The Workforce Revolution: Implications for Leaders€¦ · Generation Z, the youngest generation, now entering the workforce, the needs and expectations of employees are changing

©2014 Career Partners International

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Executive Summary

With Baby Boomers beginning their

moves into retirement and

Generation Z, the youngest

generation, now entering the

workforce, the needs and

expectations of employees are

changing.

To provide insight into the

importance and impact of this

workforce revolution, Career

Partners International, one of the

largest talent management solution

providers in the world, hosted

researcher and author Dan Schawbel

for a webinar entitled “Generation Z:

Understanding the Next Generation

of Worker.” This document

discusses the concepts introduced

during the webinar, as well as

practices that engage employees of

all ages, concluding with solutions to

help organizations thrive by

leveraging the strengths of the new

workforce.

The Workforce Revolution:

Implications for Leaders

Debra Magnuson

Career Partners International – Twin Cities

Leading organizations is

increasingly complex and

challenging on many fronts—

globalization, technology use,

the pace of change, and ever-

escalating competition. At the

same time, leaders are

recognizing that they cannot rely

on the same people practices as

they did as recently as a few

years ago. Boomer leaders,

especially, are confronted with a

workforce who wants things

Boomers themselves wouldn’t

have dreamed of requesting. We

have seen employers who throw

up their hands in frustration

saying, “We just won’t hire

young people.” Clearly, this isn’t

a workable long-term strategy.

There are solutions that enable

leaders and their organizations

to thrive with the new

workforce. Savvy organizations

have found that key satisfaction

drivers for younger employees

can also appeal to workers of all

ages.

In this whitepaper, we offer an

overview of the current

workforce and review of

research impacting the

Millennial Generation, as well as

other trends impacting how

workers of all ages engage and

contribute to their organizations.

This paper also offers

recommendations for

organizational executives, HR

leaders, and those overseeing

talent management, succession

planning, and employee

engagement encompassing all

generations.



Who are the

Millennials?

It depends on whose definitions

you use. Some researchers and

demographers use the years

1981-2000, others use 1982-

1993, and others use 1981-

1997. Whichever definition you

use, the basic numbers, traits,

and work motivators and de-

motivators are much the same.

Who is this New Workforce?

“Demographic transformations

are dramas in slow motion,”1

says Paul Taylor in his

introduction to The Next

America, a 2014 book from the

Pew Research Center.

Demographers, sociologists, and

organizational leaders have been

watching workforce trends

unfold for many years, and it is

no secret that the huge Baby

Boomer generation, dominant

in the US workforce since the

1980s, began reaching the

traditional retirement age of

65 in 2011. They are now

turning 65 at a rate of 12,000

per day in the US.

We also know that those 78

million Boomers raised smart,

tech-savvy kids bathed in the

aspirations and prosperity of

their parents, and that these

offspring turned out to be

exceptionally good at asking for

what they want, which should

come as no surprise. Squeezed

between the Boomers and their

children is Gen X, who often

1 Paul Taylor and the Pew Research Center, The Next America, 2014, BBS Public Affairs, NY, NY. P. 1

holds different work values and

goals than their elders, paying

their dues and waiting (and

waiting…) for the chance to

show what they can do as

leaders.

Workforce Changes in the New Millennium In the early 2000s, business

leaders were bombarded with

dire warnings about the “War for

Talent,” threatening imminent

shortages of key workers, rising

wages, and star treatment for

young people with advanced

educations and sky-is-the-limit

expectations.

Then came 2008, and the War

for Talent stopped before it

really got started. Predicted

workforce shifts went on hold

for five years, and the recession

years were a painful period of

downsizing, furloughs, loss of

benefits, and a tough job market

for people of all ages. Hundreds

of applications flooding

businesses for every position

created an employer’s market,

and many employees

experienced downgraded wages,

job insecurity, and periods of

unemployment. The surplus of

available talent often had the

unfortunate impact of making

people feel expendable, with

their work contributions

interchangeable and devalued.

Other workplace trends

including increased automation,

globalization, and reduced

manager training, only

exacerbated employees’ sense of

vulnerability. Current employee

engagement data2 tells a sorry

tale of disengaged workers who

now send employers a whopping

message of “whatever,” or

worse.

2http://www.gallup.com/services/178514/state-american-workplace.aspx



Against this backdrop, the US

workforce has now reached a

crucial turning point. According

to data from the US Bureau of

Labor Statistics, in 2013 the

three big generations reached

near parity in the workforce:

32% Boomers, 31% Gen X, and

32% Gen Y/Millennials. The

Traditionalist generation (age 69

and older) made up the

remaining 5%. However, that

point of parity has already

passed. In 2014, Millennials

surpassed the number of

Boomers in the workforce and

there is no turning back. In

industries such as call centers3

and fast food establishments,

Millennials already constitute

more than half of the workforce.

2014 was a watershed year for

the US workforce. With a slowly

yet steadily improving economy

and back-on-track 401K

accounts, Boomers are actually

retiring (at a rate of 12,000 per

day in the US) or planning to

retire in the relatively near

future. Gen X may finally have

the chance to assume executive

3 “At US Bancorp, millennials now make up 57% of the call center workforce. [The bank has] discovered it needs to modify training methods, incorporating multimedia training, and the bank leans on coaches to help young hires get up to speed.” Minneapolis Star Tribune, November 16, 2014.

leadership, though now in their

late 30s and 40s, many have

moved on to other career and

life goals, such as

entrepreneurship. And this year,

Millennials became the largest

demographic in the workforce.

Consider:

In 2014, Millennials will make up 36% of the US workforce

By 2030, they will be 50% of the US workforce

This shift is even more evident in

other parts of the world. By

2025, Millennials will make up

75% of the global workforce.4

The rapid unleashing of post-

recession demographic shifts

means that organizations must

4 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics / The Business and Professional Women's Foundation

think and act differently to

attract, engage, and retain

Millennials. The big events of

their formative years—9/11, the

War on Terror, increasing focus

on getting a 4-year college

education (no matter the cost),

24/7 media bombardment, and

instant access to the world in the

palms of their hands—have

shaped Millennials’ values,

beliefs, and attitudes. Add in a

dose of helicopter parenting and

a plummeting job market as they

entered the workforce, and you

have young people who are

ready to take on the world, but

have learned some tough lessons

along the way. The world of

work isn’t as easy as they

thought it would be, but they

still want to shape their own

lives and careers; they want to

do it their way.

What do Millennials Want?

Many studies tell us what

Millennials value, what

motivates them, and why they

stay or leave their employers.



On November 6, 2014, Career

Partners International hosted a

webinar with Dan Schawbel, the

founder of Millennial Branding

LLC and author of the books ME

2.0 and Promote Yourself.5 Mr.

Schawbel recently partnered

with Randstad to conduct the

first worldwide study comparing

Gen Y and Gen Z workplace

expectations and the findings

were released in September,

2014.6 For Schawbel’s research,

Millennials were divided into

Gen Y (1982 – 1993) and Gen Z

(1994 – 2010). During the

webinar, the following key

points were outlined:

1. Work Environment

Millennials want workplaces

that:

Offer learning and

development

opportunities that add

value to their careers

Provide opportunities to

5 Dan Schawbel, Career Partners International Webinar, “Generation Z: Understanding the Next Generation of Worker” Nov. 6, 2014. http://www.cpiworld.com/knowledge-center/webinars/generation-z-understanding-the-next-generation-of-worker 6 http://millennialbranding.com/2014/geny-genz-global-workplace-expectations-study/

collaborate, although

employees don’t need to

be in the same physical

location

Place more emphasis on

the work itself and less on

where and when the work

gets done

Give them access to the

best, most recent

technology

Offer them work

opportunities that align

with their strengths

2. Leadership Qualities

The youngest generation desire

leaders who are:

Honest and transparent

enough to share as much

as possible

Visionary and can identify

a future that enhances

people, communities or

the world, and then

generate the solidarity to

get there

Communicative and adept

to articulate and exchange

information in all formats,

but especially in-person

3. Wellness and Community

Involvement

Value is placed on employers

who “give back”:

40% feel it’s very or

extremely important that

their company has a

wellness program which

may include health

screenings, a gym,

incentives for being

healthy, and

walking/standing desks

Gen Z says the biggest

obstacle that could get in

the way of job

performance is stress

77% of Gen Z and 63% of

Gen Y are very or extremely

interested in volunteering

to gain work experience

What incentive would motivate you to work

harder and stay at your future employer longer?*

*From ”Gen Y and Gen Z Global Workplace Expectations Study” Millennial Branding & Randstad, September, 2014

http://www.cpiworld.com/knowledge-center/webinars/generation-z-understanding-the-next-generation-of-worker






4. Learning Styles

Millennials stated their order of

preference for learning

methodologies as:

Cross-functional projects

Mentoring/executive

sponsorships

Corporate-sponsored

classes

Rotational programs

Online courses

Is there Generational Common Ground?

Much has been written

about the differences

between Traditionalists,

Boomers, Gen X and

Millennials. However, less

attention has been given to

the areas of common ground

that connect all the

generations in today’s

workforce.

In their book Work With Me: A

New Lens on Leading the

Multigenerational Workforce

(PDI, 2008) authors Debra

Magnuson and Lora Alexander

identify four practices all

generations desire in the

workplace. They are:

1. Flexibility—a sense of

control over parts of their

work schedule

2. Desire for Development—

opportunities to learn and

grow on the job

3. Coaching Approach to

Leadership—bosses that

ask rather than tell

4. Respect—feeling listened

to, included, and valued

While different generations

might define these differently

and want them for different

reasons, companies that focus

on these common-ground

factors will retain their best

people longer and have more

engaged employees who

communicate better.

Companies don’t necessarily

need a different strategy for

each generation. But they do

need to understand what

employees want, why they want

it, and create workplaces in

which employees—whatever

their age—can thrive.

As co-author of Work With Me,

this writer has continued to

study how the workplace has

evolved since the book was

published, especially the impact

of the Great Recession when too

many companies went

backwards in these areas. As

Millennials make up an ever-

growing segment of the

workforce, conditions are

changing fast, and organizational

leaders need to keep up in order

to engage the best and the

brightest.

The four common-ground

issues—flexibility, development,

coaching approach, and

respect—remain a core around

which leaders can build

energized work environments

that support business goals. The

imperative to build workforce

cultures around these core

issues grows stronger every day.



Leadership Implications

As the global workforce heads

into 2015, the shift towards the

new workforce is moving into

full swing. Boomer retirements,

though progressing more slowly

than former “65-and-out”

models, are happening. Many

organizations still need their

skills and experiences, and a

majority of Boomers want to

keep contributing. New, more

flexible arrangements need to be

embraced to enable forward-

thinking tactics like phased

retirement. An example is the

US federal government’s new

phased retirement program,

introduced this month. 7

Gen X is moving into leadership

roles in greater numbers. They

desire and need focused

development opportunities,

coaching, and mentoring as they

take on executive positions.

Succession planning initiatives,

including identification and

development of high-potential

talent, are intensifying in many

organizations and need to be

implemented in many more. 8

Millennials are already the

largest generation in the

workforce, both in the US and

globally. According to Schawbel’s

global study9 outlined in the

recent Career Partners

International Webinar10, Gen Z,

the youngest generation now in

school, college, and early

careers, wants a future

workplace in which:

Hours aren’t confined to 9-5

7 http://time.com/money/3584634/phased-retirement-federal-boomer/ 8 Talent Management Alliance, Succession Planning Summit, www.the-tma.org/ 9 “Gen Y and Gen Z Global Workplace Expectations Study” Millennial Branding & Randstad, September, 2014 10 Career Partners International Webinar with Dan Schawbel, “Gen Z: Understanding the Next Generation of Worker”, November, 2014.

Technology will be embraced

at all levels

Projects and people are

more important than

location of work

Career paths will be defined

earlier

Hierarchies will flatten

Summary

The new research on Millennials

in the workforce from Schawbel

aligns with trends identified over

the past decade by demographic

and talent management experts.

What is new is the pace of

demographic change in the

workforce now, and the

increasing concurrence of

recommendations for leading

the new workforce, summarized

as follows:

Plan for business strategy

and talent strategy

Be more flexible

Be more tech savvy

Develop leadership skills

needed to bring out the best

in workers of all ages

Listen better and more

respectfully

Support career development



Increase accountability along

with autonomy

Create workplace cultures

based on values and trust

As Thomas Paine said in 1797,

which is still relevant for the

2015 workforce, “Lead, follow,

or get out of the way.” ■

Career Partners International

helps organizations around the

world assess, engage, develop

and transition their talent. For

additional information on this or

other talent management

solutions, please contact your

local Career Partners

International office.

About the Author Debra Magnuson, Vice President of Talent Management at Career Partners International - Twin Cities, is an executive coach, career counselor, leadership development consultant, speaker, and author. Her clients include executives, teams, and organizations working on career development, leadership and coaching skills, change management, innovation, and succession planning. She is a keynote speaker, group facilitator, and presenter to audiences large and small. With a specialty in managing across generations, Debra is co-author of the book, Work With Me: A New Lens on Leading the Multigenerational Workforce, and serves as a recurring Vistage speaker on the topic. Additional information may be found at www.cpitwincities.com.

About Career Partners International Career Partners International enhances organizational performance and people’s lives every day! As a global leader in talent management consulting since 1987, organizations of all sizes and industries trust Career Partners International for the very best outcomes to their most challenging and important talent strategies and initiatives. With the most experienced and respected consultants in more than 45 countries, Career Partners International provides clients with one-on-one access to local experts in talent development, career management, executive coaching, outplacement, and career transition services to successfully assess, engage, develop, and transition talent to drive organizational performance. Additional information may be found at www.cpiworld.com.

http://www.cpitwincities.com/

http://www.cpiworld.com/

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The Workforce Revolution: Implications for Leaders€¦ · Generation Z, the youngest generation, now entering the workforce, the needs and expectations of employees are changing