The HR Whisperer

Yes, this is really me in Steamboat, CO!

With the new year beginning, I started thinking about what the year might hold for the workplace and employees.  Well, I’ll be honest; I was really thinking about snow and skiing.  Those two are at least fun —  I know,  I know.  Unless you have to get on the roof with the hairdryer to de-ice the gutters before the second storm hits and the snow wrecks the house (true story).   Been there, done that.  Sunny Florida beckoned.  I went.  Still miss snow, though.

But it did get me thinking about employees and their needs.  There’s this old adage that says, red sky at night, sailors’ delight; red sky at morning sailors take warning.  Meteorologists and sailors alike know that a red dawn means high water content from an approaching low pressure system.  Simply put, a [snow] storm is brewing.

Well, we have a red dawn coming.  Employers have enjoyed loyalty from their workforce, especially with the down economy.  While 2010 may still be a downer, things seem to be looking up job-wise, which means that employees will soon be on the move again.  There’s a tempest coming and with it new work ethics, attitudes and priorities.  It’s the perfect storm.

But, in spite of record unemployment, a dismal economy, and Gen Y entering the workforce, employees still have the same expectations they always did.  Spherion points out in its 2009 Emerging Workforce Study that despite the significant change workers have witnessed over the past few years, there is surprisingly little change in how they perceive the employment relationship.  While people may stay at an organization because the current economy demands they do so, holding a job and being motivated in that position are two vastly different things. 

So, how can organizations prepare for the stormy employer-employee relationship in 2010?  Three things: 1) concentrate on the social-emotional connection, 2) offer developmental opportunities that link to the organizational mission, and 3) take advantage of social media.

          Focus on the social-emotional connection.  One of the greatest causes of misery for employees is the feeling that the organization they work for isn’t interested in who they are and what goes on in their lives.  Combat this by training supervisors in social-emotional intelligence.  No matter what the business climate, the generation of the worker, or the technology available, all people want to feel important.  The Hawthorne Studies of 1924 found that if managers paid more attention and cared about employees, it raised morale and increased productivity.  That still holds true today: a recent worldwide engagement study that found that organizations with the highest percent of motivated employees increased income 19% and earnings per share 28%.  Creating the social-emotional connection also means that basic HR programs have to be in place to meet employee needs.  This includes having a decent compensation and benefits package, providing accommodations for the disabled; offering flexible work arrangements, establishing special-interest networks, and presenting good career prospects.

          Provide developmental opportunities that link to the organization’s mission and vision.  The “perfect storm” of the emerging employment contract implies that there will never be job security, that employment will be contingent on added value, and that workers have the right to demand the freedom and resources to do their jobs well.  So, if workers are to add value, help them by providing ample opportunity to improve skills and capabilities.  There are many ways to do this such as through education and training, job enrichment or enlargement, coaching and feedback.

          Take advantage of social media.  Social media is the new way of connecting and tech-savvy workers are using it to keep in touch with friends and family, share information, surf for a new job, and provide opinions on their work and their workplace.  Social media is a virtual conversation and because of this, business is now a virtual conversation.  With the advent of social media, an organization’s brand or reputation can be literally one comment away from disaster – from a Twitter blurb, Facebook post or Epinions review.  Someone out there is talking about the organization and they can say whatever it is they want.  What you can do though, is help manage the conversation.

Managing the conversation however, does not mean telling employees what to say.  It means creating an authentic atmosphere where people can initiate a conversation.  In the era of business transparency, empowering people to tell the truth can be risky, but also rewarding.  Think about how your organization can use social media to its advantage.  Introduce rules of engagement for employees and encourage them participate with an understanding of those rules.  Use social connections to share information about the company – create organization Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, or company wikis and blogs where people can share information, celebrate accomplishments, trade opinions. If something bad pops up, have a person in the organization accountable for responding to it appropriately.  Just keep the conversation going.

While workers may be staying in their respective jobs due to the economy, if the relationship is not a strong one – or is abused – when the storm is over, employees will leave for greener pastures.  Whether it’s today or tomorrow, organizations that invest in their people will find that their people will invest in them.

It’s that time of year again when kids are starting to fill out college applications, deciding if they don’t want college but would rather be a dental hygienist or fire fighter instead, or just plain freaking out that in a few short months their high school career will be over.  I’ve got one of those at home right now and it ain’t pretty.

What do these kids really have to look forward to anyway, career-wise?  With unemployment ravaging the workforce, organizational changes drying up the already few and far between entry-level opportunities, major competition for jobs driving highly experienced people to do desperate things and college tuition rates soaring, just what is out there for new grads?

Not much says an article in the October 19^th issue of BusinessWeek.  Author Peter Coy points out that newly minted high school, college and MBA grads are bright, eager – and unwanted.  The U.S. unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds is around 18% and with the lack of jobs for those kids, their lifetime income potential is plummeting.  It seems like we are creating our own death spiral.

You’d think that with all this cheap labor out there companies would be snapping young people up by the dozen and getting rid of the more expensive employees.  Tain’t so.  We all know nobody’s doing anything in light of the unstable economy. But we weren’t doing a good job of bringing in the new kids to begin with anyway.

Part of what is scary about this too, is that so many of these young people are well-educated, enthusiastic and raring to go.  They’re the ones who are going to be funding Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare in the years to come.  We’re all living longer and many of us lost a ton of retirement money over the past several years due to the bouncing stock market.  So, that means that the older generations are going to have to keep working– which leaves even less for the new kids on the block, never mind our societal coffers.  And let’s not start on the loss of creativity and diversity in organizations.

Some people think the government should intervene before things get worse by subsidizing education, cutting minimum wage, offering more job training, or instituting apprenticeship programs for skilled blue-collar jobs.  Good ideas all, but require some more thinking on my part before I profess an opinion one way or another.

What I will opine though, is that we need to take care of our “pack.”  All organizations should be hiring or interning young people to keep the talent pipeline viable in spite of the wishy-washy economy.

Yea, I know these are great words…reality of business life…who’s going to train them…where do we put them…blah, blah, blah.

If we only focus on short-term and not look toward the horizon, how many organizations are going to miss the sunset and not see the dawn?

This was originally published in HR Florida Review’s Fall 2008 edition.  I thought I’d share it here as it contains some great tips for training multi-generational adult learners.  By focusing on needs, we can focus on behavior.  And changing behavior is what training is all about, right?

You need to implement a training program to introduce a new system. Everybody has to get trained. This should be easy to do, right? After all, the training should be pretty straightforward.

But…it’s a typical Thursday at 8 a.m., the first day of training. You’ve got 30 people staring at you, waiting for the magic. There are four generations present and each one is thinking something different. “Oh no, I’m going to have to learn another system!” “I don’t need to learn anything!” “This is gonna be sooooooo boring!” “Dude; what a waste of my time!” Thank goodness for the Starbucks coffee and bagels you had the foresight to order for the day.

As prepared as you may be, if you don’t take into account the different generations sitting in front of you, your training will be doomed. Each of the four generations takes in information differently and processes it from a unique perspective. This means that if your training doesn’t speak to generational differences and needs, you might not get the ROI you’re expecting.

With four generations in the training game, how can you reach all of them at the same time with the same content? Aside from the different generations, people also learn in different ways. It’s critical that training be flexible and use diverse methodologies.

So, what can you do? Put the training into the Gens’ hands: the following training strategies will work well across all the generations.

Respect experience. Ask participants to share their past experiences. This is especially fun for the Matures and Boomers; they have a ton of knowledge they’re dying to share with their younger colleagues. Besides, they probably have some interesting stories to tell that will liven up the training!

Involve participants. Get the trainees involved by using experiential-type training. Use games and simulations to keep things interesting. All trainees, regardless of generation, will learn better and faster if they are actively involved.

Use coaches. Employ the “each one, teach one” concept by pairing participants with different generational partners. Each person will be accountable for ensuring that his or her partner is learning. It takes the stress off if there is someone available to support the learning on a more comfortable one-on-one basis.

Vary audiovisuals. Take advantage of the multitude of audio-visual tools and techniques available today. Enhance the training by using interactive computer-based simulations, multimedia case studies or synchronized slide presentations. Use pictures to help tell your training story. As the old saying goes, “a picture’s worth a thousand words” no matter what the generation.

Provide visibility. Let different people be spokespersons for small group work. Gen X and Gen Y may need the practice and many of them like to be up in front of the group. While public speaking may be #1 on the top ten things we hate the most list, it is an essential business skill. Understand that while some hate it, some do love it, so a little structured visibility can be a good thing for any Gen.

Give plenty of opportunity for discussion. Use discussion as a learning tool. Having participants talk about the subject matter and challenge one another provides for a great learning experience, especially for those who prefer an auditory learning style. Besides, knowing that the four generations will have four different perspectives on the subject, it will make for a fascinating conversation!

Try peer-to-peer training. Have the participants conduct the training instead of the trainer. Not only does it allow for creativity, but it helps participants “own” their learning, get prepared and improve their attention to the subject matter. Have a contest between groups with prizes. The more fun it is, the better people will learn no matter what the generation.

Utilize case studies. Try to find examples in your own organization that can be used to help participants apply the information being learned in a real-time situation. Case studies are particularly useful for helping younger trainees synthesize information – that is, take what they have learned in class and apply it to a problem that they may not have yet experienced in the workplace.

Deploy just-in-time training. Think about the learning needs of your multigenerational workplace and provide the training at the right place at the right time. Focus on what the trainee needs to know and let them have at it at their own place and time. Providing training in different media, such as internet- or computer-based, allows participants to learn at their own pace. Many companies are now utilizing internal television networks to provide just-in-time training. They can sign up for what they need, when they need it.

Allow opportunity for feedback. Receiving plenty of feedback is a must. While Matures may want to receive feedback in a particular time and place, Boomers are more apt to feel they are not getting enough. Gen Xers and Gen Y want to hear it immediately and honestly so they will know they are on the right track. Regardless of the generation, everyone wants to know how they are doing. Tell them and help them use that information to improve their knowledge or skill.

Use some of these strategies and you’ll be well on your way to playing the generational training game and realize a greater return on that training investment.