Edition 8 - September 2007Word from the Editor: Welcome to the 8th edition of Access HR News. In this exciting edition, we are focusing on the generations – Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y. It is important to understand and have an insight into the differences between the generations, and how we can adapt ourselves and our businesses to work successfully. Our other article focuses on the Baby Boomer Generation, explaining how they are soon to be reaching retiring age and how this affects you as an employer. An interesting read if I say so myself. Access HR is happy to announce that we have a new Receptionist / HR Administration Support Assistant to join our team. Natasha Marie has commenced and is looking forward to assisting all our clients and candidates. Natasha has successfully completed her Certificate II in Business, and is about to commence her Certificate III in Business Administration. On another note, Spring is just around the corner, and most of us will be looking forward to the warmer weather to come. Throw away your scarves and beanies and bring out the t-shirts and shorts! Please enjoy our 8th edition of Access HR News and don’t forget to contact Kim and let her know of the topics you would like to see covered! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Differences between the Generations
Business leaders need to be doing more than just observing the changing times- they must understand the changing times. Therefore it is important to understand the human traits, attitude shifts, social trends, and the mindset of the ever-changing customer and employee in order to be successful. The different generations have been labeled and defined historically as “the average interval of time between the birth of parents and the birth of their offspring.” Today a generation refers to a cohort of people, born within a span of time in which trends, technologies, and events have significantly shaped them. These occurrences in one’s formative years are referred to as social marker indicators. Description Born Age Pop’n (mil) (% of Pop’n) Boomers 1946 – 1964 42 – 60 5.3 mil 26% Generation X 1965 – 1979 27 – 41 4.4 mil 21.5% Generation Y 1980 – 1994 12 – 26 4.2 mil 20.5% Generation Z 1995 – 2009 Under 12 3.1 mil 15% Reference: ABS Population Pyramid 2006 & McCrindle Research Study 2006 Baby Boomers: The key event that formed the social marker in the Baby Boomer generation in the western world was the ending of the Second World War; depression and the war period were replaced with economic growth and full employment. Technological advancement and increasing freedom took hold; there was the unparallel baby boom and immigration program. This 19 year population boom literally birthed a generation. Baby Boomers have lived through incredible change and have adapted to it, in many cases creating the change. They are a very adaptive and flexible generation as shown in their embracement of technology to changing their collaborative management style. Boomers are most likely to remain in leadership positions for longer than any previous generation and their experience combined with their adaptability will keep them relevant. Generation X: Generation X have bought with them a different perspective on employment which is dramatically different to the Baby Boomer generation. Generation X demand to enjoy their work and to have time beyond a workplace, this is often misinterpreted by the Boomers who see them as unmotivated and apathetic. Quite simply, Generation X “work to live,” while their predecessors “live to work”. Almost half of the Generation X cohort grew up in divorced homes, many were raised by single parents and others were raised by two parents who both worked outside of the home. Generation X employees value a sense of belonging and teamwork, and this value has been shaped by the way Xers were raised. Generation Y: Those individuals born between 1980 and 2000 will have grown up in a multicultural globalised world. The dramatic growth of the internet and television has had a part to play in this development. They will remain in education longer, travel further, have access to more information than any other generation, and be more aware of technology and more likely to 'think outside the box'. Graduates want to constantly learn new skills, be challenged intellectually, professionally and continually achieve.
While derided as fickle, self-focused, and transient the reality is that they just reflect their times. Economic cycles come and go, jobs aren’t guaranteed and profits are seemingly pre-eminent. So it’s not an inherent selfishness but a response to corporate realities. Managers that step away from the corporate image and build staff rapport and relate to the individuals, loyalty and commitment from the Generation Y can be acquired. Snapshot of Generations:
Reference: McCrindle Reseach |
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Baby Boomers Back in Business
We’ve all heard about the Baby Boomers, but did you know that by the year 2020 most will have reached retiring age? What impact does this have on you as an employer? The obvious answer is the challenge of losing experienced workers. “The Boomer generation is the one that has faced economic downturn when we haven’t been in an expansionary mode. We’ll lose these people who know how to manage in a downturn and if you lose that knowledge it will be a trial and error situation for how to cope,” says Bridget Beattie. Workforce planning and succession planning will become a challenge as the workforce pool dries up, when we reach 2020 there will be more 65 – 69 year olds than 15 – 19 year olds and the Australian workforce will be facing the biggest exodus of workers in history. As an employer of the Baby Boomer generation the loss of the mature aged work force may have a detrimental cost to your company, although all hope is not lost. Currently 17 per cent of employers in Australia have strategies in place to recruit older workers and only 29 per cent have retention strategies in place. Talking to your Baby Boom workforce asking them what they value within the workplace and how you can help them is the first step in combating the mass exodus.
Another option is to partner or mentor the younger generation enabling skills and knowledge to be passed on before they retire. Instead of placing younger workers in positions of support assistants, partnerships capture the knowledge of the manager keeping it within the company well after retirement has come and gone. Demographic shift is in a way similar to global warming. We can’t see it, but it is happening and will indeed impact the future of our businesses. The retiring years for the baby boomers are creeping up on all of us, ignoring the statistics won’t make it go away. Source: www.hcamag.com Human Resource Magazine September 2006
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Temp Star
Access HR believes all our temporary employees contribute and perform extraordinarily and should be recognized for their efforts. It is with great pleasure we announce September 2007 Access HR Tempstar. This award is determined by general work performance, feedback received from clients and the Access HR team. And the winner……. is Damian Dennis Access HR TempStar (September 2007)
Damian has been working as a Warehouse Assistant at the same client for over a year, constantly showing his reliability, loyalty, strong work ethic and the ability to step up and take leadership roles when required. On numerous occasions Damian has been the “longer serving temp” for Access HR and has always been on hand to assist the newer temporary employees in filling out timesheets and sending necessary information through to us. On the client’s behalf Damian has been a great worker who has never let them down. He is quick and efficient and is a great employee to have working with them. Congratulations and Thank You Damian for your fantastic efforts and hard work. It is a pleasure to have you as a Temporary Employee with Access HR and I look forward to working with you in the future. |
