7 Ways HR Can Better Manage Gen Y Employees

Taking into account the more individualistic expectations of Generation Y and Z means that HR will have to play a role of coordinator in order to respond to their needs while maintaining the collective value of their organisation.

How are HR going to evolve in the coming years? It’s a question that can be easily asked given that organisations now have to manage multiple generations with divergent values and expectations under the same roof. By 2020, Generations Y & Z will comprise half the global workforce.

Equipped with a strong personality and the clear knowledge that they will change jobs throughout their career – Generation Y also known as the Millenials – attribute more value to their personal development than other generations. While on the job, the 18-34 tend to act like real sponges by accumulating as much knowledge as possible. This is a sign of their increased engagement but will later serve them as a leverage to better sell themselves when interviewing for their next role. Yes, they are more engaged but they are also way less loyal than their older counterparts. The average employment tenure is only 2 years for Millenials when on average employees will keep their job for 4.6 years in the US and 3.3 years in Australia.

While each individual is different, Gen Y’s most common treat is their desire to be in charge for making their own career decisions. Thus blurring the delineation between their work and personal life.

In light of this situation, how do you manage to close the generational gap between the 20-34 years old and the rest of the workforce? These five ways will guide you on the right track to allow HR to adapt.

Have a Sense of Purpose

The real challenge for HR Managers lies in articulating the personalisation of HR services while federating their entire organisation at the same time. And to do this, you need to create a common “reason for being” that will transpire through the overall corporate culture. This is even more important when we know that 92 percent of Generation Y believe that success, aka performance, should be measured by more than just profit. To create a corporate culture that is aligned with these new dimensions of the workforce, HR Managers will need to re-work their metrics and update their reference tools. Millenials who remain the longest within their organisation tend to share their organisation’s values and feel more satisfied according to Deloitte’s Millenial Survey 2016.

Personalise your HR Offer

Tomorrow’s HR will need to satisfy the multitude of employee personas created by age generations. To do this HR Managers will need to adopt a segmented approach in the way they communicate. A couple of ways to do this include:

• Listening to the different generations by age groups in order to break down their expectations and uncover their key motivational drivers.
• Utilise Big Data and predictive analytics to better understand what younger workers expect in terms of their pay, benefits, time off and working hours.

Put an emphasis on Personal Development

It’s not too late to earn Millenials loyalty. One way to do this is by supporting their career ambitions with opportunities for personal development. In fact, 72 percent consider their personal learning and development to be more important than financial rewards.

Create the Ideal Work Environment

Having job flexibility as well as a good work-life balance come as top reasons when Millennials evaluate potential job opportunities. Creating a 5-Star workplace is therefore a key element to attract young talent to your organisation.

Empower Generation Y to Increase Loyalty

You might think that providing personal development is a way to help Millennials put one foot out of the door, but it’s not. When they see that they work for an organisation that is supportive of their goals, values and ambitions; Millenials will feel more compelled to stick to an organisation. As retaining talent has become one of today’s top HR challenge, it makes sense to apply this best-practise.

Make your organisation more Agile

Organisations that are structured vertically act as repellent for the younger generation. Having grown up in environments that favour group activities, Millennials are by nature highly collaborative and used to learning in teams. Adopting a more agile and horizontal structure allows for a more collaborative work environment.

Revolutionise the role of Manager

Millennials are comfortable working with their older colleagues and value mentors in particular. It’s a fact that tensions may exist between older workers and the younger generations, notably around the use of new technology. But it’s essential for the role of Manager to evolve to become a coach who will be held accountable for the satisfaction of his clients: his employees. This means that new forms of objectives will need to be developed in addition to the well known sales and growth targets.