How Gen Y Employees Can Save You Money and Grow Your Business

Have you ever stopped to think how the young folk of this present era seem to be defined by what the signs of the imes? How are you dealing with it? And to what extent has it impacted your life? Below author, Jason Dorsey introduces you to his new book and with perhaps an eye-opener for a new train of thought.

Employers always seem to be asking me, "What in the world is Generation 'Y' (Gen Y) thinking when they do some of the things they do at work?" As a researcher and member of Gen Y, which I define as being born from 1977 to 1995, I think it's important to shine a spotlight on what my generation is thinking when we show up to work (and then immediately ask for a coffee break). The more employers understand Gen Y's perspective, the easier it is to identify the strategies and actions that can transform us into high-performing, loyal employees.

GEN Y'S TOP FIVE LIST FOR HOW WE THINK AND ACT AT WORK

1. No expectation of lifetime employment -- Gen Y is the only generation in the modern workforce that has never expected to work for one employer our entire career. In practice this means that Gen Y expects to change employers throughout our lives, because it would be abnormal for us to stay with one company. This doesn't mean Gen Y won't or can't stay with one employer, just that we see nothing wrong with switching employers if a job or company no longer fits us (or our sleep schedule). Though we may not expect to be with a company for 20 years, we are willing to work extremely long hours for an employer if we feel a genuine connection to the company or its mission. At one online education company I visited, the Gen Y employees were working seven days a week, and some were taking showers in the office building in order to meet deadlines. One of the Gen Y employees told me, "That's just what you do when your company is counting on you."

2. A feeling of entitlement along with big expectations -- The biggest complaint I get from employers of all ages -- including Gen Yers who manage other Gen Yers -- is that many in Gen Y feel entitled. We show up to work and act as if our boss owes us something for our presence. I know how off-putting Gen Y's attitude can be, but before we condemn my generation as a bunch of spoiled brats (something that I find personally offensive and plan to tell my mom about) we should consider for a moment that entitlement is 100 percent a learned behavior. You are not born entitled. You have to be raised that way. This might hit a bit close to home if your twentysomething child is still on your car insurance and carries one of your credit cards for emergency use only, which could mean a sale on cherry-flavored Pop-Tarts® at Target. In fact, many of us in Gen Y were told, "As long as you're in college, we'll help you out." Seven majors and one study abroad semester later, we're graduating with 196 credit hours and an Associate Degree -- and courageously entering adulthood by returning home.

3. A hunger for instant gratification and tangible outcomes -- Gen Y has come of age with almost instantaneous access to just about everything and everyone -- from instant meals to instant messages. This constant immediacy has taught us to have little patience, short attention spans, and to seek ongoing progress in every aspect of our life. We hate waiting in lines at the grocery store (Can you say self checkout?) and don't want to show our work on math problems, especially if you already told us our answer is correct. We will even walk into a fast food restaurant, see a line at the counter, and leave to go somewhere else. However, rather than brand us as the "instant everything" generation, my research shows we are simply outcome-driven. This observation changes the conversation, because it shows we are not about having everything now, we simply don't see -- and therefore we do not appreciate -- the steps involved in creating the outcomes we want. We literally do not connect the dots or consider our plans in terms of policies and procedures -- that's an older generation's way of approaching work. Instead, all we want to know is what you want us to do. Then get out of our way so we can get it done. In the workplace, this makes us extremely project-oriented rather than job-description focused.

4. A new relationship with technology and communication -- Since Gen Y grew up during the Internet boom and mobile communication revolution, technology has become an extension of ourselves. However, older generations have a big misconception when it comes to Gen Y and technology. Older generations think that Gen Y is tech savvy. This is 100 percent not true. Gen Y is not tech savvy, we are tech dependent. Important difference. We don't know how technology works. We just know we can't live without it.

5. A need for ongoing feedback -- When it comes to employing Gen Y, if your company only gives annual reviews, then you can change the name. Call them exit interviews, because Gen Y won't be there. We need feedback on a much more regular schedule, ideally twice a month, but don't confuse frequency with a major time investment. We don't want an in-depth 360-degree performance review, complete with personality assessment. Just a five-second check-in that says you notice we exist. All we need is for you to pause outside our cubicle and say, "Jordan, I saw how you helped Mrs. Booker solve the billing problem. Good job." That's it. Nothing more.

TURNING THESE GEN Y CHARACTERISTICS INTO A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

As a member of Gen Y, I admit that all five of these characteristics do not initially appear as workplace strengths. However, I have seen time and again how employers have made every one of these Gen Y characteristics into a workplace advantage when Gen Y is managed correctly. The key is to start with an understanding of our mindset, find a common ground with your company's goals, and build on it. In fact, the breakthrough moment for many of my clients who employ Gen Y is realizing that what their Gen Y employees want in order to put forth their best effort is often less expensive and easier to give than their current employment practices. Now that is something you will want us to text our friends about -- but not until our lunch break.

Author Bio: Jason Ryan Dorsey, author of Y-Size Your Business: How Gen Y Employees Can Save You Money and Grow Your Business is an award-winning entrepreneur and an acclaimed keynote speaker often referred to as "The Gen Y Guy"®. He has been featured as a Generation Y expert on 60 Minutes, 20/20, the Today show, and The View, as well as in Fortune magazine. For more information about the book, please visit www.JasonDorsey.com. ©2009 Jason Ryan Dorsey, author of Y-Size Your Business: How Gen Y Employees Can Save You Money and Grow Your Business

Motown, Music and Me

The soundtrack of my life can be defined and cataloged by songs, songwriters and producers of record companies that gave us much more than hip-shaking music. One such company went far and beyond normal application -- Motown. There’s so much to say about Detroit and it’s legendary contribution to the music world. Motown Records and all of the icons, stars and overall aura that precipitated it all celebrates 50 years -- that’s half a century of music, some of which I have deep in my permanent files. Rhythm and Blues and any derivative of it, embodied talented singers and the producers who squeezed every ounce of ‘soul’ from anyone who stepped up to the mike, including the iconic record labels. Every noted urban center were represented, from Chicago (Decca, Vee Jay, Chess), Philadelphia (Philadelphia International, Cameo), New York (Atlantic), Memphis (STAX), Miami (Alston), et al. But Detroit had a magic and an unprecedented run that made stars of the teens and anybody in between that came across its threshold. I grew up on this music and wanted to share my sentiments of the first 50 years.

It all started in 1959. I was only 8 years old and didn’t grasp this phenomena until after my tenth year. By that time finger-popping primed me for what had become an obsession. Who would have thought that the soul of young America would emulate to proportions that transcended race. By the time Berry Gordy found a winning formula different persuasions found it not a crime to embrace, copy and spread the word that something special was on the horizon. Motown artists are credited with being among those who broke down these barriers so later audiences would no longer be separated by color. Witness the Beatles, Dusty Springfield, Dell Shannon and others of a different persuasion who wanted a piece of that magic. In my opinion I feel that the music that Motown created was a visionary force, and today it’s etched into the mindset and archives of legendary proportions. For me, I used the music to identify with every emotion that fueled my existence. When I needed a love song, I sought Smokey Robinson; when I wanted social consciousness complete with a soothing sense of sentimentality, Marvin Gaye was my surrogate; when I craved that sophisticated soul that possessed unique phrasing, The Temptations was there with a lead singer with charisma; when I felt that jazz overtones needed and upbeat with a groovy intonation, up jumped Jr. Walker and his All-Stars; and when I felt the need to be buck-wild and wanted to dance in the streets, Martha Reeves and her Vandellas along with the Marvelettes this was my elixir that kept me in rhythm. I cannot overlook Mary Wells, who gave me a chance to see how love could be requitted and regained for intrinsic value.

If you don’t know the history of Motown, know how important Smokey Robinson was to the early growth of this music, and you will then understand how and why the tandem of Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland (Holland-Dozier-Holland) was so instrumental in its success. Listen to any song by the Four Tops, the aforementioned Mary Wells, et al and you will get to know who the Andantes were -- who historians say appeared on more than 20,000 recording sessions. They were the background singers that were expected to create that for high end falsetto-like technique found on every Four Tops, Mary Wells and Supremes recordings. Do I dare mention Motown without heralding The Funk Brothers? This rhythm section is credited with creating the Motown sound. Without them there would be no Motown! I distinctly remember that I purposely used to monitor how a record first started out in determining whether it had that unique sound I was looking for. I surmised that a hit record needed a signature line or something that would give it that preliminary hook, and those brothers brought the bacon home.

Now comes the 50 year anniversary and a unique compilation of talent that the world cannot overlook for what it meant to music in the Black community. Think Motown, and I’ll willing to bet everything I own that memories will take you back to those halcyon days of yore when you were a teeny-bopper looking for love, or a young adult that was captivated by how soul could serenade and color your world with melodious sound. When I first heard Stevie Wonder sing “Fingertips” at 9-years old I felt that no other musical genius would come to fore again in my lifetime, but just a scant five years later we were introduced to a pint-sized James Brown (spins and all, along with the verve to manipulate a microphone) out of Gary, Indiana along with his four other brothers! Yes, the Jackson Five was a part of that legacy in 1969. My favorite group at Motown was the Temptations, which I also include in the same breath as The Platters and The Drifters. Because of Motown’s success and the type of artists they spawned, I’ve tended to be most critical in how I appraised singers, groups and record labels. I realize too, that this is a new era -- a generation where music to them is not the same, nor is the music they’re making. I can readily say that the music of today is a far cry from what GOOD music is supposed to be. You see, I judge groups by the persona that style and substance produces within (the group). I always ask myself can they dance, does the lead singer has more than just a good voice, do they possess tight harmony and that the phrasing is indicative of what would make them unique?

I truly miss Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, Luther Vandross, Barry White and others who have been influenced by that motor town sound. But Studio A at Hitsville, USA was where legends were made. Motown has come and gone, but the memories are here to stay. I learned a lot about Berry and his empire -- flaws and all, but now that we can sit and enjoy the old school flavor that those songs inspired I can always relive, relax and retrieve it all, for I have my ipod with 10,000 songs securely in place. I’m proud to acknowledge that the celebration of Motown 50 continues around the globe with events, special programming, exhibits, etc. With uncanny timing while changing the dynamics of musical lore, Berry Gordy’s legendary Motown Records made its mark not just on the music industry but society at large, with a sound that has become the soul of America. Suffice it to say, there have been other successes in Black music, but no other record company in history has exerted such an enormous influence on both the style and substance of popular music and culture. That influence is still being felt today, from pop to hip-hop, as Motown celebrates the 50th anniversary of the company’s founding. If you’re a baby-boomer you will remininsce back to your teen years and know when and where good music was made; if you’re read about and heard people talk about, know that it was real and the music will never die -- go and relive it!