Managing Generation Y Effectively

Last week we mentioned a few tips for updating the office atmosphere to stay ahead of technological change and recruit the best crop of Generation Y graduates available. Now that the top young minds are at work for you, how do you keep them motivated and performing at an optimal level?

As anyone who’s ever managed a fast food restaurant will tell you, managing Generation Y can be a difficult task. The old paradigm of an indifferent, scrutinizing boss assigning tasks and approving or denying the final result is gone. Recent Gen Y college graduates have a vastly different interpretation of a manager’s role in the office ecosystem than their parents.

Job security is not as important to Gen Yers as it was to previous generations that would spend 40 years with the same company. Instead, Gen Y wants to travel and explore, learning as much as possible at each stop along the way. Managers that can adapt to these sentiments and provide an engaging work experience to challenge their new employees will be rewarded with an energetic, motivated workforce.

A recent article on BusinessWeek.com highlights a few points managers can keep in mind when dealing with fresh Gen Y recruits:

• Give employees a reason to be excited when they come to work in the morning. By creating a positive work environment that highlights employees for their achievements and makes them feel like they are driving the company forward, these employees will in turn feel comfortable and empowered to contribute creative ideas in the future. Don’t pander to the Gen Yers but show them that their work is an integral cog in the office machine.
• Don’t expect your employees to do what need to be done and be satisfied. Feed their adventurous spirit by constantly offering constructive criticism, Use your experience to help your Gen Y employees grow along with the organization.
• Get to know your employees personally and interact with them regularly. While this may be less feasible for very large organizations, encourage each manager to spend some time creating a bond with his/her subordinates. Generation Y will be moving on from their first job in 2-5 years. With this in mind, learn what your employees want to get out of their job and guide them along the path to meeting these goals. If the employee is moving forward, so will the business.

While this kind of management-employee relationship may seem idealistic, your Generation Y employees will assuredly appreciate the effort and, hopefully, channel this respect into productivity.