Their฀ preferred฀ methods฀ of฀ training฀ were฀ on฀ the฀ job฀ coaching/mentoring฀ as฀ well฀ as฀ in-house฀ or฀ outsourced฀training฀courses.฀฀Interestingly฀in฀this฀era฀of฀online฀learning฀this฀method฀rated฀poorly.฀฀This฀ was฀due฀in฀part฀to฀their฀learning฀styles฀(kinaesthetic฀and฀visual฀rather฀than฀literate฀and฀procedural)฀as฀ well฀as฀their฀motivation฀for฀learning฀being฀social,฀collaborative,฀interactive,฀and฀fun!฀ Copyright฀©฀2006฀McCrindle฀Research www.mccrindle.com.au 21 a final word Generation฀Y฀represent฀the฀future.฀Let’s฀not฀expect฀the฀workplace฀to฀shift฀back฀to฀the฀days฀of฀15฀years฀ average฀ tenure,฀ and฀ dutiful฀ obedience฀ of฀ the฀ boss.฀ These฀ new฀ realities฀ which฀ are฀ personified฀ by฀ Generation฀Y฀are฀manifested฀by฀most฀workers฀today฀regardless฀of฀age.฀฀We’ve฀all฀responded฀to฀the฀ 21st฀Century฀world฀of฀work.฀฀ So฀the฀pendulum฀of฀change฀isn’t฀about฀to฀swing฀back฀to฀the฀good฀‘ole฀days฀-฀the฀direction฀of฀these฀shifts฀ will฀continue.฀Indeed฀have฀a฀quick฀look฀at฀the฀Under฀12฀Generation฀Z’s.฀They฀are฀born฀to฀parents฀who฀ are฀a฀decade฀older฀than฀the฀Boomers฀were฀when฀they฀began฀families,฀there฀are฀half฀as฀many฀of฀them฀ per฀household฀compared฀to฀50฀years฀ago,฀and฀so฀they฀are฀being฀even฀more฀scheduled,฀protected,฀ new฀generations฀at฀work and฀materially฀endowed฀than฀the฀Y’s.฀They฀aren’t฀called฀the฀Bubble฀Wrap฀Kids฀for฀nothing.฀฀ The฀point฀is฀that฀we฀have฀entered฀a฀new฀era฀and฀while฀employers฀need฀not฀react฀to฀every฀whim฀of฀a฀ new฀generation,฀nor฀can฀they฀hold฀fast฀to฀the฀old฀and฀expect฀the฀emerging฀generations฀to฀conform.฀ These฀ new฀ workplace฀ entrants฀ have฀ had฀ two฀ decades฀ of฀ cultural฀ shaping฀ and฀ there’s฀ little฀ an฀ employer฀can฀do฀to฀change฀this.฀฀ A฀metaphor฀of฀this฀is฀found฀in฀any฀“How฀to฀Surf”฀book:฀there฀are฀many฀pages฀on฀how฀to฀pick฀a฀wave,฀ catch฀ a฀ wave,฀ and฀ turn฀ on฀ a฀ wave฀ -฀ but฀ not฀ even฀ a฀ sentence฀ on฀ how฀ to฀ create฀ a฀ wave฀ or฀ change฀ a฀wave.฀Quite฀simply฀because฀we฀can’t฀-฀God฀make’s฀the฀waves฀and฀surfers฀catch฀them!฀And฀so฀it฀ is฀with฀the฀generational฀and฀cultural฀waves.฀We฀can’t฀change฀the฀learning฀styles,฀work฀patterns,฀or฀ employment฀attitudes฀of฀an฀entire฀generation฀-฀but฀we฀can฀position฀ourselves฀to฀understand฀and฀so฀ better฀engage฀with฀each฀new฀generation.฀฀ To฀ assist฀ you฀ further฀ as฀ you฀ surf฀ the฀ wave฀ we฀ have฀ other฀ resources฀ that฀ will฀ be฀ of฀ great฀ value฀ to฀ you.฀ For฀ example,฀ to฀ equip฀ you฀ in฀ effectively฀ communicating฀ with฀ the฀ new฀ generations฀ go฀ to฀ www.mccrindle.com.au฀and฀download฀a฀copy฀of฀Word Up - a lexicon of Generations Y & Z and a guide to communicating with them. Click this image to download word up >> 22 www.mccrindle.com.au Copyright฀©฀2006฀McCrindle฀Research about the author Mark McCrindle, Social Researcher. MA, BSc. (Psychology), QPMR Mark฀ McCrindle฀ was฀ trained฀ as฀ a฀ Psychologist฀ and฀ his฀ research฀ into฀ the฀ different฀ generations฀ is฀ recognised฀ internationally.฀ Mark฀ is฀ a฀ Qualified฀ Practising฀Market฀Researcher฀(QPMR),฀and฀so฀has฀his฀finger฀on฀the฀pulse฀of฀ today’s฀generations.฀฀Organisations฀commission฀Mark฀to฀conduct฀research฀ and฀ then฀ speak฀ or฀ consult฀ with฀ them฀ to฀ help฀ them฀ better฀ understand฀ and฀ engage฀with฀the฀ever-changing฀market฀and฀employment฀segments.฀฀ new฀generations฀at฀work Mark฀graduated฀from฀the฀University฀of฀NSW฀with฀a฀BSc฀(Psychology),฀and฀ he฀has฀completed฀a฀Masters฀degree฀majoring฀in฀Social฀Trends.฀฀He฀is฀the฀ Director฀of฀the฀social฀research฀agency฀McCrindle฀Research฀Pty฀Ltd,฀which฀ specialises฀in฀social฀and฀generational฀research฀across฀the฀Asia฀Pacific.฀฀฀฀ Some฀of฀his฀recent฀clients฀include:฀Toshiba,฀Westpac,฀AMP,฀Commonwealth฀ Bank,฀David฀Jones,฀Alcan,฀Cadbury฀Schweppes,฀Mercedes฀Benz,฀Toyota,฀ Red฀Rooster,฀American฀Express,฀State฀Street,฀Flight฀Centre,฀Scania,฀AXA,฀ Mirvac,฀ Wesfarmers,฀ LG,฀ St฀ George฀ Bank,฀ Fairfax,฀ ANZ,฀ Accor,฀ MLC,฀ Esanda,฀Komatsu,฀Woodside,฀ExxonMobil,฀Tyco,฀BlueScope฀Steel,฀Hudson,฀ Telstra,฀Optus฀and฀NAB.฀ about this publication While฀McCrindle฀Research฀asserts฀copyright฀ownership฀over฀this฀paper,฀it฀is฀made฀avaliable฀ in฀good฀faith฀to฀other฀organisations฀or฀individuals฀to฀use฀or฀distribute฀in฀part฀or฀whole฀with฀proper฀ attribution. Copyright฀©฀2006฀McCrindle฀Research www.mccrindle.com.au 23 endnotes ฀1.฀฀฀ Bob฀Dylan฀The฀Times฀they฀are฀A-Changin’,฀1964฀www.bobdylan.com ฀2.฀฀฀ Australian฀Bureau฀of฀Statistics฀2005฀Cat.฀1340.0฀Table฀4 new฀generations฀at฀work ฀3.฀฀฀ Projected฀Median฀Age฀in฀2016,฀Australian฀Bureau฀of฀Statistics฀Australian฀Social฀Trends฀2005฀ Cat฀฀4102.0 ฀4.฀฀฀ ABS฀Population฀Projections฀Cat.฀3222.0 ฀5.฀฀฀ ABS฀Labour฀Force฀Survey฀2004 ฀6.฀฀฀ ABS฀Age฀Structure฀of฀Australia฀Population฀Pyramid฀March฀2005 ฀7.฀฀฀ ABS฀Population฀Projections฀Cat.฀3222.0 ฀8.฀฀฀ ABS฀Australian฀Labour฀Market฀Statistics฀฀Cat฀6105.0฀January฀2006 ฀9.฀฀฀ ABS฀Labour฀Mobility฀Australia฀Cat฀6209.0฀ ฀10.฀฀ www.dictionary.com ฀11.฀฀ ABS฀2004฀Cat฀3105฀Table฀38 ฀12.฀฀ ABS฀Australian฀Demographic฀Trends฀Cat฀3102.0 ฀13.฀฀ ABS฀Australian฀Historical฀Population฀Statistics฀Cat฀3105.0฀Table฀36 ฀14.฀฀ ABS฀Age฀Structure฀of฀Australia฀1971฀-฀2051 ฀15.฀฀ Courtney฀Roberts฀“An฀Exploration฀of฀Generation฀Y”฀and฀McCrindle฀Research฀2006 ฀16.฀฀ ABS฀Australian฀Labour฀Market฀Statistics฀Cat฀6105.0฀able฀1.1฀January฀2006 ฀17.฀฀ ABS฀Schools฀Australia฀Cat฀4221.0฀2004 ฀18.฀฀ ABS฀Education฀and฀Training฀Cat.฀4224.0฀p37 ฀19.฀฀ Attributed฀to฀Socrates฀425BC฀see฀www.allgreatquotes.com ฀20.฀฀ Marc฀Prensky,฀Digital฀Natives,฀Digital฀Immigrants฀from฀On฀the฀Horizon,฀NCB฀University฀Press฀ 2001฀ ฀21.฀฀ ABS฀Population฀Projections฀Cat.฀3222.0,฀Australian฀Labour฀Market฀Statistics฀Cat.฀6105.0 ฀22.฀฀ US฀Dept฀of฀Labor฀1959฀&฀Australian฀Labour฀Market฀Statistics฀Cat.฀6105.0 24 www.mccrindle.com.au Copyright฀©฀2006฀McCrindle฀Research new฀generations฀at฀work notes Copyright฀©฀2006฀McCrindle฀Research www.mccrindle.com.au 25 PO Box 7702 PO BOX 7702 Baulkham Hills Business Centre Baulkham Business Cente NSW 2153Hills Australia Level 4 Lexington Corporate P: (+61 2) 8850 6099 24(+61 Lexington Drive F: 2) 8850 6299 Norwest Business Park NSW 2153 Australia E: info@mccrindle.com.au P: F: (+61 2) 8824 3422 (+61 2) 8824 3566 E: info@mccrindle.com.au W: www.mccrindle.com.au www.mccrindle.com.au ABN 99 99 105 105 510 510 772 772 ABN