August 31, 2007

You all know how much I enjoy the www.employeeevolution.com blog. They are getting some excellent readership, particularly from recruiters of Gen Y talent.

In fact, recruiters are providing a lot of the on-line advice we see to date for Gen Y. But feedback from the generation indicates most of the content they read from recruiters rubs them the wrong way. (more…)

August 16, 2007

I recently wrote a post for my friends over at www.employeeevolution.com. Imagine my surprise when it had more than 2000 reads in the first two hours it posted! Those guys are doing something right with their blog. How do I know? By the heart-felt dialog that ensued between Baby Boomer and Gen Y readers of my post.

If you are looking to understand first-hand the disconnect between the generations in the workplace today, read this post and the dialog beneath it. It’s time for employees to stop complaining about one another and to start to find some common ground to work from. I think that begins with HR teams finding ways to help all their employees feel more satisfied and successful on-the-job. When an employee is happy, they are more tolerant and in a better position to help those around them. There is a smart quote that says, “Anger is fear turned outward.” For those of you with angry employees, ask yourself: What are they afraid of?

Here’s the post that can help you begin to unlock the answers…

Helicopter Managing Fails With Some Gen Y - Corporate America’s Pushing Back

August 14, 2007

Last week, I was surprised and thrilled to find out that Tiffany Monhollon, the very creative author of the blog, Little Red Suit, had added me to the W List of Woman Bloggers. Moreover, I was shocked to learn how many more male bloggers there are than women, and how this list, the brainchild of Valeria Maltoni, was picked up and added to by Krishna De in an effort to build awareness around all the great females out their posting their viewpoints on the net. Since then, (more…)

August 7, 2007

Recruiting Gen Y has been a hot, I mean a HOT, subject these days. (If you are an HR manager and you haven’t read up on the best way to recruit college grads, then I suggest you get the new book, “Recruit or Die” which summarizes the approaches that have worked best to date.)

But, even with all this insight on the tactics necessary for capturing young talent, the word on the street from some managers is in spite of doing what they were told, Gen Y employees are still leaving after only 6 - 18 months of employment. (more…)

August 5, 2007

Experts say employers should plan now for older workers’ retirements

By Elizabeth Kenny

Published: August 2007 - www.seacoasventures.net

Janet Tucker, a career counselor in Exeter. Jackie Ricciardi photo

Since they have been old enough to take a stand, members of the baby boomer generation have been more than willing to express their opinion, work toward change and reflect on what they want for themselves.

So it should not come as much of a surprise that as many boomers are hitting middle age, they are wondering if their jobs are still satisfying and serving a purpose for the greater community. Some employers on the Seacoast and across the country are preparing for this transition. Yet others seem to be ignoring the fact that many of their tenured employers will not be working forever, a fact career counselors and developers say they must start considering or pay for it later. (more…)

G. L. Hoffman, author of the widely-successful blog, What Would Dad Say, and one of the early executive team members of JobDig, where job seekers learn to ‘dig their job,’ recently sent me several photographs of a typical summer morning at his company. The photos were of his employees competing in crazy contests at 9am in the morning. A pregnant woman rowing a boat across the floor had just won for her team. It was all part of a Olympic-themed sales contest he and his two fellow company leaders, Paul Moquist, the VP of Sales, and Toby Dayton, the President/CEO, created as a way to have fun and inspire their team to reach their goals. For many managers, the mere idea of holding weekly events during prime work hours seems ridiculous. Not to mention, the fact that they were acting like kids. So when I asked G.L. why they actually encouraged this activity when most others would shun it, he simply said - “I only like to work at places that are fun - and so do the people we hire.” GL, Paul and Toby are succeeding where many other companies are failing. With 90% of their team under the age of 30, these three executives have a keen understanding of how important building a ‘corporate culture club’ is to talent development and retention, and he’s got the stats to prove it. Turnover is low, productivity is high, and JobDig.com is place where young professionals feel they can really learn and grow. While further questioning of G.L. proved the executive team understands the strengths (tech savvy, multi-taskers) AND weaknesses (unfamiliar with business protocol and how to communicate in a professional manner) of Gen Y professionals, he gives one simple answer as to why (unlike many other frustrated managers of young talent) they are able to get this generation to take criticism, work hard, be resourceful and push to exceed expectations: “They trust us.”

If you are an HR executive or hiring manager, then you know all about the challenges of keeping employees happy these days. You can’t escape the extensive discussions around the impending talent (not labor) shortage. Meanwhile, employees, especially the younger ones, are job jumping more than ever. And let’s not forget that things like technology and generational differences are making employees feel even more disgruntled. (more…)

August 3, 2007

I just read Lisa Takeuchi Cullen’s posting today on her blog “Work in Progress” entitled Women Earn More, Angry Women Earn Less.

This is a must read for any woman working today. The stats are fascinating, and yes, a bit unnerving as well. I’m with Lisa on this one: it’s time we change the workforce’s perception of female employees/managers who chooses to vent their frustrations. It should not be more acceptable for a man to get angry on-the-job than a woman, let alone (as the survey indicates) more respected. How about we all just learn to work through our feelings and keep the anger to a minimum? And in the event of a tense moment, let’s get to the point that gender doesn’t play a role in it’s impact.

August 1, 2007

By J.T. O’Donnell

The word ‘entitlement’ is being used so much to describe Gen Y workers these days, to me, it’s now known as the ugly ‘E’ word. While not a part of that generation, I’m still tired of seeing Gen Ys get a bad rap for their professional attitudes. As the old saying goes, “Those who throw stones, shouldn’t live in glass houses.” Entitlement in the workplace isn’t a generational issue – it’s a societal issue, and it’s affecting every generation in the American workforce today. (more…)