Will the New Generation Change Everything?
August 18th, 2010 by Louis P. Kadetsky, CPC
Could it be this bad? A 60 Minutes story, according to Harvard Business Review, claimed: “A new breed of American worker is about to attack everything you hold sacred …”
Cross-generational tension is nothing new, of course. Generation X and the Baby Boomers have always struggled to find common ground, and the Boomers had to cope with substantially different worldviews – and treatment – from its predecessor generation. HBR continues:
“How the workforce is being shaken up by its youngest members” is another article in this category, though not for bridal mags. I’ve read it about Generation X (my cohort), about the Baby Boomers, and about the generation of GIs returning from World War II. The details change, but the theme remains the same: the new entrants are going to disrupt the existing world of work a lot, and quickly. And organizations need to accommodate them or risk starving themselves of talent and energy.
Of course, the amount of calamity expected with each transition was never realized. Could it really be different this time? The notion of “enterprise 2.0,” they believe, is a “no-brainer,” and what previous generations will struggle to accept will come naturally to the current crop of Generation Y and Millennial employees cutting their teeth in the workforce.
For corporate recruiters, the challenge will be in learning how to engage these demographics effectively. And for a change, your decades of experience may not be the asset they usually are. Sure, you’ll be fine once you’ve brought a Gen Y or Millennial into the hiring cycle, and you’re ability as an interviewer will deliver the value it always has. But, the ways you find the top talent in these generations isn’t the same as it was for Gen X, let alone the Boomers.
Work with KGTiger’s STREAM service, and you’ll be able to focus on the core aspects of your recruiting position, without having to worry about the cross-generational challenges associated with identifying and sourcing talent. We’ll develop the high-potential talent pools from which to draw candidates, and deliver a short list of the most appropriate potential employees to you. Engagement, screening and qualification are addressed for you, so you can focus on bringing the best talent in the door – regardless of generation.