The ABC’s of attracting, appreciating and developing Gen Y

Generation Ys are a fantastic, unique group of employees and taking the time to understand, appreciate and nurture their talent is essential for any forward-thinking organisation.

According to the Singapore Human Resources Institute, Gen Y represents approximately 20 per cent of Singapore’s labour market. This is a generation that is looking for companies that provide defined career development paths and relevant training opportunities.

With a higher focus on career mobility and pace of development than other generations, Gen Ys are looking to progress to the next step of the career ladder within the first 12 months – either within their own company or with an organisation offering this opportunity.

Certainly, the tight labour market means it is a great time to be an employee or a job seeker. But it also means that employers need to be more strategic in their recruitment and retention processes.

The following tips are some of the ways business leaders and HR managers can create a workplace environment to foster the dynamic Gen Y generation.

1. Create a high achievement work culture. Gen Ys are motivated and goal-oriented. Strive to create a workplace culture that takes advantage of their high achievement mentality by presenting employees with plenty of challenges, goals and targets and make sure you link these to measurable criteria by which they can be evaluated.

2. Encourage their values. It is essential to allow Gen Y workers’ true selves to shine. When explaining a task to younger workers, tell them what you want done and then ask them how they would like to go about it. This empowering process will help educate managers about Gen Y through processes and assist in providing meaningful work for employees.

3. Provide regular reinforcement. Gen Ys crave constant feedback. Occasional ‘pats on the back’ and yearly performance reviews are not going to cut it. Make sure your provide feedback on their level of performance and ensure they receive positive and constructive reinforcement that will motivate them to keep improving and achieving.

4. Have the technology. Having grown up in the centre of the high speed, high-tech revolution, technology is a key part of Gen Ys life. Your organisation must stay at the cutting edge to ensure these workers have the technology and tools necessary to do their jobs quickly and efficiently. One of the surest ways to lose these employees is to expect them to perform with outdated, obsolescent computers and manual processes.

5. Make use of mentors. Assign mentors or coaches to each new worker for the first 90 days of employment. Ideally, these mentors should also be younger individuals who are exemplars of the kinds of behaviour and results-orientation your company would like all its employees to exhibit. The role of these mentors may be as simple as going to lunch with the new employee to ‘show them the ropes’ and share the often unspoken company culture.

Adapting your employment strategies to harness the force of Gen Y will improve retention rates, add diversity and value to your workforce, and ultimately contribute to your company’s bottom line.