If you Can’t. Even. with your Gen Y employees, our generational expert outlines how to best merge them into your staff and keep your business booming

for the first time ever, there are five generations in the workforce and five generations in the marketplace. From the “traditionalist” generation (age 71+) to Gen Z (17 and younger), they are all either working for you or walking through your door. And they couldn’t be more different from each other in what they expect, what motivates them, and how they approach work.

The key to navigating these differing perspectives is to understand the characteristics of each generation, says Jason Dorsey, best-selling author on Gen Y and co-founder and lead millennial/Gen Z researcher at The Center for Generational Kinetics.

“Every generation brings something valuable, and we tend to forget that,” Dorsey notes. “Boomers created a lot of pain when they entered the workforce. So did Gen X. Every new generation frustrates the one before it. And they think the ones that come after them have it easier.”

Dorsey spoke with EB about the difficulties that older O.D.s and practice managers (say, Gen X and boomers) encounter when hiring and working with younger workers, and how ECPs can work with them rather than against them.

THE HIRE

Millennials are the largest generation in the workforce now. They’ve entered the workforce later than previous generations (at an average of five years older).

And, Dorsey notes, their “new” way of looking at things can be beneficial: “Challenging the status quo is very important to them. That’s important because this industry has all sorts of nontraditional threats emerging, from retail channels and other places. So you need people who are open and available to trying to do things in different ways.”

And, millennial workers are motivated more by making an impact and being challenged than making more money.

• Pull forward the mission and the work that goes on in your practice. You’re helping people see better. That’s something millennials—and any good hire—can get behind.
• Don’t list job responsibilities. Rather, say: “These are the types of challenges you can expect in your first six months here.”

THE TRAINING

If you’re hiring employees in their 20s, and even 30s, don’t stick them in the back room to read paperwork and training manuals their first week. While it’s a training method that older workers are comfortable with, it doesn’t work with Gen Y. Little things like having business cards printed and waiting for the new hire set the tone for success.

• Create a few short videos explaining what is expected. Make sure they are formatted for watching on mobile devices.
• Lay out five to 10 simple things that will help them be successful, like how you want the phone answered and what they should bring to team meetings.

THE EMPLOYEE

Gen Y workers thrive where they feel valued, are doing something they believe in, and are challenging the status quo.

“The key is to not coddle them,” Dorsey notes. “That’s where [millennials] have a bad reputation out there…the thinking is that they expect to be promoted in the first week and given a trophy. Our research shows that what millennials really want is to feel valued and challenged, and they want to feel included.”

• Don’t have a “professional development” plan for them. Have a “talent development” plan that emphasizes skills they can use even in future jobs.
• Don’t wait for annual reviews to give feedback. Younger workers expect (and give) feedback constantly. Spending 10 seconds a week telling them what they did well goes a long way in employee satisfaction.

The key to success in bringing in new generations to the workplace, Dorsey says, is knowing that your younger employees are approaching their job from a completely different viewpoint than older workers do. That doesn’t make them wrong, or lazy. But you should meet them halfway and adapt how you work with them.

—Susan Tarrant

Jason Dorsey is one of the country’s leading experts on Gen Y and Gen Z—he co-founded The Center for Generational Kinetics and is the author of “Y-Size Your Business: How Gen Y Employees Can Save You Money and Grow Your Business.” Earlier this year, he delivered the keynote at the 2017 Transitions Academy, sponsored by Transitions Optical.