The BIGG Successs Show
How to Attract and Retain the Next Generation of Talent
The two things the new generation is looking for in the workplace. Find a written summary of today's show along with links to our resources at BIGGSUCCESS.COM.
Welcome to the Big Success Show. Today, we'll talk about how to attract and retain the next generation of talent. The Big Success Show with George and Mary Lynn. Well, Mary Lynn, yesterday was my first day of class for the new school year. How'd it go? Went very well. Excellent. I was fantastic. You remember to zip up your fly. I don't know. Well, let's hope. But boy college every year around this time, they put out their mindset list. And they've actually done 11 of them now. And it's talking about what the incoming freshmen's mindset is. What's happened in their lifetime, basically. And I always find it very instructive. I always find it makes me feel old. That's true. But speaking of that, one thing that I found interesting this year was that freshmen entering college this year never knew Johnny Carson is the host of the Tonight Show. They've only known Jay Leno. That's right. And another thing that I thought was kind of interesting was that they've never gotten their car repaired at the local gas station. But they have bought a cappuccino. There you go. And donuts and pizza and anything else, right? Well, we do have a link to the 11th annual mindset list on our site today at BigSuccess.com. But what we wanted to do is dig a little bit deeper into this new generation to get to know them and share with you what we've learned. Because they're going to be walking through your doors looking for employment. That's right. And you know, I think when people my age think about people their age, the first thing that comes to mind is people walking around with cell phone in hand, text messaging, right? Non-stop text messaging. Well, I mean, that is a good representation. And in fact, a couple of days ago, we were at a party and a friend of ours was really kind of making that comment. He was talking about how they're always texting. And he thinks that they don't have the ability to communicate in any other way. But that's so not true because this group is very, very social. In fact, we found a very interesting article from the media center at the American Press Institute. And they say that this new generation is known as the content generation because they use text, videos and photos often generated from those cell phones that they're attached to to connect and inform. And you know, generation before though, Mary Lynn, we emailed or we called someone using our cell phone. So I don't know that I really see that much difference between that and texting. It's just a different media. Didn't you use the dictaphone? Believe it or not, I did not. Nor the telegraph. Nor Western Union. Nor the Pony Express for that matter. Well, what this great generation has grown up with, you know, they've grown up with September 11th. They've grown up with corporate scandals, mass layoffs. They've learned about the sweatshops, the burst of the dot com bubble. And now the subprime mortgage crisis. Well, and the thing is, this group is, you know, they have to think about their own pension. Some point here, they're going to start and raise a family. But because their parents are older on average than previous generations, they're also realizing that they probably will have to plan to care for an elderly parent sometimes. And all of this is impacting the jobs that they choose. And coming up, what this generation is looking for from employers. Today, we're talking about how to attract and retain the next generation of talent. And specifically, we're talking about young people in college now, and what they're looking for in the workplace. It's interesting. They don't expect to stay at the same company for their entire career. Yeah, that's all gone down the tubes. Nope. And they won't necessarily take the job that pays the most either, because they are looking for more than money. And specifically, the two things we've learned that they're really looking for is, they want a job that allows for personal and professional development, right? They really want to grow in every single position they hold. And in many cases, they'll take a job that pays less if they feel like it's going to pay off for them in the long run. That's right. And the second thing they're really looking for, and boy, I will tell you, I hear this a lot from my students, they definitely want work-life balance in most cases. Yeah, they don't want to just toil away at a job. They want to be able to enjoy their life now and not have to wait until they retire. That's right. And these guys have grown up in the age of Tom Peters and the me, Inc. They are all about personal branding, and they've got all the tools that allow them to do personal branding. And so they're not seeking lifelong employment. They're seeking lifelong employability. And as an employer, trying to attract and retain this group, here's what we can all take away. These young people, when they're hired at your firm, they truly want that opportunity to grow. They want to see that you value them professionally, but also, personally. And you have to practice it, not just preach it, because these guys are looking for authenticity, and they know how to do research and look you up and down. So that's what they were doing to me yesterday in Maryland. So my zipper must have been off. Be all over Facebook. That's right. But an example here, if you say you're an environmentally conscious company, then you better be green. You better be recycling your paper, recycling plastic, efficient light bulbs, and energy-efficient equipment, that kind of stuff. I think the thing that I really do admire about this group, Maryland, is to me, the things that they figured out, the things that they're seeking, they're years ahead of where I was when I was their age, because I really think that not necessarily taking the highest paying job, and thinking about work-life balance, or the work-life issues, and melding them together, that's really what we all want, right? That's what we're all seeking. That's right. They want a more fulfilled life, and they want it earlier than we thought about it. That's right. You can get a written summary of today's show on our site at Big Success. That's bigwith2gsuccess.com, and you'll also find links to the resources we mentioned. And to get more tips and tools, you'll need to be a big success. Make sure you sign up for our free Big Success Weekly newsletter at bigsuccess.com. And next time with the Democratic Convention Wrapping Up, we're going to talk about donkeys. E-aww. Until then, here's to your big success. The Big Success Show at B-I-G-G Success.com. [MUSIC PLAYING] [BLANK_AUDIO]