Cheryl’s Blog- Leadership, Trends and Generations in the Workplace » Zoomers

Open Sharing a Natural for Gen Y’s In the Workplace

cheryl — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 21:08:49 +0000

In a recent posting on Harvard Business Review the author Andrew McAfee asks if the ‘open sharing’ tendencies of Generation Y is going to go away.

For the full story click here

The answer quite simply is “no”. Where Baby Boomers or Zoomers (baby boomers who refuse to age) have worked in private, alone or in intimate project groups to achieve their results their Gen Y counterparts are using open space, online forums and Twitter project progress with their work.

This begs the question, “are baby boomers too private when it comes to their projects and work in progress”?

Where baby boomers do not want to deliver a work outcome until it is near ‘perfect’ or refined a Generation Y sees their work as a work in progress that could benefit from outside input, peer critique and opinions. Best Buy has an opportunity for its employees to rank or rate ongoing projects through an online portal and it encourages group mind sharing. Other sites that Best Buy uses for sharing that benefits customers and employees are: askablueshirt.com, at15.com, forums.bestbuy.com, geeksquad.com/news, iambestbuy.com, wolfinspires.com and of course, the famous blueshirtnation.com.

To me there are two distinct differences in the model of the 90’s and early 2000’s and those of the last few years as Gen Y’s have infiltrated the workplace.

Those differences are:

Baby Boomers worked to perfection and for recognition of a project well executed

Generation Y don’t care so much for perfection as they do for innovation

Baby Boomers have pride around a projects outcomes

Generation Y have pride around getting input, including multiple viewpoints and producing a superior solution

The practical opportunity is for Baby Boomers and Gen X to shift to an open and sharing workstyle and project focus. The internet and new technology is making it easier than ever before to gather data, input and challenging opinions that contribute to innovation.

The Best is Yet To Come for Gen X

cheryl — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 18:01:42 +0000

I am right in the edit phase of my new book, “101 Ways to Make Generations X, Y and Zoomers Happy at Work” and I am quite excited about this book.

In it there is research and practical ideas on how to create a workplace that appeals to all of the generations. Happy generations means more productivity, more innovation and ultimately gaining a more competitive advantage.

I was interviewed by Can West media last week and the full story about the positive future for Gen X is here:

http://www.canada.com/business/Generation+waits+line+benefit+from+boomer+retirements/2753995/story.html

Professional Development Still A Priority in Turbulent Economy

cheryl — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:36:48 +0000

In the USA Today October 14th issue they did a quick poll asking organizations whether their company’s professional development programs changed compared to 12 months ago- here are the responses:

45% said there has been no change

26% said yes reduced

28% said yes expanded

1% said don’t know

The good news is that a combined total of 73% of companies saw the need to continue professional development and a percentage of that actually spent MORE money on professional development. Fantastic news!

This shows that progressive companies recognize that training and development were areas that needed continued funding in order to be competitive post-recession.

It would be interesting to do a follow up survey a year from now asking the same companies how they are faring. My guess would be that the 26% who reduced their professional development will not have as high a competitive advantage as the companies who continued to invest in the education of their people.

There is a need for more learning, training and education in a fast changing and fast paced global economy and it’s great to see that companies see the value of investing in their people.

Free Stuff and Rewards- Motivate to Participate

cheryl — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:38:23 +0000

The well known trend site http://www.trendwatching.com always has fabulous information but a few things struck me as relatable to leaders and business owners that could make an immediate difference in client perception and in profitability.

#1- Free is the new expectation

Savvy customers today are ‘expecting’ something for free- not because they are entitled or are from a certain generation but because ‘free’ allows them to test your brand, use your brand and then speak your brand. An few examples:

Fed-Ex has been offering free printing of 25 resumes for job seekers

The luxury market is offering sample sizes through vending machines

A new website is rewarding brand ‘communicators’ with Amazon points

#2- What Is Your Motivating Reward?

What does your company offer and how can you leverage free or reward?

The new economy is about sharing resources and sharing in profits. The old model is that if someone gave us referral business we would graciously thank them and that would be it. It used to be enough- not anymore. Now the companies or individuals that are rewarding referrals generously are realizing the power of ‘paid word of mouth’.

An example is an event we were putting on- my team decided that we would generously pay referrals 20% and we would do it with gratitude. A measly 10% or a token of appreciation would not be enough of a reward and so we wanted to ‘go big’ with our thanks. This worked tremendously and the good will from those who referred business to us was incredible.

A not so favorable comparison is a recent promotion I received promoting a pretty pricey event which of course offered high value. There was no mention of a referral incentive- I though I would ask- and the answer I got was less than motivating. Now when I believe in a product or a person I will shout it from the rooftops BUT if you want to motivate me to mention or refer you from a top of mind standpoint then a referral reward that speaks to me will definitely help.

I am not alone in this- its no different when motivating sales the higher commission or the sweeter prize will become the sales professionals focus. If we want others to sell for us we need to find out what is important to them, what would be incentive for them and how we can ’share resources’ to increase value.

Welcome to the new economy!

Motivating Gen Y, X and Zoomers

cheryl — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:06:35 +0000

I am often asked how do we motivate the different generations.

Motivating a Gen Y is like having to be a cheerleader- whether we like it or not! They only respond to praise and when giving feedback they are very sensitive to language- as soon as you use the word ‘criticism’ to a Gen Y they stop listening! An example script to a Gen Y to motivate would be:

“Hey Jordan, excellent job on answering the phone for that client- really well done. Hey next time you would increase your closing ratio if you used this tried and true technique I learned years ago.”

A Gen Y responds to this because you are supporting them not ‘dissing them’.

A Gen X is much tougher and can hear the feedback but wants you to make sure you don’t blind side them. So you could say to a Gen X

“Tyler, you know how your quota this month was to book 3 meetings? Well you are at 1 meeting and it is the 28th of the month- I have taken a look at your best months and it struck me you could take a stab at the client from 6 months ago to see if that gets you to quota.”

This motivates a Gen X because they can tell you have done your research and that you are helping them to win.

To motivate a boomer is much more about recognition and WIFM (what’s in it for me?) so if you say to a boomer the following:

“Cheryl, I dont need to beat around the bush with you- you know what you are doing. I noticed you seem a little stressed or overwhelmed lately and this is affecting your results. What ideas do you have that can solve this? I have some thoughts too I just thought we could brainstorm.”

Another question I am asked is “ How to you motivate them when they are all together?

You have to ensure you are speaking to each demographic and honoring the values of each demographic. For example when I speak to a group I will put in language that the Gen Y understands such as LOL on a slide or when I am talking I will also put a tech question out to a Gen Y and their simple answer usually blows both the Gen X and the boomers away.

To honor Gen X I recognize them as the squeezed generation managing up and down in age groups and that their ability to deftly manoever between these generations is a valued skill.

The boomers have worked really hard to get where they are and they are really looking for confirmation that they efforts have not been in vain- so I will honor their hard work ethic and encourage them to share their knowledge rather than to hoard it.

A successful meeting to meet the needs of each generation would have the following:

1. Music/pictures for Gen Y

2. Handouts with supporting data and charts for Gen X and Boomers whereas Gen Y does not want handouts but they want a post meeting email, intranet post or text.

3. Opportunity for them to hear from each demographic- include 20 somethings to present on tech topics to your meetings. The Q and A sessions are nothing short of incredible!

4. Team discussions with mixed ages to solve challenges and come up with ideas

5. Recap of success of meeting, follow up with an email, a post on Facebook, a cheer on the Intranet, a blog post by the company President etc.

Are Gen Y’s More Optimistic Than Zoomers?

cheryl — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 20:44:59 +0000

I recently spoke at the MPI Mid America Conference in Lexington, KY and one of my presentations was on working with the generations in the workplace in turbulent times.

I was in the elevator coming down to set up for the presentation and I was joined by a gentleman who would be considered to be a Zoomer ( a modern Baby Boomer). I introduced myself and told him I was going to be presenting on the generations. His immediate comment was:

“Those Gen Y are having a reality check right now aren’t they? Now they know what it feels like to be in a recession.”

It got me to thinking and asking myself, “Is it possible that because Gen Y has not had experience with past recessions they do not have a context for this one?”

That thought then led to the next question to myself which was, “Is it also possible that the fear and cynicism of those of us who have been through previous negative experiences is causing us to ‘project’?”

We simply cannot compare ‘recessions’ and we also cannot ‘project’ our fear of past experiences on to the current generation. First of all they don’t believe the hype. Yes some of them may have lost their jobs and yes that is a wake up call at any age- but their concerns are not about the same things that would concern a Gen X or a Zoomer.

Gen Y’s have a natural born social structure supported by social media that as quick as they may have lost a job they have a friend who is telling them about another opportunity!

Zoomers who are using social media (FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, Plaxo etc.) at varying levels are recognizing the benefits of being ‘connected’. If as a Zoomer you are choosing to remain a lone wolf or to figure things out for yourself then indeed YOU are in for a harsh reality.

It is easy to be more optimistic when you are connected and socially supported. It is also easier to be pessimistic when you are disconnected, wishing for things to return to the way they were and unwilling to change.

So in the end are Gen Y’s more optimistic than Zoomers?

Well the next time you drive by a high school, college or university take a look at the ‘mood’. You will likely see fist bumping, hugging, laughing, texting, and talking on cell phones.