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Speak Up

While standing in line at a Subway, I couldn't stop smiling while I listened to two 20-somethings excitedly recount their Eagles concert experience.

Eager to conjure my own rapturous memory of the evening, I, like a puppy, joined in on their discussion. The three of us were reliving that familiar concert rush, validating that Eagles music does transcend generations. After further exchange, (they invited me to eat subs with them), I learned my new young friends were Monctonians living in Calgary, but home to visit for the concert.

Upon hearing of their roots, I proceeded to enquire about, well, everything -- why were they working in Calgary? What jobs did they occupy, had they looked in New Brunswick for these jobs? Would they like a job here in New Brunswick? Did they bring their resume with them? Did they want me to write their resumes?

I noticed that they began to eat their subs unusually fast, and avoided eye contact -- but I pressed on.

"Sooooo, why are you not working in New Brunswick?" I asked, expecting an answer related to pay or positions (computer programmer and architect). I was surprised to hear them say, without hesitation "it's just too slow around here."

"Too slow?" I blurted -- other Subway patrons glancing over at me. I bantered on with facts to negate their perception: "you do know that we are the fastest-growing city in North America ... "

(I didn't care that I had inflated the scope of that fact.)

"It's so fast here with all of the buildings going up everywhere, the demand for architects and programmers is through the roof," I continued.

They looked at me blankly -- perhaps they were frightened. It was clear that our former Eagles bond had all but evaporated -- they were likely beginning to think they could visit, but never leave.

Not fast enough, huh?

After a bit of reflection, I can see that speed is a theme in attracting and retaining Gen Y's. They want whatever they want quickly. Apparently, parents are partly to blame for this with our so called "helicopter parenting."

They are the generation known for growing up with everything they need at their fingertips. This week, a national newspaper referred to the book "Idiot's Guide to Becoming an Adult -- the author wrote it for her kids (Gen Y and Millennials) and according to her, these kids "can restore a hard drive but can't boil an egg" -- or something along those lines.

I laughed at the irony, however: did she really think that they would read a manual written in conventional text, when they can merely Google and learn how to boil an egg on their iPhone?

Gen Y's expect quick response. It was a criticism of companies in New Brunswick from the survey NBCC conducted in the spring. The respondents were ex-pats working out west. A few of them complained that when trying to come back home to work, New Brunswick companies took too long to call them. When they finally did, the ex-pats had taken other jobs and had already re-located! So apart from being a bit quicker on the draw, so to speak, here are some other tips in working with Gen Y's:

* Make sure their role is clear from the beginning, engage them with how their role fits into the success of your company.

* Make sure they make relationships with formal key contacts and informal key contacts, as the stronger the relationships they make, the more likely they will stay (relationships are important to them).

* Explain the meaning behind their tasks or why they are doing things, as they have been raised to ask "why" about everything.

* Make sure you plan for their development -- learning new skills is far more important than loyalty.

* And finally, they have been told all their young lives that they are very special and that they can do anything (this one we can blame on Barney -- that big purple dinosaur) and to look out for themselves (again this is because Mom and Dad -- Baby Boomers and Gen Xers -- lost their jobs so much).

So if formalities or policies are slowing your recruitment and retention efforts, hurry up and throw them away or revamp them -- show Gen Y's we, too, can provide them with life in the fast lane!

In response to our clients and the readers of HR Express, we are offering a free newsletter covering such things as: local workplace best practices and tools to support your workplace improvement initiatives. To receive our newsletter, contact me at Mqcoach@nb.sympatico.ca.

n Monique Brennan BA MSc is a Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) who works with businesses to improve their workplace effectiveness.