Browse > Home / Organisations / Has your company got a culture that is Young Worker Friendly?

Has your company got a culture that is Young Worker Friendly?

June 5, 2009 by Sarah Newton  
Filed under Organisations

8 Comments


Is your company young worker friendly?

As I work with more and more companies, I am seeing something that is very striking; a lack of what I would call a Young Worker Friendly policy.

Let me explain. I work a lot with the service, catering and leisure industry which, let’s face it, lives on young employees and yet, for some reason, their policies seem to be hostile to young workers.

Let me explain.

1. They throw their young workers in at the deep end with hardly any training.
2. They then moan at them when they cannot deliver.
3. They give them no training as “they will not be here that long”,or, “they are only temporary”.
4. They come down on them like a ton of bricks when they do something wrong.

This puzzles me; most of these industries rely on their young employees to deliver great customer service and be very in the know, and yet they just expect them to be able to do it. It does not have to be that way; some large companies like Disney or McDonald’s really value their young employees, yet the little guys have not got it yet.

It is like they expect their young employees to know what to do and how to do it. Just because we may have known it does not mean this generation are as savvy. Most of these young employees are being managed by Gen X and let me tell you, we had a very very different experience from the generation coming up behind us. Left to our own devices for much of the time, we were the latch key kids and we learnt how to cook, wash and pretty much fend for ourselves, we were exposed to adult things at a much earlier age and we were in no way protected. We were given it with a sink-or-swim attitude.

OK, so let’s look at that in comparison to the youth of today. Firstly, they have a voice and have been encouraged to use it, so they will speak up and not just get on with it. Secondly, this generation has been cared for and protected and consequently expect things and think they are special. If a customer shouted at me when I was in my first job I took it as par for the course. Now they want you to stick up for them. Thirdly, they need instructions and feedback and they need them to be clear; in a way they have been force fed and things have to be in a step by step process , so where things may have been ambiguous, they are now very clear. They are used to pushing boundaries, since a lot of the time they do not have any and the adult/child divide has become much less clear.

So, if you want to make the best of your young employees, here are a few important things to note.

1. Make sure they get sufficient training, know what they are doing and are given feedback. While they are in no way stupid, they want systems and steps to take. This is how they are used to being taught.
2. Devise a system for them to participate in at every level; they have a powerful voice and want to use it. Often, they will make great suggestions that will really help your business.
3. Ensure there is a positive feedback system of some description and make teamwork a big part of how your company works.
4. Get clear what the systems and structures are that you want them to operate within and also let them know where they can be creative if they want. This needs to be clear.
5. Give them a “buddy” who they can go to and have an open door policy.
6. As a boss, don’t expect to automatically earn respect from your young employees. You will earn respect by being honest and transparent . Stick to your word and do what you say you will.
7. Be firm and fair when they cross boundaries with you.

And yes, expect that sometimes you may feel like you are a parent. However, remember that you are very influential to this young person. You may be this first adult they have had contact with in a work capacity and how you treat them could set up their whole idea of work and how adults in the outside world communicate with them. By not having Young Person Friendly policies, you could be sending a very strong negative message out to them.

Young workers can be the hardest working, most enthustiastic and energetic work force if managed correctly.

However, what I hear most saying is that they are lazy, rude and annoying. Well let me tell you, your employees will exhibit what they see in their boss, so take a look at yourself!

And if you are reading this, thinking that you are not going to change what you do for the young employees who never stay very long, good luck to you! You are in for a bumpy ride; remember the impact that one bad employee can have on your customers and then ask yourself if it is worth it or not.

VN:F [1.9.2_1090]
Speak up and rate it!
Rating: 5.0/5 (2 votes cast)
VN:F [1.9.2_1090]
Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)
Has your company got a culture that is Young Worker Friendly? , 5.0 out of 5 based on 2 ratings

Tags: employing young people, Gen Y employees, motivating employees, Young employees

Welcome back! Did you find this resource valuable? To receive resource updates, I invite you to subscribe via RSS or subscribe via email. You can also find me on Twitter. I'm looking forward to connecting with you!

4 Tweets

Comments

8 Responses to “Has your company got a culture that is Young Worker Friendly?”
  1. Skip Weisman says:
    June 5, 2009 at 5:43 am

    Happy to add value to a great article, glad you liked it.

    If I do pursue the university thing I think I’d prefer to teach on how to be a “Champion Leader” and how to create a “Championship Culture” in an MBA program or something, to teach the leaders what we’re talking about. I am not going to do an undergrad class teaching students they need to change their attitudes on work, that seems like a lost cause and too much stress for me, that’s for sure.

    I’d love to be a guest author on your blog, and I’d love to reciprocate. I am going to write about this post and post the link to it at my http://www.ChampionOrganizations.com blog, if I can ever get away from my Twittering this AM. Let’s connect via e-mail to discuss, thanks!
    Skip

    VA:F [1.9.2_1090]
    Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)
    VA:F [1.9.2_1090]
    Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)
    Reply
  2. Skip Weisman says:
    June 5, 2009 at 5:20 am

    Sarah,
    Outstanding article and points well made. In my prior life I was guilty of this. I was Pres/GM of 5 Minor League Baseball franchises and we relied heavily on high school and college aged employees to work our games and serve our fans. We were 100% guilty of that.

    Now I’m on the other side, coaching and consulting business to create what I call a “Champion Organization with a Championship Culture” (www.ChampionOrganizations.com) and have these debates all the time.

    “This generation is impossible. They are lazy, don’t want to work, expect to get paid for texting their friends all day long, etc.” Yet, these are the same companies that do an abominable job of orienting even those who are expected to be long time, full time employees, they do not set clear expectations on the front end of the hiring process, they don’t know how to interview well to find the type of people with the type of work ethic and values they want to espouse, and yet they continue to fight this battle and blame the employee even though the only constant, common denominator is the company’s hiring/training process.

    I got into an interesting discussion with a colleague who likes the work I do and thinks my positive philosophy on life and success is a message students need to hear, and she strongly suggested I become an adjunct professor at the local university so I could teach this new generation how to behave in the workforce. I told her I had no interest in dong that because my business and passion is not geared towards that direction and she wouldn’t let up and insisted I look into it.

    Great article and I hope my experience has added value to your blog.

    VA:F [1.9.2_1090]
    Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)
    VA:F [1.9.2_1090]
    Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)
    Reply
    • Sarah Newton says:
      June 5, 2009 at 5:34 am

      Skip

      Thanks so much for your well thought out comment. I love getting such comments that add so much value. You are right and something so needs to change. I think it is preparing the youth and the companies one without the other will never work.

      And we must remember what we see in our employees is the direct result of the leadership of them.

      Sounds like you are doing a great job and if you ever want to “vent” I am always looking for guest authors :-)

      Let me know what you decide with the university I would be interested to hear.

      Sarah

      VN:F [1.9.2_1090]
      Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)
      VN:F [1.9.2_1090]
      Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)
      Reply

Trackbacks

Check out what others are saying about this post...
  1. Do Gen Y Workers Fit With a Championship Corporate Culture? « Champion Organizations says:
    June 5, 2009 at 6:28 am

    [...] Champion Organizations Helping Leaders Create Champion Organizations! « Photos of Skip Speaking at Northern California Career & Leadership & Career Summit Do Gen Y Workers Fit With a Championship Corporate Culture? June 5, 2009 I just read a great article by Sarah Newton, who is an expert in Gen Y issues (You can find her at http://www.GenYGuide.com ). This article, which is worth the few minutes to read is titled “Has your company got a culture that is Young Worker Friendly?.” [...]

    Reply


Discussions

Got something to say?
Speak up! And, don't forget your gravatar, you can get one here!

Additional comments powered by BackType