Preparing Younger Workersfor Success

Many organizations still struggle to successfully integrate a multi-generational workforce.Here are insights and pointers for winning the war for younger talent to ensure your newemployees are set up to succeed from the start.

Young adults value authenticity and ethics

Considered by many as the most socially conscious group since the 1960s, young adults tend tobe much more tolerant and altruistic. Having witnessed a variety of corporate scandals, they ac-tively seek authentic leaders and ethical corporate policies as they enter and progress throughtheir careers. They look for inspiration and accountability from their leaders.

Young adults crave structure and a clear career path

They expect great things for themselves and have an ingrained sense of purpose and an inherentdrive to succeed. They’re willing to work hard in order to achieve and advance in the workplace,but they don’t particularly value “face” or “desk” time and they don’t want to be chained to theirdesks.

Michelle M. Smith, CPIM, CRPVice President, Marketing – O. C. Tanner

Young adults focus on relationships

Young adults readily admit they prioritize relationships over careers and have established theirown networks. While they don’t respect hierarchies, they do desire strong leaders who express asincere interest in them. They believe they are special and want their managers to recognize theirspecific strengths. In fact, close relationships with managers may help ensure that young adultsdevelop loyalty to their companies and meet their own performance goals.

Young adults respond to frequent, positive feedback and recognition

While young adults seek frequent, specific feedback, they don’t accept direct criticism well. Withtheir need for continuous reinforcement, young adults appreciate the use of recognition andreward programs as ways to provide feedback and spotlight their accomplishments. Companieshave also found success by including peer recognition and specific celebrations as motivators.

Young adults trust their own network

Young adults want to communicate with everyone, and companies must make them feel theirvoices are being heard. Research tells us that 95 percent of young adults say friends are theirmost credible source of information and guidance, often taking friends’ advice over their workleaders.

Young adults want to be a part of something meaningful

They’ve grown up in an age of instability—September 11th, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars,Hurricane Katrina, the Haiti earthquake, the housing crisis and an unstable economy. Youngadults actively seek out companies they believe are ‘paying it forward’ and reject organizationsthat fail to demonstrate social responsibility.

Young adults seek personalization

Many young adults were raised to think they were special, and they want everything in their life tobe highly customized to and for them. They see this as extremely efficient, as well as a reflection oftheir individual uniqueness.

amed as one of the Ten Best and Brightest Women in the incentive industry, a Change Maker, Top Idea Maven, and President’s Award winner, Michelle has worked in every facet of recognition and incentives, both domestically and internationally.

A highly accomplished international speaker, strategist, and author on performance improvement; Michelle is a respected authority on leadership, workplace culture, employee engagement and talent. She’s published and presented more than 1,000 articles and speeches and is a trusted advisor to many of the world’s most successful organizations and the governments of the United Kingdom and the United States. Michelle is President Emeritus of the Incentive Marketing Association and Past President of the FORUM for People Performance at Northwestern University. She’s Vice President, Research for the Business Marketing Association and serves on the Boards of the Incentive Federation and the Incentive & Engagement Solution Providers Council. She was the Founder and Chair of the Editorial Board of Return on Performance Magazine and is on the Executive Panel of McKinsey Quarterly. Michelle is also active in the C-Suite Network, the National Speakers Association, WorldAtWork, the CMO Council, the Marketing Leadership Roundtable, the HR Leadership Council, Recognition Professionals International, and the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence. For more information visit Michelle’s: Profile on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/michelle-m-smith-cpim-crp/5/b00/368 or her three Blogs: http://www.octanner.com/blog/author/michelle-smith/ and http://www.eremedia.com/author/michelle-m-smith/ and https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/17667584?trk=pulse-det-athr_posts

Twitter: https://twitter.com/michelleMsmith9 or her YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/user/theMichelleMSmith

N Michelle M. Smith, CPIM, CRP Vice President, Marketing – O.C. Tanner