subject: Motivating And Managing Generation Y [print this page] Some love themSome love them. Some hate them. This last generation to be wholly born in the 20th century grew up with the internet, cell phones, music downloading and were the first to latch on to Facebook and social media (heck, they created it).
With the first "editions" of Generation Y rolling off the high school and college assembly lines and numbering more than 60 million in America, their impact (whether good or bad) promises to be big. They think differently, dress differently and have a very different approach and perspective when it comes to their careers and (as with any generation) employing Gen Y comes with its own unique challenges and opportunities.
"Unlike the generations that have gone before them, Gen Y has been pampered, nurtured and programmed with a slew of activities since they were toddlers, meaning they are both high-performance and high-maintenance", says Bruce Tulgan in an interview with USA Today. As founder of Rainmaker Thinking, a company that studies the lives of young people, Bruce has had the opportunity to identify trends and strategies for managing Gen Y. So, let's take a look at what some managers are saying about Gen Y.
"They're entitled." Of course, they are entitled! They were raised by parents that told them they could do anything, nurtured in a school system where they were told to expect everything, and alive in an age when information was available at their fingertips. They got medals just for participating. The world has always been their oyster.
"They're multi-taskers." Facebook. Twitter. IPhones. These are products and services born of a multi-tasking generation. While early research has shown that multi-tasking has negative effects on productivity, the reasoning behind the actual psychological need to multi-task has not necessarily been addressed.
"They're lazy or not willing to work." Okay, let's sort out this statement. First, they are multi-tasking. Now, they are lazy and not willing to work. A little mismatch? Yep. The blanket statement that an entire generation is any "you name it" label is a mistake. At any rate, is Gen Y lazy? Some of them might be. A better way to look at it is that a lack of productivity might be a lack of motivation....which rolls us into the next complaint...
"Why should I...?" This question addresses the chief motivation for Gen Y, or Generation Why. Whereas other generations have been around the how or the what, this generation is all about the why. They can figure out the how and the what, but without the why, they won't even get in the game.
As the Why Generation, incentive is a key ingredient for motivating this millennial group. Hmmmm, incentive...what will incentify a group of "entitled, lazy, multi-tasking, why should I's"? Typical motivators are praise, recognition, finances, awards, and time. While the other motivators have their place and their purpose, the focus of this post is on time.
Time is a HUGE motivator. There are only so many hours in a day to get done what you need to do and what you want to do. Naturally, the need will come before the want. So, time to focus on the "want" is an excellent incentive for Generation Y and has already been implemented by companies around the country. Aflac is highlighting such perks as time off given as awards, flexible work schedules and recognition. It works because it gives an employee incentive to work hard so that they can play hard.
However, this strategy shouldn't be rooted in "If you do this, you get this." That will only create a situation where they're response will be, "If I do this, how much time do I get off?" That isn't what you want. A great way to implement this strategy is to award the time off or the flexibility as a surprise award. That way it is more of a bonus (like a slot machine).
In sum, Gen Y has its challenges. Get over it. Use strategies to make them your greatest asset. And remember, when you're motivating with incentive, think bonus not reward!
