What makes our next generation tick? Their hearts and minds seem to be focused on something other than building a single capability and establishing a career with a single company. This can be exasperating for some Boomer and Gen X leaders who interpret the next generation as inconstant and unreliable. If you talk directly to young people and read what generational experts say, you’ll find a different story. The next generation may think differently about careers than the current workforce, but they are still focused on developing successful careers.
So why all the differences between the different generations? The answer is not simply that each generation thinks differently; it’s a bit more complex than that. Here in the U.S., we have a physical gap in ages in our workforce. The Boomer generation, America’s largest workforce (84 million), will be nearly gone by 2035. That’s only 15 more years.
Companies that have waited until now to address this issue may feel forced to “jump through hoops” to try to attract and retain a new workforce—bringing in recreation rooms, latte machines, and collaboration spaces in the hope that this is what the next generation wants. We believe, and most experts confirm, these measures are not motivating our next generation to join your company, let alone stay there long term.
Each generation is motivated in different ways when it comes to their careers and what they would like to achieve. Workforce experts talking with our current generational workforce have gathered great insights to help us solve the issue of attracting employees from our next generation. Deloitte Insights has run global surveys each year of Gen Y since 2013 (and has recently started adding in Gen Z data). The top three items Gen Y looks for when shopping for a new job are:
Deloitte shows that Gen Y employees leave a job on average every 18-24 months. In other words, not long after they show they have the skill and ability for the job to work unsupervised, they may leave! Here are the top three things Gen Y employees say about why they leave a company:
Gen Y employees generally appreciate development opportunities and value clear time off policies to create a better work-life balance.
Are you looking for ways to attract and retain successful next generation professionals? We can provide you resources that will help your company to do just that. Let’s talk about your company’s successes and how we can help you develop and maintain a work culture that attracts next generation employees.
“I wanted to say thank you for such an amazing presentation at the AIChE PSM conference. You’ve widened my vision of how I am part of a generation that is becoming the core workforce of the US and the world. With this the importance to keep deepening my skillset.”
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“I have had the pleasure to work with Shea Capability and Compliance Solutions in developing and implementing our qualified assessor training course. Mr. Brister and his team are truly the best at what they do. Their knowledge, professionalism, and attention to detail are exactly what we needed and what we will need in the future. ”
“Daryl expertly led a team that created the definitive leadership competency assessment tool and supporting documents in a large oil and gas company. The tool and documents were the best I had seen in that company and represented best-in-class thinking and practices regarding leadership in hazardous occupations. ”
Shea Capability & Compliance Solutions (Shea CCS) is a consultancy helping clients build competency frameworks that connect job and training requirements to the capability needed in the workplace. Blending training, competency and assessment expertise with cultural and organizational change, Shea CCS can help build continuity and reliability into training programs designed to reduce risk, improve safety performance and meet domestic and international standards and regulations.