Sirona Says

You See, Generation Y'ers can achieve things!!

Everyone talks about the generation Y'ers (including me) and how they need focus, training and development. If they could only apply themselves to subjects (maybe physics??) that they are interested in, they can achieve, what could sometimes could be called the impossible! Thanks James for heads up on these clever (well some would say clever!) generation Y'ers!

Generation Y'ers - not for us, say SME's!

Generation Y staff are surprisingly not in demand for SME companies, says the latest report from the entrepreneur think tank, the Tenon Forum. They claim that these generation Y'ers are often not just up to the job, but also show a lack of work readiness. They also go on to say that over 30% of the SME's surveyed cited poor literacy and numeracy amongst school leavers as a key issue facing their business.

So, while the generation Y'ers are an employers future lifeblood, it does appear that companies that need 'real' skills are shying away from them.....at the moment anyway. So are companies starting to realise that the generation X and the boomer's are actually still worth employing? It appears that they are actively seeking them out!! 

Entrepreneur and Tenon Forum think tank member, Khalid Aziz, Chairman of the Aziz Corporation, says: "We are becoming increasingly frustrated with a lack of work-readiness amongst graduates, many of whom do not possess basic skills, such as mental arithmetic. Those under the age of 40 have never experienced high unemployment and this is contributing to a tendency for younger employees to take work for granted or, worse, treat it as an extension of their social lives. This failure to take work seriously is not an issue amongst more mature employees."

Retailers have a problem with Generation Y'ers

When I first started in work in retail many years ago there was one thing that was ingrained into me........"The customer is always right". Of course we know that is not always the case, but as far as the interaction with the customer goes, it is a strategy to keep customers coming back. It teaches you to manage expectation and deal with people in a civil and considerate way etc This has provided a great base for my career, especially in recruitment (although it becomes a challenge, believing it with some clients!!)

Over the weekend visiting a number of retail shops, it dawned on me that retailers WILL have problems with their Generation Y workforce.Their seemingly lack of interest and motivation, and 'what's in it for me' attitude doesn't mix with retail customer service too well. They don't like to engage with customers, won't accept they have made a mistake and certainly won't adopt the customer is always right philosophy (sorry Tescos, WHSmiths, JJB and Next but they don't!).

So how do companies with such key customer facing roles change the attitudes of their staff? They can't, but they can look at other companies that I believe get it right - namely Marks & Spencers and Waitrose (John Lewis). They start getting it right at the recruitment phase - knowing what they want in terms of staff quality, and sticking to it - and continue the process with regular training, mentoring, appraising. And this is just for their shop assistant/sales assistant roles!! Have you ever been into either of these stores and had a bad experience with one of their staff? Highly unlikely I suggest.

So all you retailers, recruiting generation Y'ers won't be easy, but try and engage with them, after all if they won't engage with you then they certainly won't engage with your customers!!

The Five defined behavioral groups of Generation Y'ers and Generation Z'ers

Following on from my last post on Habbo's Global Youth Survey, another part of the interesting research clearly identified five clearly defined behavioral segments amongst the generation Z and generation Y teenagers surveyed. It examined interests, values, attitudes, online habits, current media usage, consumption behavior and brand preferences to understand what drives these generations. With each group representing approximately one-fifth of the total teens surveyed, the five groups were categorized and described as the following:

1. Achievers: Ambitious, strong minded and materialistic.  They value material success and whilst having lots of friends do not consider other people's feelings as much as other segments
2. Rebels: Value gathering lots of experiences in life and enjoy a fast-paced lifestyle.  Like Achievers they want to become “rich and famous”, but they are not willing to compromise on having fun in order to achieve this goal
3. Traditionals: Value having an ordinary life and see themselves as honest, polite and obedient.  They are keen to help others but are less ambitious and  pleasure seeking compared to other segments
4. Creatives: Share many of the same positive traits as Traditionals, but with a focus on creativity.  They place value in getting a good education and being influential in life, but they are also active, social and have an interest in traveling
5. Loners: More introverted and less likely than other segments to identify with any specific personality traits.  They rarely see themselves as active or self-assured, but are more open minded in their attitudes compared to Traditionals or Achievers

For those of you with children, I am sure you can identify with some of these groups, but for employers it will be more difficult. The one thing for sure, is that they will have to learn fast how to identify the right group mix for their future recruiting strategies.

How do Generation Y'ers and Generation Z'ers communicate?

This may surprise you (it certainly did me) that mobile texting didn't come out top in this survey, especially the way my daughters use their mobiles!! Habbo's Global Youth Survey looked at generation Y and generation Z teenagers - particularly aged 11-18 - to see how they communicate with other people (friends, family etc). Here are the ways they communicate:

1. Instant Messaging via internet  81%
2. Meeting in person   77%
3. Text Messages   70%
4. Talking on the phone   60%
5. Social Networking sites  54%
6. Email   41%

So as an employer looking to tap into this market, it does make interesting reading. Although the surprising one at the bottom is email with only 41%, it must be said that 72% of them do hold current email accounts but only use them for non-personal communication like school, work and family(!!!).