As baby boomers, the largest generation in our history begins its retirement soon and many employers will have to face the hiring challenges of a labour shortage. HR personnel have now switched their focus to the Generation Y workforce that is highly educated, confident and independent.
They constitute one of the greatest assets for any company these days, but in fact not many employers have formulated effective strategies to recruit and retain this pool of talent.
As Generation Y members have become more prevalent in the workforce, companies have to tailor their recruiting methods and develop recruitment messages specific to them.
According to a survey conducted by our office in Australia, 15 per cent of Generation Y respondents worked with at least three different employers in the last four years. Eighty-two per cent said they had looked for a new job mainly due to lack of respect and direction from management. Sixty-one per cent found their current job boring and felt that a job change was needed.
Other factors that Generation Y workers considered to stay on at a company included flexible work hours, a fun work environment, diversity of projects, competitive salary, career growth and learning and travel opportunities. To attract and keep Generation Y workers, HR personnel need to take a different approach from that which they have used with previous generations.
These young people no longer define a good job only in terms of monetary gain. They take a job offer because they want to work in a certain company, not because they have to.
