Sidebar: The Baby Boomers Are Listening

Don't feel threatened by Gen Y workers — learn how to get the best from them

Some Baby Boomers from the echelons of upper management are aware of the different perspectives of their young Generation Y staff. A few have begun adapting their policies to cater for their desires.

Michael Ackerman, enterprise architect and principal consultant of US company Comsworld, says he and some colleagues have some ideas to improve staff retention among Gen Y. For example, paying bonuses quarterly rather than yearly is expected to give a sense of more immediate satisfaction.

Ackerman also suggests incorporating technologies Gen Y is comfortable with, such as instant messaging, into the work environment. Likewise, in a recent post to her blog EXCELER8ion.com, Shannon Seery Gude stressed the importance of engaging in "social networking features and collaboration tools such as blogs and wikis to allow employees to connect and collaborate with one another".

However, Ackerman says management should also be aware that Gen Y is constantly searching for better opportunities. As such, managers should "always have a succession plan and don't be disappointed when they leave; it is not personal".

PhD candidate Sarah Sharf says employers should consider beginning recruitment at an earlier stage, by recruiting people who do not have the necessary qualifications but training them until they do. "If you are willing to provide training and advancement," Sharf says, "you will get a larger measure of loyalty in return."

Cesare Tizi, CIO at AGL, says companies that want to retain Gen Y employees should provide them with the flexibility they desire. "They want enormous flexibility in their time, they want to work from home as much as possible, and some companies embrace that. IBM are a good example, they have embraced it."