Handle Employees Under 35 With Care

June 30th 2009.     Interesting article from Human Resources magazine [humanresources@news.humanresourcesonline.net]

 

Singapore – A boss who doesn’t treat employees under 35 the way the organisation had initially promised them during job interviews will cause high staff turnover among that age group.

Dr. David S. Cohen, founder of human resources development firm Strategic Action Group, says these are “bad” managers who would give candidates “false hope” during the interview process by mismanaging their expectations. Things will get ugly when Gen Y candidates take on the job and they realise their expectations are not met. “People are going to be upset, disappointed and angry,” he says. “If you are under 35, you’ll definitely leave because you have confidence, you know you are going to be employed even in this economy downturn.”

Hence, Gen Y employees do not quit because they don’t like the company or they want more money, says Cohen. Gen Y employees will most likely jump ship to another job which pays less if they dislike their current managers. “They leave managers who didn’t treat them the way they expect to be treated.” He adds, “If you are unhappy at the company you are at, you will take a job for 10% less at somewhere else to be happy.”

For Gen Y, money is simply not an issue, says Cohen, as long as they feel they are paid fairly. Then again, this principle applies to most of the generations in the workplace. “The reality is most people would not move their jobs even for 10% more if they are being treated right because it’s better to be at the company you like and enjoy working at.”

This is much preferable than taking a risk to join a new company which one is unfamiliar with and might not enjoy working at. Nevertheless, Cohen says employee retention is also dependent on the individual’s career goals. “If the value proposition for the employee is development and development is taken out of the budget, they are going to go to another company for less money but which is offering development.”