Motivating Gen Ys in a Downturn

Penelope Trunk, founder of Gen Y online community The Brazen Careerist, shares tips on managing millennials

By Penelope Trunk

Young people change jobs every 18 months. And when they get a job, they start job hunting three days after their start date. That's a pretty expensive churn rate for employers. In many cases, you have lost the employee before you even finished training. The good news is that in most cases, a young person is easy to retain if you understand his or her motivations.

Generation Y is fundamentally conservative. Not politically. But in terms of their lifestyle choices and aspirations. This is a generation that loves their parents. Over 65% of college grads move back in with their parents, and they are not particularly unhappy about it because they have a great relationship with their parents. Adults have been helping Gen Y their whole lives. They are used to their parents' friends helping them, their coaches and tutors, and every time there's a problem, a parent talks with an adult involved and fixes it. So Gen Y loves authority—it has always been good for them.

Think about it: Baby boomers protested Vietnam by taking to the streets and violating laws. Gen Y protested Iraq by playing by the rules and electing Obama. Gen X invented grunge music and jeans at work. Gen Y is making the Beatles hip again—and they love to dress up for work. Gen Y is conservative, kind-hearted, and they follow the rules. Of course they are like this: The world has treated them well.

Gen Y just wants what their parents want for them: a good job, a stable family life, and a life that has meaning. Baby boomers told Gen Y that the most important values were contributing to the greater good and always learning. And Gen Y believes that.

it's all about learning

So here's what they want at work: Stability. The only reason Gen Y job hops is keep their learning curve high. No one wants to change jobs all the time. It's scary and difficult and tumultuous. But Gen Y knows that there are no lifetime jobs any more, and we're each responsible for our own careers. The best way to keep yourself employable is to always be learning. So when the learning curve flattens out at work, Gen Y jumps.

This is, of course, exactly what their parents told them to do: "Get off the sofa and do your homework! Don't watch TV! You're wasting your mind! The most important thing is your education!" These kids were overprogrammed after school so they would be exposed to new ideas and learn lots of new things. So of course they expect work to be this way as well. And, just like their parents, when things start looking slow, they panic.

In order to keep young people from leaving, you need to address their learning curves. Here are five ways:

1. Focus on mentoring.

Most young people have no idea what they want to do for their lives. They are trying things out. They need a mentor to help them figure out what to try next, and how to make sense of what they've already tried. A mentor isn't someone who meets with you once a month. A mentor is someone who genuinely cares if you succeed in life. The mentor is checking in to see what you're learning and where you could learn more. The mentor is introducing you to people and ideas and steering you on a weekly basis. Note: You cannot fake caring. A good mentor honestly believes the best part of work life is helping other people, and this opportunity is a privilege.

2. Create rotation programs.

The hottest jobs for Gen Y are getting into programs that steer you through many departments (Procter & Gamble (PG), General Electric (GE)) or companies that encourage you to move around after a short period of time (Deloitte, Ernst & Young).

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