No Bull Business Blog

Warning: Don't let Generation Y get bored

Excerpted from the Executive Report: Managing Millenials - 9 Ways to Get the Most Out of the Internet Generation

The fact is, Generation Y, Millenials, the Internet Generation (or whatever you call them) bore easily.And while it's not your job to entertain them, if you want them to produce great work and retain them as workers, it's best to make sure they're not stuck in work ruts.

They crave newness and want to be challenged. So give them the chance to learn from new projects, people and challenges, and they'll thrive. It's an easy way to keep them engaged in their work - and keep them from jumping ship.

Example: Have Millennials try a new task at least once every two months. Whether it's a new assignment, team or group, switching their job up - even just a little bit - will increase their job engagement.

Another option? Cross-train them. Once they've nailed down their job, let them work in another department for a day or two. It'll keep them interested in the job and it'll benefit the company by uncovering new ways for departments to work together.  

DIGGING DEEPER
It doesn't matter whether your older workers think Millenials are a bunch of spoiled brats. This group will become a dominant force in the workplace as the Boomers retire. How do you deal with them? Read the Executive Report: Managing Millenials - 9 Ways to Get the Most Out of the Internet Generation

Dealing with a 'bad attitude'

Excerpted from the Executive Report: The Supervisors Guide to Managing and Motivating Difficult Employees. 

 

Identifying and correcting behavior often can be more difficult than dealing with performance.

 

Difficult employees are often characterized as having a "bad attitude." Identifying employees that way is a bad starting point for implementing change. What's a "bad attitude"? How is it measured? What standards will you use to determine if it has changed?

 

In short, "attitude" shouldn't be in your supervisor's vocabulary, but "behavior" should. Here's why: You can make behavior a part of performance - with the same types of standards you use for performance.

 

Suppose an employee refuses to cooperate with others or won't follow instructions or argues with customers, or all of the above.

 

That type of employee commonly fends off criticism by saying, "But I do my job."

 

Your answer: "Behavior is a crucial part of your job. So if you can't cooperate, in fact you're not doing your job."

 

To complete the loop, you can make cooperation (with you, other employees, customers, etc) a crucial component of the employee's job description.  Here's a typical statement used in a job description or as a standard laid out during a performance evaluation:

 

Maintain a positive work atmosphere by acting and communicating in a manner so that you get along with customers, co-workers and managers.

 

The greater the importance behavior is to the job, the greater the percentage this standard will apply to the job - whether it's 10%, 25% or 50%. You make the call on it and make sure the employee understands the percentage and the standard.

 

What you'll have done is take the vague "attitude" problem and turn it into something defined and measured. And it gives you a rebuttal to the person who says, "But I do my job."

 

Usually, the person who says that is doing the job at some minimum standard - while driving everyone else crazy. The answer: Raise the standard, to include behavior. Then your response is: "No, you're not doing your job."

 

DIGGING DEEPER

It doesn't require the greatest skills to manage good employees. They have initiative, jump in where needed and don't need someone looking over their shoulder. The people who are a drain on the workplace are the difficult employees. To get help with them, read the Executive Report: The Supervisors Guide to Managing and Motivating Difficult Employees.