I recently read an article on the Sydney Morning Herald Website; http://smallbusiness.smh.com.au/managing/management/gen-y-in-the-firing-line-909289552.html which has stated that current employers are more likely to get rid of Generation Y employees first, compared to their elder aged staff.
This raises many questions about Generation Y and how we are perceived in the workplace.
Today’s current economic climate has the ability to be one of the worst downturns that the world has ever experienced and it is certainly one of the most volatile times for my Generation of workers, known as Generation Y!
As a Generation Y employee working in recruitment, I am often in a position where I will hear about the pro's and con's of workers closely aged to myself, 18 to 30 years old. We often hear from the media, management sources, elder members of the community and various other outlets that Generation Y are considered lazy employees who are only money driven and move around jobs way too much.
Whether you agree with this or not, I often see Generation Y employees that work and study extremely hard to achieve goals and meet expectations whilst really trying to be the best employee they can, so they can live as comfortably as generations of workers before us have.
So I ask the question, have Generation Y candidates in the Construction Industry been stereotyped as a bunch of cash greedy job hoppers or have we been given an easy ride to success with every opportunity to achieve?
Therefore, I thought I would take this topic of discussion to a professional in the Construction Industry, a General Manager from a National Mid Tier Organisation who has first hand experience employing Generation Y candidates and managing them on a daily basis.
1. How many Generation Y employees do you have at the moment and what type of positions do they fill?
We currently employee 12 Generation Y staff (considered 18yrs to 30yrs old) which consists of Contracts Administrators, a Contracts Managers, a couple of Foreman and Cadets.
2. What do you look for when you hire Gen Y candidates and what are your expectations? Do these expectations differ to any other Generation of workers?
I have the same expectations of my entire staff whether it’s Generation Y or Generation X. I look for younger employees that have the same work ethic as the older staff and have a bit of street wise about them. They must be a good cultural fit also.
3. Are Generation Y employees fulfilling your expectations in the workplace? Do they achieve set goals and targets?
Alot of Generation Y employee’s don’t set goals and need to be pushed. The work ethic is different between Generation Y and Generation X workers who get on with the job because they are used to working hard with longer hours. Gen Y will work longer hours but they need to pushed into doing it. Gen X would easily work a 60 plus hour week and wouldn’t leave until their job was finished, they would work 6 day weeks because working a Saturday was normal, younger employees will only work the odd Saturday.
4. How do you find the turnover of Generation Y staff? Do you find them loyal or do they move around too much?
They definitely move around too much, a lot of the younger employees are short sighted and are only chasing the money that is on offer. I think this current climate will change all that and most of these young workers should change their ideas.
5. In your opinion do you find that Gen Y candidates try and progress too quickly in the workplace?
Yes they do, it is common to see 24 and 25 years olds wondering why they are already not Project Managers. A lot of these candidates are straight out of University and want to become a Project Manager straight away. You would normally spend 4-5 years as a Cadet then move into Contracts Administration and then with at least ten years experience under your belt you would become a Project Manager.
6. Do you find that they are career driven or money driven or both?
I would say both, with money being the most important thing for most.
7. In your opinion what sort of positive skills / knowledge / experience can Gen Y bring to your company that Gen X fails to bring?
The biggest skill they can bring is their use of technology and getting the most out of software and systems. It comes naturally to a lot of younger employees with most Generation X workers struggling to get the most out of technology.
8. Considering the current state of the market, have you found that Gen Y employees are concerned or worried about their jobs?
I haven’t had too much feedback from my employees but we do keep them in the loop and updated as much as possible.
9. Do you think the volatile nature of the Construction Industry is off putting for junior candidates coming through the ranks?
It is really hard to say at the moment because a lot of industries are in a similar position. I think that in the Construction Industry we are very fortunate that we can offer very good money to younger workers and probably one of the only sectors that can afford this luxury. Its up to the young employees how much they want out of it, if they are prepared to work hard and apply themselves then they can find a very rewarding career in Construction.
10. If your company experiences a downturn, is Gen Y the first to go? If so Why?
No not necessarily, it is usually a combination of factors including loyalty and performance. If an employee has shown us over 10 years service which some of them have, and have performed quite well then we are going to be more likely to keep them on.
11. Looking into 2009, what type of employee bracket will you be looking to employee?
Quite hard to say at this stage however we will be looking to take on a real mixture of workers. In terms of Generation Y we normally take on a few cadets which is something we will continue, we would also like to take on some young site based people when the time is right, as previously we have had an ageing site team. It is important that the young employees don’t want to progress too quickly, not being a Project Manager within 1 or 2 years is not the be and end all.
12. What is your overall message / opinion about Generation Y in the workplace today?
I would say overall, Generation Y have un-realistic salary expectations in relation to their experience. There have been certain companies that have expanded too quickly in our industry and in some cases thrown younger employees too much cash for what they can do. I believe that the older workers are alot more realistic in our industry. They have often worked their way up, been through the hard times and will take less money even though they have better experience. If Gen Y comes out of university and after 1 or 2 years ask for a salary of $110K which I have noticed, then quite often they will be the first to leave during a downturn.
Please feel free to comment and provide your perspective on this continually debated topic.
Patrick Page
Construction Consultant
Conduit Recruitment
