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Five Ways to Connect with Generation X & Y Workers
By Craig Arthur

"As business owners, we now need to create a business that is attractive to both customers and employees." - Craig Arthur

When I speak with business owners about their “Limiting Factors to Growth,” finding and retaining good people is always in the top three.

Last week I was invited to a presentation titled “Managing a Multi-Generational Workforce,” by Rhonda Thorburn, the regional Director for Kelly Services, Australia.

As a rough guide here are the year brackets that determine the generations.

• Silent Generation: Born between 1925 - 1945
• Baby Boomers: Born between 1946-1964.
• Generation X: Born between 1965-1977.
• Generation Y: Born between 1978-1987.
  

How to attract and keep good people is a growing problem for all businesses, across all industries, especially so when we talk about Generation X and Y.

So how do we specifically attract and retain these younger employees?

Click to read more ...

by guest columnist Kathy Marsh.
of Kelly Services,Townsville, Australia

(edited from original article. Green italics by the editor.)


Happy, content, motivated staff lead to happy customers.
Happy customers lead to increased sales.

Often managers can get caught-up with the running of the business and forget about nurturing their most important asset - their staff.

At a time when the workforce is transitioning from loyal Baby Boomers to unsettled Generation Y workers, it is important to retain your best employees through successful people management.

Finding out what makes a contented and motivated workforce is essential, because people who enjoy their work and working environment will make a more effective contribution to the performance of the business.

And who is responsible for making a happy, content and motivated workforce? The Boss.

So what makes a good boss? Kelly Services latest Global Workforce Index sought the views of approximately 70,000 people in 28 countries.

Bosses were rated on four attributes –
1.    communication,
2.    leadership,
3.    team spirit and
4.    delegation skills. 

Employees were asked to score their bosses with a mark out of ten.

In Australia, the average score for bosses, as seen through the eyes of their employees, was a respectable seven out of ten.  This placed Australia in sixth place out of the  28 countries for the best bosses.

Workers felt that bosses were best at delegating effectively and weakest when it comes to communication.

Communication presents itself in all aspects of management and is an integral part of managing people. This is not only giving directions, but also creating a positive culture through recognition, feedback, praise and advice.

Communication also needs to be two-way. Employees who can voice their thoughts and make suggestions will be more engaged and are likely to contribute in positive ways to business performance.

Good bosses are also good leaders.  A solid role model who is respected by employees and who motivates with challenging goals will be more successful as a manager and will have better staff morale.

Leadership also plays a strong part in the culture of an business by establishing the protocols and values that guide workers. Allowing employees to engage in social interactions - such things as birthday morning teas or race day celebrations - will help to generate a team spirit and collective mission.

Delegation of work is also an important aspect in being a good boss. Providing stimulating and challenging work, responsibility and clear instructions will lay the foundation for good work ethic and performance from staff.

Often managers can get caught-up with the running of the business and forget about nurturing their most important asset - their staff.

The Kelly survey also found that only 65% of workers said that their bosses rewarded them for a job well done.

Simply taking the time to tell someone they’ve done a good job or provide some constructive feedback can make a big difference.

From the Editor: Need great staff? Email Kathy

As a business owner, how do you rate yourself on the 4 attributes. Can you see any room for improvement?

As an employee how does your boss rate on the 4 attributes?

Let us know.

"We build great people, who then build great products and services." - Jack Welsh 

Conduct autopsies, without blame.

"When you conduct autopsies without blame, you go a long way toward creating a climate where the TRUTH is heard. If you have the right people on the bus, you should almost never need to assign blame but need only to search for understanding and learning."

- Page 78, Good to Great by Jim Collins

"The customer doesn't expect everything will go right all the time; the big test is what you do when things go wrong." - Sir Colin Marshall

"When you can, always advise people to do what you see they really want to do, so long as what they want to do isn't dangerously unlawful, stupidly unsocial, or obviously impossible. Doing what they want to do, they may succeed; doing what they don't want to do, they won't."
- James Gould Cozzens