I learn most by watching and listening to my children. And it just so happens that my kids fit nicely into the Gen Y demographic, which sooner or later will be, not only your predominant workforce, but your primary customer. (More on my kids later...) Gen Y's are those born between 1976 and 1991. If you haven't noticed, most products and advertisers are pitching to them. Are you?
We
all realize that when it comes to managing an office of all ages, there has to
be a delicate balance between meeting the needs of the current workforce (and
customers), while also building for the future. Neither can be neglected.
But what does this newer generation need? What are they looking for?
In a thoughtful article written by Bill Paterson of Microsoft, published by Forbes magazine, Bill states:
"The workforce dynamics are always changing – but none more so than the influx of Gen-Y talent that will make-up the majority staffing over the next few years. Sure we’ve been hit with new paradigms before: open-cubicle design, virtual offices, and yes– even the latest craze of Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) IT policies, but this next shift promises to bring some of the biggest shake-up over last decade. Why might you ask? Allow me to explain.
Generation-Y represent a new class of employee: one shaped with a deep appreciation of technology combined with a desire to work collaboratively as teams versus seeking advancement solely on the basis of individual contribution. Interestingly, studies have shown that this new generation of employee not only thrives in highly collaborative workplaces, but is now making this a key requirement in selecting where to work. And it is in this area – becoming a highly collaborative workplace– which many organizations have their work cut out for them."
Given the above research, one begins to understand why Oracle bought Involver, Microsoft bought Yammers, and Sales Force bought Buddy Media; They are building the groundwork for collaboration to occur...All are platforms designed to meet the following needs: collaboration, cooperation, and a sense of belonging. These companies believe that this kind of platform is important enough to the future of their business to invest billions of dollars in them.
So, back to my kids... They each work for highly collaborative environments in completely different industries. Why? Because they are drawn to such environments, and have actually left companies that were not highly collaborative. Everything that I am reading about this topic resonates with what I am seeing right under my own nose.
You might be wondering why we have been writing so much about social media, without clear direction on how to use it. I can answer that by saying two things: (1) We are studying and writing about it as a way to learn more, and (2) We are simultaneously developing a product to provide an answer to all we are proposing...
More on this soon... In the meantime, please share your thoughts.
Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.
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