Today’s increasingly age diverse workforce brings many interesting challenges for a company’s HR strategy. Not least, the culture and style of the youngest team members, those from the tail end of Generation Y and the new graduates and apprentices, the start of Generation Z. It’s no wonder that a lot of businesses seek the help of an HR and employment support service. These employees will be the ones most at odds with the culture of the senior management, and as such, their needs and desires will be the least catered for by traditional employee incentive schemes that have been tailored to the older, more established generations of workers.
Looking at the two youngest generations there are lots of characteristics they share, there are however, some notable differences.
Generation Y desire constant change, are tech savvy, use social media extensively, are enthusiastic about their job which they view an extension of themselves, something that defines them. They are highly tolerant and sociable and value personal growth and progression above all other employee benefits.
Generation Z take the constant change and use of technology to another level. There is a worry that their short attention span will be detrimental to the workplace, however, through the use of Skype and FaceTime their face to face skills are a major improvement on Gen Y. This new generation has a more realistic view of career opportunities, and this realism is joined by caution and scepticism and a distrust of larger corporations. More positively, Generation Z has embraced apprenticeship opportunities.
A simple yet revealing case study gives a great insight into the motivations of one member at the tail end of Generation Y. What is striking about this individual study is that, away from any work or HR environment (the information was gathered over social media, allowing for a completely frank and honest response) the results match much of the more formal research that has been undertaken in this area (including last year’s report by the UK Commission for Employment & Skills). This individual is a male graduate in the first year of his first job. He is a highly self-motivated person who is a Scout leader and rugby coach/referee.
What motivates you at work and what incentives would make you work better?
1.A good, exciting workplace.
2.A manager that does not patronise.
3.A fun workplace with a good work/play balance.
4.Other people you can relate to in the workplace.
5.A clear path for progression.
6.A wage that reflects your level.
What is extraordinary about these motivational triggers is that not one of them is a traditional employee incentive, but all reflect the workplace culture. On the face of it, this is great news for companies, as the financial demands are low. The only mention of money is the very last point, and even then this is only a request for fair treatment, being judged by ability, not by age. However, when it comes to HR strategy this culture based motivation needs some dextrous management.
Looking at 1 and 3 together, this is the area that will, for many companies, cause the most difficulty. Even the use of the words exciting, fun and play may well horrify the more traditionalist element in an office. But in a recent TV series by choirmaster Gareth Malone, working with a group of 15-16 year olds struggling with concentration levels at school, ten minutes of fun, physical activity before lessons drastically improved their boredom thresholds. Major, highly successful corporations including Google, Unilever and BT are recognising the need for excitement in the workplace and are creating flexible spaces for different working styles—not just different across the generations but where workers can choose the most suitable area for a particular piece of work, so when buzzy, creative collaborations are needed there is a space for this to happen without disturbing co-workers who need quiet concentration for their tasks.
Remember, this generation seeing their work as an extension of themselves the question of work/life balance subtly changes, and it is interesting to see the case study referring to work/fun. They will be happy reading and sharing work related posts on Linkedin, they will have work contacts on Facebook. They do this overtime without even considering it as such. Conversely, they also expect not to be frowned upon if in return they take ten minutes out of the day for some light relief, or answer a number of texts during the day. Managed properly, a level of mutual trust will get the very best out of these employees. Any time lost in this way will be more than made up by the higher level of productivity by a happy employee, and of course will be far less disruptive than a day’s corporate hospitality enjoyed by senior team members.
5 and 6 will hopefully be embedded in every organisation’s HR strategy, leaving 2 and 4 as the remaining challenges when a well-informed and highly trained younger generation comes up against the more established, change wary, older generations and management. Get this balance right with an office culture that nurtures the strengths of all the generations and you will find you run the best possible employee incentive scheme.
