Engage Internally Starting at the First Handshake!

Engage Internally Starting at the First Handshake! Hiring the New Generation of Employees

Everyone comes to work needing something to learn. This is especially true with the newest generation of employees. There are unique hiring dynamics for Generation Y – especially for entry level positions – and to build a great work force, you must understand the generation you are hiring. To have a successful hiring practice, it requires due diligence and commitment to create an engaging workforce.

If you are hiring for a Generation Y, entry level position you need to realize they will not have much experience. As a whole, Generation Y comes to the work force with 4-5 years experience behind previous generations at the same age. This requires more difficult more intricate dissemination between candidates to look forward the biggest thing that separates candidates – passion.

Generation Y Background

As discussed in my previous article (see Young Professionals – New Employees, Same Problems) Generation Y has a different set of values and typically surrounds three pillars for Generation Y job requirements for engagement:

·         Growth: They want to feel they are making an impact to society by doing something that matters. They want to feel challenged. They want to feel that they are developing.

·         Interactions: They want work to be social and interactive. They want their supervisor to be flexible to their time and values.

·         Social: They want to contribute to the greater good of society.

This may feel that Generation Y is long on expectations and short on attention, but regardless of the validation of these requirements, in general these criteria fit the general ideal job requirements of Generation Y. This knowledge is important in determining the required experience level of a potential hire. These young professionals will need to make some big adjustments when transitioning from college to the workplace, but some of these transitions can already be identified through their resume.

When you look at the resume of a Generation Y employee, are you looking for work ethic, leadership, focus, and dedication? These key criteria can be identified through the applicant’s activities, hobbies, volunteer experience and any interaction within the community.

As to GPA, it should be a qualifier (like having a 3.5 GPA), but beyond that I can tell that I would rather take a B student with focus and passion, than a 4.0 student who does nothing but study. My father had a hiring maxim, “Hire the heart, I can train the head.” Due to the amount of experience, the knowledge base is mainly academic and finding the candidate which has commitment and discipline, you can build a great employees and great leaders. These potential leaders are shown through their participation and involvement in activities and society – they are athletes, student government leaders, band members, fraternity/sorority leaders, professional organization members, and people that held jobs while going to school. Also, knowing that the candidate is also a good citizen and whose personality will meld well with the company you can also look for applicants who are involved in church, volunteer consistently, and tutor.

Generation Y Interview

The interview also is a way to determine the passion of the potential hire. The main way is to pay attention to how they communicate during the interview. Generation Y has a different standard for communication and a different view of technology, but they will need to be an effective communicator through every medium. Teleconferences, phone calls, instant messaging, webinars, email and every other form of communication all can show a candidates ability to effectively communicate. They should make good eye contact and be able to respond professionally to tough questions. Additionally, passion is shown through the due diligence and preparation of the employee. This includes asking the right questions and having a basic understanding of the business groups, markets and business actions.

Generation Y First Day

After finding the right employee, there is only one thing left to do to ignite engagement in the employee on their first day – appreciation. On the first day of the employee, greet them at the door when they arrive and have 10 pre-printed business cards with their title and position. Shake their hand; give them their personalized business cards and say, “You represent this company, just like this company represents you.” Hook line and sinker you will engage your new employee.

Engagement of new employees starts finding the passionate person with “fire in his or her belly”, but ends with mutual respect, acceptance and appreciation from the company.

-thePonderingNick