DAY FIVE
Zap the Gap
Solving the Multi-Generational Puzzle
5 day Mini-Course
Day #5 New Millennium
As Baby Boomers have aged, they have become nostalgic. If you look at advertising campaigns, you see successful advertisers using icons from Baby Boomers' youth to sell them products today. Mercedes Benz played Janis Joplin's Lord Won't You Buy Me A Mercedes Benz. Microsoft played the Rolling Stones during their commercials, Nike used the Beatles to sell shoes and Cadillac used Led Zeppelin to sell their new SUV. Part of the nostalgia for Baby Boomers is fueled by the families they are starting after they postponed them in the 60's and early 70's. After 1980, the birth rate began to climb again. This is the New Millennium Generation, or the Echo Boom. There are 72 million New Millenniums. (Remember, there are 77 million Baby Boomers.)
There are similarities to this generation and the Baby Boom generation. Both generations were born during a time when it was extremely popular to have children. Right now, the Stay at Home Parent is becoming as popular as the dual income family was during the 80?s. Both generations were born during a time when their families and the workplace wanted them. Even with the slowdown in the economy, minimum wage jobs targeted to this generation are still in abundance.
Ten percent of this generation comes from a single parent family. The majority of the New Millennium generation comes from Baby Boomer parents. Some parents have gone to extreme medical and financial expense to have children. Advances in medicine have allowed people to have children later in life.
Although this generation is similar in size to the Baby Boom generation, there are . Employers call them the “group thinks generation.” Many parents see their children as safer if they are participating in activities with friends. High school principals have seen a rise in popularity of kids going to prom in a group, rather than as couples. Employers find themselves faced with the dilemma of wanting to hire one teen, but the condition for employment is to hire the teen's friends too.
Baby Boomers have taken some of the energy and time they dedicated to their careers and are focusing that time on their families. We do not refer to this generation as latchkey. We use words like Soccer Mom and Stay at Home Dad to describe the New Millennium Generation's home life.
This is a generation that is scheduled to the hilt. They have pre-school groups, after school activities, clubs, parties, college prep and volunteer participation to attend. (Some parents schedule so intensively for their children because it's their perception that as a result, the university application will look well rounded.
Most Baby Boomers learned to use computers at work. They became familiar with computers and how to use them in the workplace and then brought the computer into the home. Most Gen Xers learned to use computers in school. The New Millennium Generation grew up with the computer. As a result, the computer is about as challenging or impressive as the toaster. We turn to the NM's for advice on how to make our computer program go, move and sing. We take them with us to the computer superstores to help us navigate through all the cables, monitors, speakers and wires. For something as indispensable to us as the computer, it's funny to think that we depend on a pierced, tattooed teenager whose main concern in life at the moment is deciding between fries and onion rings to give us advice and take care of us and our computer needs.
As a result of turning to the N.M. Generation for advice regarding the computer, this generation has become part of the family decision making tree. Advertisers are now targeting this generation to sell adult items. The Dodge van used a tag line about how much the kids will love the back seat. Cruise lines use Disney characters to sell cruises to the youngest members of this generation. Hotels are putting together comprehensive activity packages to entice people with their children. Ten years ago, Club Med appealed to the single person. Look at a Club Med ad today, and you will see pictures of families on a beach.
Employers struggle with this generation. They often expect to receive the same peer to peer treatment they get at home, at work. Here are six things you can do differently when working with or managing someone from the New Millennium generation:
Give moral support
They are easily intimidated by difficult customers. Everyone knows that babies cry. But until you have your first baby, you don't really KNOW babies cry. This is analogous to The New Millennium Generation in the workforce. They know a job will not always be fun and exciting, but they do not KNOW it until they start working. Give them a shoulder to lean on through some of the challenging times. After a while, most of us develop a thick skin but we occasionally still let that very irritating customer or co-worker get to us. Think about the New Millennium Generation. They do not have the thick skin or the tools to deal with that pain in the butt customer or co-worker. Give them moral support when a customer yells at them, and give them advice on how to handle 'Bizzybody Bob' from across the hallway. If you do not take some time to give this generation a hand, they will think it is the company that is the rotten place, and that another job wouldn't have the difficult custo
mers and co-workers.
More structure & supervision
NM's have had a more structured upbringing than a Gen Xer. (Structured does not necessarily mean disciplined.) A family fun park I worked with created a set of red rules and blue rules. (A family fun park has rides and video games.) When an employee is first hired, they wear a red T-shirt and all rules are red rules. Red rules are very specific and typically deal with safety and employee etiquette. An example of a red rule would be that all customers must wear a safety belt on a ride. Another example of a red rule would be that employees are not allowed to spit. The manager explained the spitting rule this way:
“This is the first job for many kids and they just do not know they are not supposed to spit while on the grounds. I do not think they are being rude or disrespectful; they just do not understand. If it is in the rule book that we read to them and they sign on the first day of employment, they at least have been told.'
Once employees prove they can follow the red rules, they get a blue T-shirt. Once they are at the blue level, they can break blue rules. Blue rules are judgement calls. An example would be a family's request to extend their time on a ride. Technically, the ride should be over, but there is nobody waiting in line for the ride. Can the employee let the customers ride a little longer? A red t-shirted employee can not make that decision but they can call over a blue t-shirted employee to make the decision. This blue rules/ red rules system ensures that the employees who will be making customer service decisions have a grasp of the basic groundwork rules and regulations.
Create a clear picture of what is acceptable and what is not
If dress code is important, be very specific what is expected. Be clear about what time work starts and what behavior is expected when they are sick or late. Explain the consequences and follow through. If the employee can not follow these basic rules, get rid of them ASAP. If you keep making excuses for the weak player, the strong, reliable employees will resent it.
Frequent rewards
This is the generation who stood in from of the microwave and said 'Come on! I don't have 30 seconds!' Organizations spend money and time trying to recruit new employees. After romancing the new hire, they put the new hire on PROBATION for the first 90 days. What a happy word! Once probation is over, the new hire may get a review and then probably does not get another review for 6 months to 1 year. If the average job stay is two years managers are giving employees feedback 2 - 4 times during their entire employment. There is no surprise that New Millenniums find reviews a waste of time. Give the N.M. more instant feedback.
Learn their goals
Why are they working? If they are still in high school, they probably are earning some extra money for an extracurricular activity. Get to know their interests. Team them up with them. According to Teenage Unlimited Research, the New Millennium Generation names the Traditional Generation as the one they respect the most; so team your NMers with your Traditionals. This is another great way to tap into your Traditional Generation's experience.
Help them have FUN at work
According to the Wall Street Journal, we spend 90% of our waking hours at work. Shouldn't some of it be fun? Ways to make fun at work include: Treasure Hunt - a cable company periodically puts people on teams and creates a treasure hunt. The treasure hunt can be goofy and it can be useful. One employee said after the treasure hunt: “I never knew where we kept the copier paper.” Life Board a communications company put up a pushpin corkboard in the break room. Every week the board is assigned to a different employee. The employee can put things on the board that represents his or her life outside of work. One manger commented, 'This is a great way to learn about the outside interests of our employees. It provides a connection.'
The New Millennium generation is our opportunity to battle our signpost myopia and put our thumbprint on the future, Good Luck.
Your generational guide,
Meagan Johnson
Meagan@MeaganJohnson.com
Zap the Gap
Solving the Multi-Generational Puzzle
5 day Mini-Course
Day #5 New Millennium
As Baby Boomers have aged, they have become nostalgic. If you look at advertising campaigns, you see successful advertisers using icons from Baby Boomers' youth to sell them products today. Mercedes Benz played Janis Joplin's Lord Won't You Buy Me A Mercedes Benz. Microsoft played the Rolling Stones during their commercials, Nike used the Beatles to sell shoes and Cadillac used Led Zeppelin to sell their new SUV. Part of the nostalgia for Baby Boomers is fueled by the families they are starting after they postponed them in the 60's and early 70's. After 1980, the birth rate began to climb again. This is the New Millennium Generation, or the Echo Boom. There are 72 million New Millenniums. (Remember, there are 77 million Baby Boomers.)
There are similarities to this generation and the Baby Boom generation. Both generations were born during a time when it was extremely popular to have children. Right now, the Stay at Home Parent is becoming as popular as the dual income family was during the 80?s. Both generations were born during a time when their families and the workplace wanted them. Even with the slowdown in the economy, minimum wage jobs targeted to this generation are still in abundance.
Ten percent of this generation comes from a single parent family. The majority of the New Millennium generation comes from Baby Boomer parents. Some parents have gone to extreme medical and financial expense to have children. Advances in medicine have allowed people to have children later in life.
Although this generation is similar in size to the Baby Boom generation, there are . Employers call them the “group thinks generation.” Many parents see their children as safer if they are participating in activities with friends. High school principals have seen a rise in popularity of kids going to prom in a group, rather than as couples. Employers find themselves faced with the dilemma of wanting to hire one teen, but the condition for employment is to hire the teen's friends too.
Baby Boomers have taken some of the energy and time they dedicated to their careers and are focusing that time on their families. We do not refer to this generation as latchkey. We use words like Soccer Mom and Stay at Home Dad to describe the New Millennium Generation's home life.
This is a generation that is scheduled to the hilt. They have pre-school groups, after school activities, clubs, parties, college prep and volunteer participation to attend. (Some parents schedule so intensively for their children because it's their perception that as a result, the university application will look well rounded.
Most Baby Boomers learned to use computers at work. They became familiar with computers and how to use them in the workplace and then brought the computer into the home. Most Gen Xers learned to use computers in school. The New Millennium Generation grew up with the computer. As a result, the computer is about as challenging or impressive as the toaster. We turn to the NM's for advice on how to make our computer program go, move and sing. We take them with us to the computer superstores to help us navigate through all the cables, monitors, speakers and wires. For something as indispensable to us as the computer, it's funny to think that we depend on a pierced, tattooed teenager whose main concern in life at the moment is deciding between fries and onion rings to give us advice and take care of us and our computer needs.
As a result of turning to the N.M. Generation for advice regarding the computer, this generation has become part of the family decision making tree. Advertisers are now targeting this generation to sell adult items. The Dodge van used a tag line about how much the kids will love the back seat. Cruise lines use Disney characters to sell cruises to the youngest members of this generation. Hotels are putting together comprehensive activity packages to entice people with their children. Ten years ago, Club Med appealed to the single person. Look at a Club Med ad today, and you will see pictures of families on a beach.
Employers struggle with this generation. They often expect to receive the same peer to peer treatment they get at home, at work. Here are six things you can do differently when working with or managing someone from the New Millennium generation:
Give moral support
They are easily intimidated by difficult customers. Everyone knows that babies cry. But until you have your first baby, you don't really KNOW babies cry. This is analogous to The New Millennium Generation in the workforce. They know a job will not always be fun and exciting, but they do not KNOW it until they start working. Give them a shoulder to lean on through some of the challenging times. After a while, most of us develop a thick skin but we occasionally still let that very irritating customer or co-worker get to us. Think about the New Millennium Generation. They do not have the thick skin or the tools to deal with that pain in the butt customer or co-worker. Give them moral support when a customer yells at them, and give them advice on how to handle 'Bizzybody Bob' from across the hallway. If you do not take some time to give this generation a hand, they will think it is the company that is the rotten place, and that another job wouldn't have the difficult custo
mers and co-workers.
More structure & supervision
NM's have had a more structured upbringing than a Gen Xer. (Structured does not necessarily mean disciplined.) A family fun park I worked with created a set of red rules and blue rules. (A family fun park has rides and video games.) When an employee is first hired, they wear a red T-shirt and all rules are red rules. Red rules are very specific and typically deal with safety and employee etiquette. An example of a red rule would be that all customers must wear a safety belt on a ride. Another example of a red rule would be that employees are not allowed to spit. The manager explained the spitting rule this way:
“This is the first job for many kids and they just do not know they are not supposed to spit while on the grounds. I do not think they are being rude or disrespectful; they just do not understand. If it is in the rule book that we read to them and they sign on the first day of employment, they at least have been told.'
Once employees prove they can follow the red rules, they get a blue T-shirt. Once they are at the blue level, they can break blue rules. Blue rules are judgement calls. An example would be a family's request to extend their time on a ride. Technically, the ride should be over, but there is nobody waiting in line for the ride. Can the employee let the customers ride a little longer? A red t-shirted employee can not make that decision but they can call over a blue t-shirted employee to make the decision. This blue rules/ red rules system ensures that the employees who will be making customer service decisions have a grasp of the basic groundwork rules and regulations.
Create a clear picture of what is acceptable and what is not
If dress code is important, be very specific what is expected. Be clear about what time work starts and what behavior is expected when they are sick or late. Explain the consequences and follow through. If the employee can not follow these basic rules, get rid of them ASAP. If you keep making excuses for the weak player, the strong, reliable employees will resent it.
Frequent rewards
This is the generation who stood in from of the microwave and said 'Come on! I don't have 30 seconds!' Organizations spend money and time trying to recruit new employees. After romancing the new hire, they put the new hire on PROBATION for the first 90 days. What a happy word! Once probation is over, the new hire may get a review and then probably does not get another review for 6 months to 1 year. If the average job stay is two years managers are giving employees feedback 2 - 4 times during their entire employment. There is no surprise that New Millenniums find reviews a waste of time. Give the N.M. more instant feedback.
Learn their goals
Why are they working? If they are still in high school, they probably are earning some extra money for an extracurricular activity. Get to know their interests. Team them up with them. According to Teenage Unlimited Research, the New Millennium Generation names the Traditional Generation as the one they respect the most; so team your NMers with your Traditionals. This is another great way to tap into your Traditional Generation's experience.
Help them have FUN at work
According to the Wall Street Journal, we spend 90% of our waking hours at work. Shouldn't some of it be fun? Ways to make fun at work include: Treasure Hunt - a cable company periodically puts people on teams and creates a treasure hunt. The treasure hunt can be goofy and it can be useful. One employee said after the treasure hunt: “I never knew where we kept the copier paper.” Life Board a communications company put up a pushpin corkboard in the break room. Every week the board is assigned to a different employee. The employee can put things on the board that represents his or her life outside of work. One manger commented, 'This is a great way to learn about the outside interests of our employees. It provides a connection.'
The New Millennium generation is our opportunity to battle our signpost myopia and put our thumbprint on the future, Good Luck.
Your generational guide,
Meagan Johnson
Meagan@MeaganJohnson.com
Meagan Johnson
Bright, funny and delightfully obnoxious, Generational Humorist!
Bright, funny and delightfully obnoxious, Meagan is known as the Generational Humorist! If you think you have heard all there is to hear about the four different generations in the workplace, you have not heard Meagan's hilarious spin on how to attract, train, market, manage, and retain people from every generation and not strangle someone in the process. You get to laugh while acquiring tools you can use immediately to improve your multi-generational relationships with clients, customers and co-workers.
Bright, funny and delightfully obnoxious, Generational Humorist!
Bright, funny and delightfully obnoxious, Meagan is known as the Generational Humorist! If you think you have heard all there is to hear about the four different generations in the workplace, you have not heard Meagan's hilarious spin on how to attract, train, market, manage, and retain people from every generation and not strangle someone in the process. You get to laugh while acquiring tools you can use immediately to improve your multi-generational relationships with clients, customers and co-workers.
written by Meagan Johnson; copied here
(in "Dancing With Moose") with permission
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