Today I read an article from CareerBuilder about employers sharing their top staffing challenges.  This has inspired me to write an article similar, but completely talking about Gen-Y.  I have no specific percentages as this is just my professional opinion on what I have been hearing about Gen-Y employees.  I will list the challenges below and then explain them following the rest of the bullets.

 

1. Professional Development – Developing employees into future leaders of their company.
2. Empty Promises – Telling an employee they will be doing something that they want to do when in all reality the position requires less then 10% of that specific duty.
3. Low Salary – Lower salary than other positions that are similar.
4. Not Offering Flexible Schedule – Not allowing employees to determine the hours that they will work.
5. Offering No Incentives – No drive to excel at your job.

 

Professional Development is extremely important in every organization it is molding the future leaders of your organization.  All Gen-Y’s have the “I want it now” perspective (myself included as I am also a Gen-Y).  This means that we want to exceed and work hard to make it to the top as soon as we can.  Although some may get frustrated if your company is Baby Boomer dominate as many of the Baby Boomers feel you must earn it and put in your time before your opinion matters.  This attitude you cannot have or else you will no be able to retain Gen-Y employees.  Or possibly worse you will retain the employees that you do not want that have no ambitions or they are comfortable where they are.  Allow them to get involved in the community with local chambers and other networking opportunities to help them grow there network.  As Gen-Y we like to be challenged and we love success as when we were younger we were always told we could do anything and be anything when we grow up. 

 

Empty Promises is something that too many employers are beginning to offer to the younger workforce in order to keep them in a job or hire them.  The thing about empty promises they tend to work themselves out.  If you were promised something in an interview and you have been in the job for a couple of months now.  The promise dissipates more and more as time goes on more than likely it was an empty promise.  I believe most companies have an issue with this because they have not re-evaluated many of their job descriptions when they post them.  We are living in a different age now and most positions have changed in the past 2-5 years.  A recently vacated position ad will sometimes be run as the company ran it last time that position was empty.  Only thing is now things have changed.  The way we run and operate on a day to day basis does not promise the same job description it once did.  Always update your job description because more than likely something has changed or you may want to add certain job duties as well.  This is very important as if we get into a position and things were promised and they are not being met then more than likely they will be looking elsewhere.

 

Low Salary is another thing that too many employers are offering to good quality employees.  Just because you are hiring someone straight out of college does not mean that they should be paid lower because they have no experience.  They have bills just as the rest of the world and more than likely more with student tuition continuing to rise.  Have you ever heard the saying “you get what you pay for”?  This is relevant in employee salary as well.  Gen-Y employees will be less motivated to work hard and finish tasks early if they are struggling to make it financially.  If you want a productive and happy Gen-Yer pay them a reasonable wage or it will reflect on their performance.

 

Many employers have started to offer flexible scheduling this is the Gen-Yer’s dream they can work on their time.  This is important as they sometimes struggle with certain shift changes compared to what they are used to.  If they work better and they are more productive at 7PM then why not offer that because overall you will be saving money.  They may not be able to get acquainted with the 9am-5pm shift as their schedule has been class Mon-Thurs generally 10am-7pm for the past 4 years.  I think it is extremely important to allow flex scheduling if the job description allows it.  On the same note as scheduling allow them some vacation time.  Many Gen-Y employees get burnt out after doing the same thing over a long period of time.  They will come back from a vacation refreshed and eager to come up with new ideas.  Compared to just putting in their time and looking forward to the weekend for some break in the normal routine.

 

Gen-Y employees generally like recognition and being rewarded for things.  If you offer incentives even if it is a monthly sales goal and if you meet it you get a $10 gift card to wherever it is important to keep people engaged.  You will be surprised the competition that will derive from something as small as a $10 gift card.  Good competition is healthy and keeps you on your toes and makes you strive to be your best.  Gen-Yer’s have developed an attitude that a paycheck is owed to them from their company and if that’s all they get there is no incentive there.  Get them motivated by offering something even if it is a small token to show your appreciation that they are working hard for you.  Small tokens of appreciation and “pats on the back” are very important to our generation it tells us that we are doing something right.  Then if we do more things that are good and similar we are on the right track.

 

In conclusion do not under estimate your Gen-Y employees even though they are young and may not have a plethora of experience they have great ideas.  Ideas that get people involved and it allows you to keep a thriving workforce.  Remember you will want to retire one day and you have to leave your legacy to the younger workforce.  So focus on the younger generations and teach them important tools to increase their knowledge.  Give them more responsibility so that they can learn what it means to fail and succeed in your business. 

 

-Scott

 

 

This is a very inspirational talk that David Blaine gives about his preparation for his World Record of holding his breath for 17 Minutes.  I do not know how he has done this I can barely hold my breath for a minute or two underwater.  The preparation he speaks about is amazing alone that he would put his body through such torment and hardship.  This feat truly shows that the sky is the limit and if you want something bad enough you are the only one that can make that happen!

-Scott

I am sure by now everyone has seen the Pants on the Ground guy from American Idol.  General Larry Platt performed for the Minnesota Vikings yesterday before there game with the Saints.  Unfortunately with 4 turnovers and numerous opportunities to win the game and play in the superbowl the Vikings must have felt this was going to be appropriate for their performance.  General Larry Platt is an amazing story of "Social Media" and videos going "Viral".  Regular everyday people that most of us would not give the time of day becoming celebrities overnight with some sort of performance via YouTube or some other form of Social Media.  I find it very ironic the Vikings chose to have him come sing this song as I think the Vikings can relate to having been caught with their pants on the ground.

Scott

Yesterday I realized how reliant I have become on a simple technology I take for granted everyday, the cell phone.  Apparently I am not sure if it was just Toledo or what the radius of the issue but I was without service for about 3 hours.  It started at 4:30PM and my normal routine was then disrupted because generally when I get off of work I start to call my girlfriend, family, and friends to see how the day went.  I also never realized that I have worked myself into a regular routine it just kind of happened.  When my phone continuously stated phone call failed that just kept raising the boiling point.  This leads me to a couple questions that I have for you the reader.

 

• Do you have any routines that have been interrupted that you did not know you had?
• Have we become so comfortable with technology that we sometimes take it for granted?
• Is this a bad thing to allow ourselves to habitually check our phones and send text messages regularly?
• How is it that we have our whole line of communication with others wrapped in one small little package that we usually abuse (sometimes not on purpose)?
• If we completely rely on the cell phones to deliver our information how do we know what is going on?

 

The last question I would like to focus on because this is probably the biggest problem I see with our reliance on cell phones to deliver our news.  When it is down how can we know if it is just our phones or if it is something on a larger scale?

 

My own opinion I think that it is all very bad as I was extremely frustrated last night by just a small break in communication.  I have become to reliant of the cell phone and I am going to try and slowly back off a little bit and not use it so often. 

 

Luckily I do have a Blackberry Storm and for once RIM was up and Verizon was not so I did still have access to emails and the internet.  I also found it useful to have GTalk to communicate with others through a different medium for once.  Also my Facebook and Twitter app worked so I saw that it was not only me fairly quickly.

 

I have decided to switch things up a bit and start with the Video of the week.  This video from Grab a Seat is hilarious and is following recent Cougar trends.  Such as Cougar Town and the Cruise line recently offering a "Cougar Only" cruise with their cubs (young men they are dating).  Overall I find that it is a very clever way to reach audiences and humor will always have my attention!

Scott

My video of the week is an unfortunate one.  It is video of the destruction the 7.0 earthquake brought down to Haiti.  The amazing thing out of all of this is the utilization of Social Networking in order to communicate with the outside world.  People in Haiti, a mere 10% of which have access to the internet, they have been posting updates to twitter as well as facebook.  They are posting messages stating who is ok in their families and also giving outside resources an idea of some kind of damage control.  Wyclef Jean a singer born in Haiti has utilized Social Networking to ask for relief for the country by asking for donations via cell phone text messages.  If you are interested please check out their website and also their twitter account.  To donate all you have to do is go to the site or text YELE to number 501 501 from your cell phone and a $5 charge will be put directly on your cell phone bill.

Recently I have been involved in a hot topic about our current College and University system that is in place on Modite.  We have been discussing the current procedures they have in place and how that it may not be in the best interest for the student.  I will talk about my own personal experience which you may not agree with.  Please post all of your comments so that we can discuss how your experience may have been better or if you have had a similar experience I would love to hear about it. 

 

I will list the 5 hurdles that I believe Colleges and Universities are facing right now.  Both the good and the bad will be discussed why I think something is a good practice in place right now or why I think something needs to change.  At the end of each section I will have a question for you to answer.

 

1. Part-Time Professors
2. Overcrowded Classrooms
3. Real Life Experience
4. Cost Vs. Value
5. The Final Result “Career”

 

First I will talk about Part-Time professors.  I think this is a failing process because Part-Time professors do not get paid like they are a Full-Time professor.  This means that more than likely they will have another career as their main source of income.  The problem is that Part-Time professors cannot focus 100% of their time and energy on the student’s education because their other position will require their attention as well.  Every time their other position will get the greater amount of attention over the student because they have to retain that main source of income.  Rightly so but should it be at the students expense they are not getting the same amount of commitment? 

 

However the advantage of having a Part-Time professor is their real life experience that they can offer.  Obviously if you are taking their class you have some interest in learning about their career and if that is what you want for your future career.  You can also pick up a mentor along the way to help you become successful and talk with you about their goals and failures and how they got where they are.  This is important to learn from doing and from someone who has had the experience so that you do not make the same mistakes they have made in the past.  I will end it with that sentence or else I will get to far into number three.

 

Question 1:  Do you think it is worth the lack of time commitment and ability to focus 100% on the students from the Part-Time professor to learn real life experience?

 

The second hurdle I believe Colleges are facing is the over crowded classroom.  With the recession in full swing many unemployed workers are returning to Colleges to learn new skills and open new doors for themselves.  My problem is when they have over 100+ students in one lecture hall feverishly writing down every piece of literature they see on the projector screen.  To many times have I been in a huge classroom doing nothing but writing down notes for the entire hour and a half never actually listening to what the professor said and having no interest or ability to learn the information. 

 

The only advantage to having large classroom sizes that I could think of is the networking opportunities and meeting others with similar career aspirations.  Having group projects to work in and also study groups is a great way to meet people and learn different things from them.  Utilize this time to learn work styles and personality traits from people to help you read individuals actions this will help you in the workplace.  Teamwork and the ability to work with others is a great trait to learn while in college so your office coworker relationships can develop and grow while in your career.

 

Question 2:  How do you work best in a large group or by yourself? 1, 5, 15, 50

 

The third obstacle colleges are struggling with I find to be the most important.  How do you offer real life experience in colleges and universities?  Most classes they teach you how to take notes, study, meet deadlines, etc. but how do you teach a college student important life experience to help them meet their goals to find a great career.  Our colleges have been employing very young professors that have little to no real life experiences and they are trying to teach about it.  When you have professors that complete their under grad to continue on and get their graduate degree and then they go and get hired directly from the university.  This is great for them they have a great schedule and a secure job but they do not have real life in a workplace or office setting experience to offer them.  There must be a steady median to work out in which colleges offer more than just an internship for real life experience to the students.  Most of the internships that I had been offered included me doing a lot of paperwork and some kind of research that had nothing to do with what I wanted in a career.

 

I do think in some cases it is a good thing to have younger professors teaching as they may be able to relate better and also they may be more subject to change compared to the tenured professors.  Generally tenured professors do not like change so they stick with what they have always taught which is not always what is happening in the real world.  For instance look at the last couple of years if a marketing teacher still talks solely about billboard and television advertisement to sustain a business that student will be far behind the curve.  In regards to Marketing they must talk about the age of Social Media Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook all have been created in the past couple of years but are influential to the ways the business world operates.  I think some of the younger professors are more likely to adapt to the change and help the college students benefit from it.

 

Question 3:  Do you think internships alone offer enough real world experience for college students to be an asset to a company?

 

We all know the value of a college education is priceless.  At least that is what we have had stuffed into our brains from our parents and role models alike since many of us could talk.  In all reality how can we put a price on what our college education is worth?  I will tell you any College or University anywhere has no problem telling you what it is worth and it is always astronomical.  Since I went to college in my hometown I lucked out and did not have to pay housing fees every year.  I recently went on to a website from the College Board it helps you calculate the approximate cost that will be associated with going to a four year college.  Just attending an in state public college for four years will cost you over $80,000 not including books or any other ridiculous charge they like to get you with.  My main focus in this section is the fact that you have to pay out that much for college I think it should be worth it. 

 

I do understand that colleges have expenses that they must pay and that some of that cost is directly a reflection on tuition.  Also with that tuition they can expand their research and facilities to make the college more credible which is very important.  I will say it is extremely important to have a college degree in this time that we live in as just about any professional position you apply for any longer you must have a 4 year degree.  You should also consider a college degree an invaluable asset and a great accomplishment. 

 

Question 4:  Here I have two questions the first.  If college were offered to everyone at no extra cost would it be as prestigious to have a degree?  If college cost over a million dollars for four years would you still attend?

 

The final barrier I see that colleges have been running into helping the students achieve the final result a career.  Generation Y has recently been hit with a stunning 18% unemployment rate.  With over 20% of that statistic being recent graduates.  What are colleges and universities doing to help college students find their careers?  Many of them are offering job boards and some are even reaching out to the community to help place some of the recent graduates.  What skills are offered in college classrooms to help them reach their goals of obtaining a meaningful career?  Some possible reasons Generation Y is having difficulty finding a job.  Prior generations are sticking in their jobs in this tough economy in fear of leaving their current positions for better ones.  Due to unemployment prior generations with greater experience are willing to take positions paying less than what they usually make.  Think of it like this one candidate a recent graduate with 4 years of part time retail experience working while attending classes.  The second candidate has 10 years experience in the field you are looking for and they are willing to take a little bit more than the recent grad.  The choice of which candidate to choose is obvious.

 

There are some great benefits to the prior generations holding on to all the jobs.  Many Gen Yer’s are turning to entrepreneurship to fill that void in unemployment.  We have been very successful in creating new business models that prior generations would have never thought of.  Companies involved in Social Media and online networking have ballooned over the past couple years because of college students and recent college grads coming up with new and innovative ideas.  The ideas they come up with everyday will mold what our business model will look like in the future.

 

Question 5:  Do you think Gen Y has been driven to entrepreneurship more so than any other generation?

 

Like I stated earlier this is just my opinion from my own experience I look forward to reading your comments and will reply to each one personally.

 

-Scott

 

People have dubbed this as the most useless machine in the world.  I would have to disagree though it has a purpose.  Even if its purpose is to turn itself off it still has one.  To many other machines are built that really are useless and have no purpose even to the extent of shutting themselves off.  I think this is a pretty cool little gadget even if I would not benefit using one. 

Scott