April 2014
22
and consumers:
Understand them tobridge thegap
W
hereas the morning session focussed on next
generation technologies, the afternoon session turned
the delegates’ attention to themore human element of
humanknowledgeandskills.DrRenéUys fromThinking
Fusion had her audience intrigued by the insights she offered.
Many delegates found themselves chuckling as they recognised
characteristics they have to deal with and found the insights
helpful in explainingwhy the differences between generationsmay
sometimes give rise to conflict or confusion.
DrUyshighlighteddifferencesbetweengenerations, sayingweneed
to understand what drives and influences them and what causes
their different behaviour. Today’s economy is described as
The
Connection Economy
which is very different from
The Information
Age
we have just experienced which was process-orientated,
revered theMBA, celebrated the hero leader andwas characterised
by technology and innovations.
Incontrast, theconnectioneconomy isnot about theconnectedness
through technology, but about relationships. It is an engaging,
collaborative, relationship-based community that is all about using
the internet to move from the information age to the connection
economy simplybecausewe are all connected.
It means answering questions not only about why people should
buy from you, but also about why people shouldwork for you. The
competitive advantage is in authentic relationships. The world has
become a connection of dynamic relationships where networks
dominate – sowho you knowdoesmatter!
The next generation employee
The employee of the next generation are very likely “Generation
Y”’s who were born between 1981 and 2000 who will be working
for “Baby Boomer” bosseswhowere born between 1946 and 1964.
StereotypedGenY’shavea reputation for being lazy, unprofessional
andhavingasenseof entitlementwhileexpectingquickpromotions;
however, theyarealso themost educatedgenerationof all timewho
have been using computers, mobile phones, the internet, social
media andother technologies since childhood.
Significantly, 70%of all people inAfricaandSouthAfricaareyounger
than23yearsof age.GenY’swill continue to transform theworkplace
to better suit their needs largely because they do not like what the
BabyBoomershavecreated. TheGenY’swill become themost highly
performing generation ever, with high levels of output having access
to knowledge at their fingertips that’s never been held before. The
GenY’s like flexibility,mobilityandcareerdevelopment opportunities,
but theyalsobelieve ingivingback to society.
Dr Uys explained someof the characteristic as follows:
General attitude: “Let’smake theworld abetter place.”
Dislike: Dishonesty andunbalanced lifestyles.
Like: Shopping and labels; family and friendships are treasured;
the environmentmatters; technology is very important.
Characteristics:Tolerant, caring, honest, balanced, independent,
optimistic, clean cut.
Health Issues:Obesity.
As parents: Relaxed and confident andnot smothering.
Attitude towards education: “There is more to school than
(boring)memorising.”
Mealtimes: Meals are constantly interrupted bymobile phones.
Pre-packedhealthy foods abound.
How do theGenY’s view their career?
They like experience andwill not only change jobs in order to climb
the ladder, but also to get different experience or learn a new skill.
There is an appreciation for being happy rather than only focussing
on their bankbalance, so they likedoingcharitywork. Theymight do
several jobs at the same timee.g. a farmermaywork threedaysona
farm and twodays as a chef.
Employers find themselves competingwith Generation Y’s for their
time. Dr Uys notes that GenY’s are involvedwith family and actively
involve their parents in their careers.
20 tips formotivatingGenY’s in the
workplace
1. Give feedback – they love it – regularly! Employers need to
mentorGenY intobecominggoodemployeesbyproviding them
withbenchmarks andmilestones tomeasure themselves by.
2. Place them in teams – they like working in clusters and hate
makingdecisions themselves.
3. Be prepared to negotiate. They don’t respondwell to top-down
orders. Their parent groupwas not strict so youmay be the first
authority in their lifewhich couldbequite a shock to them.
4. Give them job fulfilment – they need to feel like they aremaking
adifference.
5. Give them small deadlines since they have a problem with
projectmanagement. Timemanagement will have tobe taught.
6. Give them some control. All employees need boundaries, but
there is a skill in allowing them to experience a sense of control
over a taskwithout handingover complete control.
7. Flatter them. They may think highly of themselves, but the
manager must learn to harness their creativity to benefit the
business.
8. Don’t just assume theyhave technological savvy. Theymayhave
skills, but not necessarily the specific skills used in a specific
environment – they will however learn fast as new technology
does not intimidate them.
9. Give them flexibility. They will work hard and at all hours to
get a job done, but they expect to have a personal life which is
moulded around their career.
10. Teach them to respect the internal peckingorder of abusiness.
11. Teach them how to work face-to-face. They are much better at
texting than at sitting in the same room
12. Communicatewith themon-line. Follow upon conversations by
email to keep them accountable.
FEEDBACK
Congress
Special
JENNYMATHEWS,
SAGraan/Grain
contributor
