Talking Talent

Here’s a great post on Brazen Careerist by blogger Clay Collins (author of the blog The Growing Life).

Generation Y is known for rolling into work late while wearing headphones, and dressing as if every day were casual Friday. We’re often seen TXTing in our cubicles, taking breaks, and instant messaging. While these images don’t exactly encourage others to view us as bastions of uber-productivity, we’re often a hell of a lot more productive than previous generations.

Here are seven reasons why my generation (Generation Y) is often more productive than yours:

Reason 1: We use the best tools
Generation Y is more than comfortable doing the experimentation necessary to find the right tools and technologies for most effectively completing a task. We understand the company’s project management software better than you do because we are comfortable playing with it. And we can probably recommend 2-3 other tools that would work better in the situation because we’re not afraid to rely on nearly-free, online productivity tools from unknown companies. Our to-do lists are carefully maintained, prioritized daily and synced with our PDAs and iPODs.

Reason 2. We’re good at automating
Generation Y has grown up with technology and we believe that computers can do just about anything (or that they will someday). So when we’re receive a task, the first question we ask ourselves is: “how can technology make this task go faster?” Sometimes our efforts to employ technology make things more complicated, but quite often we end up successfully automating a repetitive task, saving ourselves and our companies thousands of dollars.

Reason 3. We get better sleep
Previous generations have lived by Ben Franklin’s aphorism: “early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” Generational Y intuitively knows what psychologists have confirmed: that a significant percentage of the population is much more productive when they go to bed late and get up late. Simply put, you’re more productive when you follow your biologically determined circadian rhythms and get up when your body tells you to.

Reason 4: We’re much more likely to love our jobs
Since Generation Y switches jobs much more frequently than previous generations, we’re much more likely to be doing things that (1) we’re good at, and (2) we actually like. All the job switching and repositioning we do means we’re much more likely to end up with professions that are actually suited to our passions and talents. And every productivity guru knows you’re most productive when you’re doing things you actually care about.

Reason 5: We stay up to date in our fields
Another upshot of changing jobs so frequently is the need to stay on top of the latest developments in our fields. Because job searching is a somewhat continual process for Generation Y, we’re likely to teach ourselves new skills, or pay for training, even if our employers don’t because we want to stay competitive. We see training and skill-building as our own responsibility – not something that our employer will necessarily do for us. And our lifestyle choices reflect a passion for constant learning and development .

Reason 6: We’re experimental
Generation Y is continually doing research and development at the individual level. And because Generation Y cares more about getting new experiences and learning new skills than about not making mistakes , we’re willing to try new things, be creative, and take new angles. While this experimental approach might not result in quantifiable productivity, it leads to the kind of shifts in thinking that save time and money over the long haul.

Reason 7: We don’t “go through the motions”
We’ve seen our washed up parents work shit jobs they hate, and we won’t go through the motions for the sake of job security. If you’re an old-school boss, then this won’t be comfortable. However, not going through the motions for the sake of going through the motions actually makes us more productive in the long run.

What do teens want? Tech, tech and moretech, according to the What Teens Want conference held in Manhattan last month.

Technology is starting to define what’s cool in a way that fashion used to define what’s cool, reports Melbourne’s The Age. For teens, as long as it’s technology, it’s what’s hot.

The article also points to an online survey which revealed that 93 per cent of teens prefer the internet to television.  New York high school senior Jonathan Molyneaux says: “You can watch TV shows on the internet, so what’s the point?”  He says he’s cut virtually all conventional TV viewing and has email forwarded to his mobile phone, which he dubs “my life”.

Ms Wells’ research also found 57 percent of teens prefer Facebook over MySpace, 71 per cent choose text messages over instant messaging and 65 per cent would rather use a Mac computer instead of a PC. That’s a sign of brand strength, since far fewer teens own a Mac.

What sort of workforce will Australia need in the future?

Some issues I see on the horizon include the retirement of baby boomers and the potential clash between ‘digital natives’ (the current generation of teenagers often called Y Genners, that has grown up immersed in technology) and ‘digital immigrants’ (most of the current workers - Baby Boomers and early X Genners) who are adapting to new technologies but whose pivotal education and development has not been heavily influenced by technology.

Y Generation workers’ continuous exposure to technology will make them more impatient ‘job hoppers’, and the compensation is that they are likely to be more creative than their predecessors.

This will have interesting implications for the public sector, where, in most cases, technological change will continue to occur more slowly than in the private sector because of more regulatory constraints and greater risk aversion.

I think that the traditionally long tenures of civil servants will keep shrinking, which means that government agencies will need to come to terms with a more ‘volatile’ workforce. Although external service providers can help, government agencies will need to retain critical skills in-house, and the faster employee turnover among suppliers will not make things any easier.

And of course this technology literate group will be in management positions (at the middle and top levels) by 2020, and not just in IT departments (or whichever areas will manage IT by then).

However, will government be able to retain the most talented people, or will these individuals be so disappointed by the earlier part of their careers marked by low-tech environments and a lack of flexibility to abandon government and leave the public sector with a much greater skill shortage challenge than it faces today?

Moreover, will this force government to outsource critical processes to a much greater degree than we can envisage today?

David Knox, Worldwide Partner at Mercer, has published a paper exploring Australia’s position on the age pension.

As our population ages and a larger percentage of people sit in that over 65 age bracket, he asks whether a pension at 65 is still appropriate.

Knox outlines a number of adjustments to pensions around the world, including:

• The US is gradually increasing its normal retirement age for Social Security from 65 to 66 between 2002 and 2009 and then increasing it again from 66 to 67 between 2020 and 2027; 
• The UK announced in a 2006 White Paper discussing their new pensions system that they will gradually increase their State Pension age from 65 in 2024 to 68 in 2046; 
• Germany is gradually increasing its pension age from 65 in 2012 to 66 in 2024 and then to 67 in 2029; 
• Denmark is increasing the age threshold for the public old-age pension from 65 in 2024 to 67 in 2027. Furthermore from 2025, the eligibility age will be directly linked to changes in life expectancy at age 60; 
• Japan is increasing its age for access to the earnings-related component of its pension from 60 to 65 by 2025 for males and by 2030 for females; 
• Increases in pension age that affect both men and women are being implemented in the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Italy and Korea (OECD, 2007).

What’s my point?  I’m certainly not suggesting that people don’t deserve the aged pension.  What I’m suggesting is that we need to look at the fact that, as our population ages, we are going to lose a pool of high skilled, knowledgeable and experienced workers who will retire when they still have many good years in them.  Is 65 really still the right age to retire?

Following on from yesterday, Australia’s population is projected to age progressively from the median age of 36.4 years in 2004 increasing to about 41 in 2021 and about 45 years in 2051.  By 2051 around 26 percent of Australia’s population is projected to be aged 65 years or older, compared with 13 per cent currently.

Extensive research has concluded that immigration beyond current levels would have a diminishing impact on retarding the ageing of the population. This reflects ageing being a gradual process and that most migrants who enter Australia would themselves be part of the aged population in 30 to 40 years time.

This means harnessing ‘grey power’ is vital if we are to continue to compete on a global stage.

With the economy facing capacity constraints and the population ageing, it doesn’t make sense to have skilled people driving taxis.

Fifty-year-olds are still perceived as being past their used-by-date in the workforce.  At the same time, the latest census data reveals that 11 per cent of Australia’s population is between 55 and 64.  It is these people that the ICT industry needs to do more to attract, retain and retrain.

Research analyst firm, Mercer, says that workers aged 55 and older, particularly women, appear to be the answer to the ongoing skills and labour shortage – not generation Y – and Australian employers must consequently shift their focus from young to old to maintain productivity.

Research findings reveal that by the year 2012 the amount of workers in the labour force aged 55+ will increase by 14 per cent whilst the amount of workers aged 25-54 will increase by only 5 per cent.

Furthermore, the amount of women aged 45+ will increase by 12 per cent whilst the number of men in the same age group will increase by only 6 per cent

Mercer’s Tim Jenkins says that there’s a sense of urgency for employers.  By 2012 demand for skills is expected to increase 18 per cent in the construction industry; 13 per cent in the accommodation, café and restaurant industry; and 12 per cent in the wholesale industry, but with no guarantee that demand will be met with supply.

“In four short years there will be close to a quarter of a million more workers aged 55+ in the Australian labour force and assumptions about what an employer should expect from an employee, and vice versa, have to change.

“Australian employers have to re-define what the average daily and weekly job looks like and how it is remunerated in order to hold onto older workers, maintain productivity and keep downward pressure on wages that, according to our research, are forecast to rise at an average annual rate of 4.2% between now and 2012.

This seismic demographic shift threatens the sustainability of many Australian businesses.

So why does a recent survey by career management firm, Linkme.com.au, tell us that almost three-quarters of Australians believe that finding new employment – across all industries - after 50 is almost impossible.

People are telling me that they feel ‘on the scrapheap’ once they hit 45, and yet these are the very people who have a lifetime of skills and experience to harness.

One woman I spoke to said she was advised to change her resume to say ‘more than 10 years’ experience’ instead of ‘more than 20′ and to remove the dates from her degrees – all to reduce the perception that ‘older’ means ‘out-of-date’.

In industries where work is increasingly based on knowledge-creation, the focus needs to be on the workplace as a key arena for encouraging ‘lifelong learning’ as part of work.

Retaining and retraining older workers will save recruiting costs, maintain institutional memory and technical knowledge and give a higher return on investment in training.

However, it’s not just the responsibility of employers.

Employees need to recognise that they work in a fast-paced industry where training is paramount.  Continuing employment or re-entering the workforce may require a commitment to retrain and some attitudinal shifts too.

The most important factor in a mature person’s employment prospects is: are they adaptable?  Those most at risk of redundancy and underemployment have had fewest opportunities to acquire new skills and develop a positive attitude to learning.

Australia’s economic growth – and our industry’s prosperity - is partly dependent on mature-age workers remaining in the workforce for as long as possible, so it’s time to discard negative perceptions of baby boomers and support them in their working lives as much as Gen-X and Yers.

It’s no good saying what a great place your organisation is to work if a Google search then throws up a hate website, manned by disgruntled ex employees.  It’s no good talking about commitment to corporate social responsibility if you polluting a river, or using sweatshop labour in a third world country.

Workers want to ensure they are a cultural fit and aligned to the objectives of the organisation. The person who answers the phone, conducts the first interview, the look and feel of the office and staff in the office will all say something about your firm.

It is important that the recruitment and retention processes line up and that what a worker hears and sees through the multiple touch points they have with the organisation are consistent with what they will find as an employee. This is particularly pertinent for Y Genners. They want honesty and truth in what they are told. Don’t tell them how it will be - tell them how it actually is.

Gen Y employees will relate to a compelling vision, especially if you will take the time to ask them about their values and ambitions and show how the two are aligned. I think this equally applies to other generations and it is up to us as employers to give their work meaning. It is we who must create the psychological bond between employer and employee.

We also know that Y Generation expect and require a lot of feedback, and in a more personal way than either Baby Boomers or X Gen. Y Genners have received it from parents, teachers, nannies, music teachers and sports coaches. I often tell client managers that Baby Boomers created the Y Gen monster; they crave attention and recognition and now it is our job to give them that feedback in the workplace.  And they do not like negative feedback, so be prepared to take a less robust approach than you may have with a Baby Boomer.

A word of warning, however: if you ask for suggestions or comments, be prepared to listen. Y Gen will get tired of employers who pay lip service to their ideas. Workers join organisations and leave managers and it is fair to say that we have a way to go in developing leadership and helping your managers to cope.

Australia has to face up to its demographic destiny.

The age profile of the world is changing. While children and the middle aged currently dominate the percentage of population in most countries across the world, this will dramatically change over the next twenty years.  The 50+ group will catch up with the kids by 2020 and the proportion of 17-24 year olds is in decline, as is their absolute number within the world’s population.

So while we continue to talk about a skills shortage we are actually talking about a population issue and a distribution of labour across the nation and the world.

The recent release of a survey by the Australian Industry Group highlights the impact of the skills shortages on Australian businesses. In the survey, CEOs who were interviewed talked of how it is increasingly difficult to attract and retain the skilled workers required to survive and prosper in today’s economic climate.

Furthermore, skills shortages are starting to restrict the ability of Australian firms to innovate and improve their business models and functions. And we know that technology-led innovation delivers almost all productivity gains in industries – for example over the last decade 85 per cent of all productivity gains in manufacturing and 78 per cent in the services sector came from the application of technology solutions.

I’ve just joined Julia Ross after spending two years leading the Australian Information Industry Association – the lobby group for the computer industry in Australia.  From experience, I know that every year brings new challenges for the ICT industry and those employed in it - and 2008 is no exception.

Global economies are showing signs of weakness giving rise to speculation about the sustainability of the Australian economy. The depth of the sub-prime finance within Australian financial institutions is not fully disclosed and the impact therefore is not understood. The threat of recession in the US even after injections of money through interest rate decreases, tax cuts and superannuation have proven to be inadequate to ally fears.  China remains a critical trade partner to ensuring that Australia’s growth will slow but not decline dramatically. 

Consumer confidence is weakening. The Westpac Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment fell below 100 in February, which indicates that pessimists now outnumber optimists. As the famous song goes “don’t wish too hard for what you want ‘cos you might get it.”

And if obesity is the result of an affluent lifestyle, the skills shortage is the outcome of a robust economy and high client demand. The ICT industry in Australia, for example, is a cyclical one with peaks and troughs that largely align to the demand for client projects - particularly large government projects and to economic cycles.

Enrollments in tertiary ICT courses are half of what they were in 2001. More than that there is continuing discontent about the workplace capabilities of graduates and a disconnect between industry needs and the perception of ICT as a career among young Australians.

The industry still suffers from the view that it is nerdy and full of spotty faced youths reinforced by those quirky folk on the BBC show called the IT Group, or Douglas Copeland’s book jPod, or evidence from my daughter who is doing Commerce and IT at ANU tells me is largely true.  But is it?  You tell me.

When asked about the impact that Baby Boomers leaving the workforce would have on the US economy, Bill Clinton replied, “they are the economy.”

From the time they were born, Baby Boomers have dominated the economy and the organisations that make it up. Currently they run the majority of ASX listed companies, boards and government departments. They entered the workforce with full employment and huge demands for their services and right now, at the tail end of their careers, they are still the topic of conversation (retaining mature workers) and are in demand for their skills and experience.    

There is no doubt that some subtle and often unspoken age bias still exists in today’s public and private sector organisations. Even though there is no research that proves any limitation by age, stereotypes about the learning abilities of older people persist in our society. A recent survey by Adage (a company that specialises in finding employment for mature workers) found that managers in 124 companies believe older workers are more expensive and less productive than younger workers and have less technological ability.

This perception is a roadblock for organisations who need to work with managers to ensure that they embrace the age diversity available to them and acknowledge that it is reflective of the population and the clients that they will serve.  It is also at odds with the social representation of Baby Boomers. Do not say ‘old’ to a Baby Boomer! They do not think of themselves as pensioners now or in the future.

Indeed, they believe they invented adolescence and in many respects they are aspirational Y Genners – they buy iPods, have piercings and tattoos, indulge in extreme sports and wear the same clothes as their children. The Australian Pensioners’ Insurance Agency recently changed their name to APIA – evidence that they would be unable to attract their target demographic - over 50 year olds - if they had an uncool name.

So, what do you think?  Was Bill Clinton right?  Are Baby Boomers THE economy?

On Friday, I looked at what makes Generation Y workers tick.  If you’re a Generation Xer, do you ever feel completely left out of generational discussions?

If you do, it’s not surprising, as X Genners are the generation lost in space – between two generations that are in high demand for their skills. Only 40 per cent of X Genners said it was easy to find a job when they left school or university, while 60 per cent of Y Genners said it was.

X Genners saw their parents’ jobs downsized, rightsized and outsourced in the early 1990s and decided that loyalty did not deliver on its promise. As the first generation of latch key kids (and feeling that they received a raw deal because of it), they are also very focused on achieving balance in their work and family believing they will be better parents.  

X Genners are also caught between a generation who will not retire and give up the control of senior positions and a group of young workers who are demanding rapid promotion to senior roles.  

They could be a generation who don’t have the full opportunity to climb the corporate ladder either serially in an organisation or laterally by moving in and out of organisations and industries - a career path we will allow Y Genners to have.

Does that sound like you?