Seven Ways to Keep Generation X and Y Employees at Work

"Hard work spotlights the character of people:
some turn up their sleeves,
some turn up their noses,
and some don't turn up at all."
- Sam Ewig

Let’s cut straight to the chase on finding the best ways to save your company money when it comes to retaining the younger generations of employees.

Granted, whole volumes can be filled with the information trainers and speakers are using and compiling on the innovative ways to lead and interact with the Generation X/Y workforces, so this will be simplistic view of effective strategies.

However, considering that the following ideas are at the forefront of most seminars dealing with the next generation of employees, we hope you will find them helpful.

1. Careful Selection in Hiring – This may sound self-evident, but you would be surprised how many companies find themselves hiring any young person that walks through the door thinking they will “fill” the position without any ample amount of pre-screening. We think careful questioning such as, “Why is this new-hire here?” “How long do they plan on staying?” and “What level of commitment do they have to the new job?” are all fair questions to learn more about them in addition to profiling them to find their strengths and weaknesses.

2. Tuition Reimbursement – Believe it or not, Generation X and especially Generation Y are very concerned about gaining new work/educational skills. To offer tuition reimbursement in return for longevity of job commitment may be just the thing to keep them around.

3. Stock Options – For the Generation X’ers, this seems to be a huge incentive as they approach the age where home mortgages and growing families are now the primary events in their lives.

4. Profit Sharing – Like the stock options, this seems to connect the employee with a sense of security that is often not the case earlier in their lives. Stemming from that security is an allegiance the Gen X’er is willing to create with your company.

5. Casual Dress Codes – This is a big one with Generation Y. So often, our “older” clients (now in the neighborhood of 50 years old!) ask us why the dress fashions are so risqué and different. These are simply different times, and to attract and retain the younger employees, more and more companies are having to relax the codes a bit in order to keep up with the times. This will be a tough one to reconcile until the baby boomers are all but gone from business. Only when they have been replaced with Gen X and Gen Y employees will the more progressive dress codes become the norm. I think we all used to hear similar reactions from our own parents, so maybe it is just a generational thing!

6. Improved Training – Similar to the tuition reimbursement, the next generation of workers really is attracted to any investment you are willing to make in their future. We believe on-going training should be a part of every company’s vision to improve the bottom line, but Generation X and Y are especially interested in companies that have far-reaching training built-in to their job descriptions and a clear path of upward mobility. As baffling as it is sometimes, these newer employees really are looking to the future (even if it's only their own!).

7. Flexible Hours – As with dress codes, gone are the days of the standard “9-5” and Monday through Friday workweek. Even the standard “banker’s hours” are gone for most companies, and the next generations of employees like it that way. Providing a variety of work hours to keep them engaged is an ideal way to play to their need to avoid the mundane.

Let’s face it, the working world of business is changing and always will be.

We are facing rapid technological, logistical, and workforce changes that are very difficult to keep up with. After incurring the cost of training employees, the last thing we need is to have employees leave before we really get a chance to utilize their skills. Techniques like the ones described above may be just the edge we need to keep them around and in the process save our bottom-line from rapid rates of turnover.

For tips to effectively train your people and streamline your organization, and for other solutions to your staffing challenges, visit www.traininginabox.com. Sign up for our free newsletter at www.quicktrainingsolutions.com to make your HR training and development life easier. Ron Nielsen designs and delivers innovative and effective training solutions for businesses through NTG, his business development and training company.

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