Who are generation Y and why are they a significant group for management and learning specifically? Christine Elgood of Elgood Effective Learning interviewed leading specialist in this field Benjamin Chaminade to find out more……

CE: Who is Generation Y?

BC: “Generation Y refers not only to an age group of those born between 1978 and 1994, but also to a set of behaviours attributed to those operating very much in the socially networked, emotionally and (often virtually) connected working space.

GenY can be seen as versatile, individualistic, impatient, indecisive, curious, and inventive. It is not just about a group of lazy youths who want ‘something for nothing’. Many, if not most, are bright and enthusiastic individuals who want to be involved and contribute. They are quite astute and savvy and they bring a lot to the party.”

CE: Why is Generation Y such a hot topic?

BC: “Because a large proportion of the world’s demographic are under 30 years old, up to 55% in some countries. The new ways of working in the Web2.0 world are arriving and businesses are having to think about marketing to the younger generation and how to attract, engage and retain a younger workforce who will become key to a post recession future. The difference between previous youth cultures and today’s GenY and the generations before them is more marked than ever before.”

CE: So what’s different about how we communicate with them?

BC: “As they are spending a lot of time on the internet, surfing, playing sophisticated online games, ‘FaceBooking’ and chatting with their friends, they develop good relating and reasoning skills but can also be easily distracted. We find it best to use short visual presentations when communicating key messages and to make any activity as practical as possible. They want to be in the centre of things, they want to be involved and to have a say in what they want and how it should be designed or implemented.”

CE: So what does that mean for training interventions?

BC: “More than ever a blended learning approach is essential, with a high content of practical activity. Y’ers as we sometimes call them, like to get on and do things, be kept busy, have variety and use their multi-senses and multi-intelligences as far as possible. So it’s less ‘tell’ and more ‘try it and see’. We are seeing more and more participant led activity, with individuals sometimes being involved in the design too. So plenty of management games and simulations are recommended for sure!“

CE: What else should we be aware of?

BC: “Well there is a lot to cover on this topic, but one thing to remember is that GenY enjoy working with their friends and colleagues so anything that enables them to maximise these networks and to bring out their creativity would be a plus. What we are finding is that we are talking with HR, Talent, Learning & Development specialists just as much about talent management these days as before the recession started but also with Communications and Marketing specialists, so think that we’re going to see a more joined-up approach in these coming months. Change management, leadership development, customer service, talent planning and gaining competitive advantage all seem to be hot topics when it comes to leveraging the skills of Generation Y. But we must not forget that we have at least 3 generations in our workforce and it is about how we manage those interactions.”

CE: Thank you Benjamin, plenty of things for us to think about!

BC: “Thank you, and we are of course delighted to be working with Elgood for the benefit for our mutual clients!”