Understanding Generation Y
Getting the mix right
The project environment is a micro-organisation. Strong, healthy and successful projects are a product of the people, processes, infrastructure and culture driving their delivery. At the core, project managers need to ensure they attract and retain the right people to the right jobs, at the right time to achieve sustainable project outcomes. ‘Right people’ however does not suggest carbon copies of capability. As a rule of thumb, recruiting project teams using a best fit approach can be far more successful than just going by experience; be sure to balance your team with complimentary skill sets such as young and old, experienced and new, local and international expertise.
Gen Y can add a brilliant and dynamic dimension to any project team. The challenge for project managers is to embrace that enthusiasm and keep ahead of it. Gen Y thrives on a ‘quick win’, but they also like to have visibility of the bigger picture. Better still, they like to contribute to shaping it. This need for involvement will challenge the thinking of Gen X and Baby Boomers because from their perspective, they are the experts. I often hear from these generations that Gen Y would do well to listen instead of talk!
The number one strategy to attract and retain Gen Y to your project team is to give them a voice. Like previous generations before them, Gen Y love to feel important. The difference with Gen Y, however, is that they demand the attention. Project managers need to ask them for their thoughts, their opinions, and their feedback.
Uncertain economic times
Over the coming months, the Australian workforce will begin to realise the impact of the financial meltdown currently being endured by Western markets. The impact is expected to be severe.
Having grown up in boom times, Gen Y has never known workplace uncertainty. Stable, well-established working conditions may well become important, and the youngest of the generations can expect potential opposition from the more experienced and more capable Gen X, who will be jostling for positions within projects.
The face of project work in the short term has changed. Organisations are beginning to discard plans for future initiatives, reduce the scope and size of current pieces of work, and even shut projects down altogether. The consulting and contracting market has tightened, seemingly overnight.
For project managers fortunate enough to be continuing to drive projects, now more than ever is it important to secure strong Gen Y talent to complement your team skill sets. In the long term, businesses cannot afford to ignore Gen Y’s potential and bypass them in organisational planning.
Employers must to understand what makes Gen Y tick and actively turn these perceived negatives into positives: they’re bratty, but they’re fun, they are flighty and fabulous. They challenge the norm, and vex their elders. They have all the latest gadgets—and know how to use them. Gen Y’s skills and abilities keenly match the needs of a fast-paced, globalised world. Managers should be embracing them in order to sustain their business.
Karen Williams is principal of Message Stix (www.messagestix.com.au), a Brisbane-based organisational change management and communications consultancy.
This article was first published in the December/January 09 issue of The Project Manager, magazine of the Australian Institute of Project Management. Please visit www.aipm.com.au for more information on the Institute.
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This is quite an interesting article. I think people are definitely too quick to label Generation Y as ‘lazy, demanding, short on skills, with no regard for authority.’ Karen is right here, rather than judge, employers need to look beyond the generalisations and realise that Gen Y’ers are hard working and alot more switched on than their older counterparts.
Thank you for a change in attitude towards our general description! I am writing a paper about my so called generation; little did I know how unbelievably lazy, stupid, and rude I was (that is compared to the older generations)! It is very frustrating, and I think the older generations have another coming to them! They have not gotten all of us yet!
Thank you for this insightful article, Karen.
This is something we need to keep on top of, especially in the promotional gift business. When clients come to us for merchandise that appeals to the ever important younger demographic, we have to be sure we can deliver something that is not only effective, but appealing and relevant. A promotional item that seems like it ‘gets’ young people goes a long way to helping our clients establish (and maintain) a ‘hip’ and ‘fresh’ brand impression in the generation Y consumer. Thanks!
Karen, your article reminds me of Vineet Nayar’s book, “Employees First, Customers Second”, where he has also talked about the uniqueness of the Gen Y employees and their very non-traditional way of performing their job. Despite, the Gen X calling them the “brats of today”, they have managed to show their individuality and efficiency in doing their work by using social media as their prime medium of working. Vineet Nayar has referred to them as the “transformers of today’s society” in his book.
[...] Monitor found it’s Generation Y run businesses that are most likely to see positive revenue results, with 29 percent seeing a rise, [...]