Track 2 - Embracing Value, Innovation and Change
Thursday, 11/12, 11:30 a.m. - Managing and Retaining Millennials
Moderator:
- Jonas Prising, Executive Vice President and President of the Americas Operations, Manpower
Panelists:
- Anne Berkowitch, CEO, SelectMinds
- Nancy Altobello, Americas Vice Chair, People, Ernst & Young
- Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos.com
- Rita King, CEO and Creative Director, Dancing Ink Productions
Companies that buy into stereotypes about workers in the millennial generation and treat them differently than other employees risk not being able to sustain a corporate culture in which they can thrive and help the organization take advantage of their unique skill sets, a panel of experts at Ernst & Young's Strategic Growth Forum concluded today.
The millennial generation, also referred to as Generation Y or “echo boomers,” roughly refers to those born between 1975 and the late 1980s. By some measurements, millennials number around 60 million, three times as much as the Generation X'ers that came before them.
Millennials have earned a reputation – warranted or not – as being more focused on their own careers and swapping jobs more frequently than their baby boomer parents. But they also represent the cutting edge in employment skills, having grown up in a more tech-savvy world that embraces collaboration and relationships that bridge digital platforms.
“With millennials, the biggest challenge is that they are stereotyped,” said Nancy Altobello, Americas Vice Chair of People at Ernst & Young. “Companies could miss a tremendous opportunity to take advantage of the great skills and talent that millennials bring to the workforce."
Some companies' approach, like that of online apparel retailer Zappos.com, is to treat all employees the same, while recognizing the valuable skills that younger workers bring to the table and engaging by creating a values-driven and flexible work environment.
That starts from Day One, says Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh. Everyone hired in the company's Las Vegas headquarters goes through the same training course, including handing customer calls for two weeks. At the end of the program, candidates are offered money for their time, along with a $2,000 bonus.
“The idea was to weed out the people who would leave in six months anyway,” said Hsieh. “But the additional benefit is that the people who don't take the offer come back that much more committed and engaged.”
As part of employees' development, they are judged by their ability to match the company's core values, including inspiring others they work with on a daily basis, he said.
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