Millennials Don't Take Initiative - Or Do They?

"Millennials don't take initiative." This is the sentiment of most Generation X managers I meet, who complain that their younger employees wait around for work to be assigned to them and only perform the bare minimum required of their job.

When I share this perspective with Millennials, they are shocked. Millennials think that they do take initiative. Their professional ambition and desire to excel in their jobs requires it. 

So why is there such profound difference of opinion on this issue? Here is the answer:

• Millennials equate taking initiative with asking questions and collaboratively involving one's boss
• Generation Xers believe taking initiative means "figuring it out" on one's own, without having to rely on others 

These contrasting views make sense, given each generation's experience growing up and in the workplace. However, they are cause for costly and avoidable misunderstandings at work that lead to low productivity, retention and engagement.

For insight and strategies on to how to bridge the generational divide and integrate Millennials into organizations for long-term success, please feel free to visit my website or contact me directly.

Amy Hirsh Robinson, Principal, Interchange Group

Workforce Strategies for the New Economy

Millennials Don't Scoop Ice Cream

The rate of teen employment has dropped significantly over the last two decades. While the majority of teens in the 1970's and 80's worked during summer vacation, less than 1/3 of last summer's teens held a paying job. Instead, they:

• Enrolled in high school or college courses
• Did unpaid community service work as part of their graduation requirements
• Took unpaid professional internships to bolster their college applications

While these activities make Millennials more attractive to colleges, there is a noticeable downside. Once Millennials enter the workforce, they lack the experience with service and administrative tasks that past generations gained from summer jobs. Many also enter the workforce not having experience with pay checks, requests for time off, and other requirements germane to employment. This unfamiliarity with the world of work has put Millennials at odds with older hiring managers, who express disbelief when their young employees do not accept "grunt work," take time off without approval, or ask for a raise because their net pay does not cover living expenses. The misunderstandings that ensue on both sides are time consuming and expensive.

To reconcile this problematic divide, employers must retool their hiring and onboarding practices to include more education on the fundamentals of work and to align expectations about the company, culture and roles. Without this knowledge, Millennials begin jobs on shaky ground that is difficult to correct down the road.

For more insight and strategies on how to integrate Millennials in to your organization for long-term success, register for my upcoming webcast, New Hire Onboarding - Practical Advice to Boost Performance & Retention, or contact me directly

Amy Hirsh Robinson, Principal, Interchange Group

Workforce Strategies for the New Economy

What Does a Female Leader Look Like?

When I speak on the topic of female leadership to cross generational audiences of women, dress is often a topic of conversation. It is a visual manifestation of how we view power. For example, Baby Boomer parameters for women's attire in the workplace favor the pant suit. In contrast, Millennial women prefer clothing that expresses their femininity and does not emulate male power norms.

Dress is just one of the many indicators that we are on the cusp of a new era of gender definitions and issues. Generational differences among women are redefining female leadership norms, and changing demographics are forcing new realities for working mothers. To successfully attract, develop and retain 21st century female leaders, organizations will need to develop targeted strategies for:

• Engaging a multigenerational female workforce
• Attracting and onboarding women for long-term retention
• Building and promoting a strong pipeline of women leaders
• Providing workplace flexibility that adds real value to working parents
• Addressing financial security and equal pay for women

For insight into this these strategies, feel free to listen to my HCI podcast, Set a Course for Substantial & Authentic 21st Century Female Leadership, or my NPR interview, Some Companies Fight Pay Gap By Eliminating Salary Negotiations.

If you are coming to the SHRM conference, be sure to attend my MEGA SESSION, What Women Want: Recruiting, Developing and Keeping 21st Century Women Leaders, on June 30. 

Amy Hirsh Robinson, Principal, Interchange Group

Workforce Strategies for the New Economy

What Really Belongs in Your New Employee Orientation

Millennials rank cementing relationships and learning the corporate culture as the greatest challenge when transitioning into a new job, way ahead of learning their new job responsibilities. In fact, 28% of Millennials report quitting a job because they did not feel connected to the organization.

New employee orientations play a critical role in building organizational savvy and helping young employees connect to and navigate company culture. This can be done effectively, by off-lining administrative information from the orientation, to be accessed on an "as needed basis," and instead using the time to educate new hires on corporate history and culture and to help them establish bonds with their peers and others in the organization.

To learn how to design your new employee orientation to focus on acculturation, download my new whitepaper, From Orientation to Acculturation: What Really Belongs in Your New Employee Orientation and/or register for my May 13th webcast, New Hire Onboarding: Next Practices for Boosting Performance and Retention

Amy Hirsh Robinson, Principal, Interchange Group

Workforce Strategies for the New Economy

Death by Orientation

The biggest mistake a company can make when onboarding talented, energetic employees into an organization is to cram hours of mind-numbing employment information into its new employee orientation. And yet, this is exactly what many new hires, arriving enthusiastic and ready to work, must endure during their first week on the job with a new employer. 

New employee orientations are dumping grounds for compliance. Every department wants to shove as much information about employment, benefits, diversity, and safety as possible into the time allotted. The result is a jam-packed session of PowerPoints, handouts and talking heads. Instead of reaffirming an employee's decision to take the job, and welcoming him or her into the culture, the company unintentionally creates a finger wagging session that leaves new hires weary and dispirited. 

New employee orientations play a significant role in a new hire's developing opinions about you as an employer. To learn how to use the time strategically to educate new hires on what really matters, download my new whitepaper, From Orientation to Acculturation: What Really Belongs in Your New Employee Orientation and/or register for my May 13th webcast, New Hire Onboarding: Next Practices for Boosting Performance and Retention.

Amy Hirsh Robinson, Principal, Interchange Group

Workforce Strategies for the New Economy

New Specialization on the 21st Century Female Leader

I have developed a new specialization on the 21st Century Female Leader and the evolving landscape of women and work that I would like to share with you.

Stemming from my expertise on the changing workforce and the impact of demographic shifts on organizations, and my success in helping companies onboard, manage and plan for the succession of top talent, I have gained unique insight into what is required to attract, develop and retain women leaders. 

These strategies for engaging emerging and tenured female leaders have been captured in the following 10-minute podcast and whitepapers. Please feel free to download and share them.

• Set a Course for Substantial and Authentic 21st Century Female Leadership
• Millennials Don't Want To Lean In - Why Generational Differences Among Working Women Matter To Companies
• The Working Mother of the Future - How Demographics Will Force Change for Women at Work

In addition, I am pleased to present this expertise in the form of a webinar next week and live presentation in June.

The Female Leader: How to Recruit, Develop & Retain 21st Century Women Leaders

Business Management Daily Webinar, March 27, 2015

What Women Want: Recruiting, Developing & Keeping 21st Century Women Leaders

SHRM Annual Conference Mega Session, June 30, 2015

I look forward to engaging with you on this critical topic. If you have questions, please feel free to contact me directly at ahr@interchange-group.com.

Amy Hirsh Robinson, Principal, Interchange Group

Workforce Strategies for the New Economy

The Millennial Adoption Curve

The integration of the Millennial cohort into a Generation X/Baby Boomer-dominated world of business is like the introduction of a new technology. It will take at least 10 years along the adoption curve before this "new model" is ubiquitous and standard. As with other shifts in the marketplace, those that accelerate adoption will have the competitive advantage. These "early adopters" will embrace not only new leaner structures and methods of operation brought on by the recession, but also the new norms and tools for communicating and collaborating that are intrinsic to the Millennial generation's code of conduct.

Others -- companies and individuals -- may need a push along the curve. This will need to take the form of:

• Hands on training to work and communicate across the generations
• New communication practices and technologies that favor networks and that disable silos
• Updated methods for managing and motivating employees

We are in the beginning years of the arc of a new era in which all signs point to a leaner, more collaborative workplace run by the Millennial generation. New ways of communication, collaboration and management will smooth the way to a cultural integration of this generation that will likely take 10 years to run its course. This will be a long process, and each individual and corporation will need to learn how to work together to bring out of the best in each other, for the good of the business and the employees. Where are you along the curve?

Amy Hirsh Robinson, Principal, Interchange Group

Workforce Strategies for the New Economy