Helping Millennials Build Professional Equity

Lately, we’ve been getting a lot of interest in our Professional Equity in the Workplace program. In response to the wave of confusion and criticism toward the Millennial generation and their professional attitudes and behaviors, companies and universities alike are looking for ways to better prepare emerging leaders for success at work.

Professional Equity is the amount of standing and influence you have in the workplace. Every day we have an opportunity to build positive long-term relationships in our professional community. The investment we make in our professional reputation, skills and experiences has long-term rewards -- and consequences, if not managed effectively! To combat negative stereotypes and operational resistance from older co-workers and managers, Millennials need to focus on building their professional equity. Organizations can help them by:

• Orienting incoming employees to the organization’s culture and business imperatives
• Providing mentors or buddies to new hires to help them navigate workplace relationships, protocol and norms
• Training Millennials on professional communication and presentation skills
• Outlining performance expectations, job scope and future career paths at the start of employment
• Educating new hires on the performance management process and parameters for advancement

Soon, Millennials will make up over 40% of the workforce in America. As hiring freezes thaw and the economy gathers steam, employers will need to do more to onboard incoming employees for productivity and retention. What have you done to build the professional skills and cultural acumen of your Millennial workers? Do they know what it takes to be successful in your organization?

To learn more about our Professional Equity in the Workplace program and how to create a successful onboarding process for your new employees, join us for our September 16 webinar, New Hire Onboarding: Strategic Insights and Practical Guidelines for Boosting Employee Performance and Retention.

Millennials & Critical Thinking

One of the most often expressed criticisms of the Millennial Generation is that it seems to have lost all ability to analyze data, examine the logic of a proposition, or read a blog and sort out the good and the bad in the argument. Usually described as “critical thinking,” this type of skill seems to be absent from a generation focused on sharing, communicating and finding group consensus. Indeed, one of the traits older generations find most annoying about Millennials is their constant “pinging” of friends to find out what the group thinks rather than making a prompt and decisive choice on their own.

As Millennials assume positions of authority within society, many people, particularly those in the Baby Boomer generation, are increasingly concerned about this missing skill and determined to find ways to teach it to a generation raised on the Net. But the very same Boomers who deride Net-based group decision-making would quickly agree that the most effective way to learn is through trial and error. Nature and society evolve using this simple technique and Chaos theory suggests the perfection of the most complex systems occurs through the process of continuing what works and discarding what doesn’t. Yet, to a large extent, the use of critical thinking as a means to solve problems contradicts this truth about natural selection and evolution. Rather than having expert thinkers come up with the right solution to a problem, the process of trial and error creates multiple experiments that attempt to solve the problem and uses objective empirical results to determine the best solution. With this approach, more trials – and errors – produce better results.

This is the type of problem solving approach Millennials have used almost since birth. They use it every day on social networks to decide what movie to go to, at which restaurant to eat, and even for which candidates to vote. Rather than insisting on solving challenges using the inherited, but inevitably limited wisdom of experts, Millennials would prefer to share their ideas and let the group find the right answer through their combined experiences. Given how far astray critical thinking has often taken us, maybe it’s time to embrace the Millennial Generation’s approach and see if it leads to even better results than the preferred methods of older generations.

Guest edited by Morley Winograd and Michael D. Hais, co-authors of Millennial Makeover: My Space, You Tube and the Future of American Politics.

April 15 Webinar: Succession Planning for the 21st Century

Most succession plans are irrelevant to today’s business challenges. Demographic shifts, globalization, emerging communication technologies and rising economic uncertainty have changed the playing field and what’s required of leaders. Succession plans have not kept up. Generic competency models and complex processes set companies that have systems in place up for failure. Those organizations, large and small, that haven’t engaged in succession planning are also at great economic risk.

There has been much talk of the new normal in American business but little practical discussion on how to retool succession planning and leadership development to meet new and future challenges facing companies. This online seminar will cover future trends and practical insights to guide successful and results-oriented succession planning practices for the coming decade. Learning outcomes include:

• Key pitfalls to today’s succession planning initiatives
• The impact of future trends on succession planning practices
• A framework for assessing what tomorrow’s business and roles should look like
• Leadership competencies necessary to compete in the next decade
• Key steps to retool succession planning and leadership development for simplicity and success

The quality and depth of an organization’s leadership pipeline will be key drivers of competitive advantage in the future. It’s time to take a fresh look at succession planning in your organization.

Click Here To Register

Do You Know Where Your Gen Xers Are?

In the next two decades Generation X will be in the position to assume leadership roles left behind by older workers. Some industries, like the federal government and aerospace, are already having to fast-track succession plans to address talent shortages caused by retiring workers. Traditional succession planning, however, is based on the faulty assumption that the next generation of leaders is willing to assume the roles planned for them. Here is why this is not the case for Gen X:

• Gen Xers have grown up to feel marginalized and ignored as a cohort. This trend has continued in the workplace, as the needs of Gen Xers are consistently dwarfed by those of the Baby Boomers and Millennials.
• Work-Life balance is a high priority for Gen Xers, who chose jobs closer to home over higher salaries and freelance work over full-time employment. Many are opting for entrepreneurial paths to be able to control their work day.
• Gen Xers consider themselves fast trackers and now feel stuck in their careers as older workers stay in their jobs longer. Massive layoffs, pay freezes and turbulent restructuring have only fueled existing resentments, causing engagement levels among high performing Gen Xers to plummet in recent times.

When the economy recovers, Gen Xers will be the first to be lured away from organizations, resulting in a crippling brain drain. Most succession planning initiatives do little to address this imminent crisis. What have you done for Generation X lately? Isn’t it time you paid attention?

To learn how to retool your succession planning for sustainability and success, join us for our April 15 online seminar, “Succession Planning for the 21^st Century: Future Trends & Practical Guidelines for Building the Talent Pipeline.”

Reactions to "TOM BROKAW REPORTS: BOOMER$"

On March 4, CNBC premiered a two-hour documentary called, "TOM BROKAW REPORTS: BOOMER$." While it was marketed as a landmark telling of “history’s wealthiest and most influential generation,” many felt it missed the mark. Here are some of the most common sentiments recently expressed in the blogosphere:

• The fact that the Boomer generation is the richest in history (3/4 of Fortune 500 CEOs are Boomers) contradicts the economic realities facing most Boomers during this current recession
• Brokaw’s claim that Boomers haven’t realized the changes they promised to the world negates the progress they’ve made through civil, women’s and environmental movements
• While the recession’s impact on this cohort is significant, it pales in comparison to the emotional and economic burdens facing Boomers as they care for their own aging parents

To summarize any generation in a 2-hour segment is overly ambitious, but the flurry of passionate commentary the show generated highlights the power Boomers have in our society. The Baby Boomer generation will continue to drive economic, social, political and workplace agendas for years to come. It will be important for members of every generation to have an informed opinion.

BOOMER$ will be airing several more times this month. For more information visit http://classic.cnbc.com/id/34840866/.

Workforce Trends for 2010

The Great Recession. The Reset Decade. Call it what you like, employers and employees in the U.S. are ready for a change. While the economy shows modest signs of improvement, job growth continues to stagnate. Predictions point to a slow overall job recovery peppered with a demand for highly skilled, flexible labor. As a result, companies are making strategic investments this year in HR initiatives that will help them stay competitive and reposition themselves for growth. Here are some workforce trends we see for 2010.

• Expansion of flexible work arrangements, including telecommuting, shorter work weeks and reduced work schedules
• Investment in workforce analytic tools to ensure better data and decision making on top performers and high potential employees
• Targeted skill development for managers on coaching and performance feedback
• Proliferation of social networking technology for collaboration and training
• Spread of career pathing initiatives as recruitment and retention tools for highly skills workers

The Interchange Group is helping organizations rethink workforce models to be more flexible and respond to the diverse needs of a multi-generational labor market. What can you do in 2010 to be an agent of change?

Intergenerational Daycare

In the United States, children and elderly people increasingly live in age-segregated worlds. In response to this trend over 300 daycare centers now offer an intergenerational component. ONE Generation in Van Nuys, California is considered a national role model for providing services for both seniors and children. Their intergenerational approach to aging and child development has made them a leader in building programs that enhance the lives of both generations.

At the Interchange Group, intergenerational relationships are a core value and drive our work in organizations. As our holiday gift to our clients and community, we have chosen to donate funds to ONE Generation to help provide critical services and life enriching programs for children and seniors. We invite you to learn more about the intergenerational care facilities in your own community!

Happy Holidays from the Interchange Group Team!