RenGen

A friend sent us a recent article from the New York Times called, "A New Generation, Poised to Reinvent." Of course the name spurred my interest, and I read on. It's a great article, based on a book that explains a term called RenGen, or renaissance generation. The author of the book, Patricia Martin, shares how the conditions we are in today will impact and transform the way we work and live in the future. Here are some highlights that piqued my interest:

• The young generation entering the workforce is both idealistic and cynical at the same time. They have learned to trust what they experience rather than what experts tell them. They value authenticity.

• This generation may have the largest group of entrepreneurs that the U.S. has seen in a long time. They want to do original work and live in a way that they design.

• Collaboration is especially important. They want to connect and create, not be given a directive. They respond to teaming, where a boss puts a question or problem on the table and everyone can jump in.

• We may see less of a formal mentor/mentee relationship and more of a model like a master/apprentice relationship. This model allows more hands-on learning and helps directly transfer the knowledge of the Boomer generation to the younger generation (which is so needed for organizations to keep its knowledge banks as Boomers retire).

Well, I don't want to give away the entire article, so click here so you can read it yourself. Interesting stuff!

Karen Rulifson

The Talent Shortage

For the first time in history there are four generations working within U.S. organizations. It's both an exhilarating and challenging time. A challenge that has HR professionals scrambling is the talent shortage this multi-generational workforce is generating. So what exactly is this talent shortage experts keep warning us about? What will this shortage mean for your organization?

Simply put, the talent shortage stems from the fact that the U.S. has a rapidly declining pool of individuals that has the level of skill, knowledge and ability that organizations need to fill future leadership roles. The reality is that the current workforce is aging and headed toward retirement, and in the next few years the level of leadership intelligence organizations need to maintain their competitive edge will be incredibly difficult to attract and retain.

As they say, the proof is in the pudding.

• As of 2006, more than one million Americans 75 years of age or older were still active in the workplace, and by 2011 they will be virtually nonexistent in the workplace.
• There are 80 million Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1965) currently in the workplace, and eight to ten thousand of them are turning 60 and heading toward retirement every day.
• By 2010, due to slow population growth between 1965 and 1985, the number of prime age workers between 35 and 45 years of age will decrease by 10%.
• Between 2008 and 2011, organizations may already begin experiencing a shortage of talent due to the limited amount of Generation Xers (born between 1965 and 1977) and Generation Yers (born between 1978 and 1990) available to take the place of older workers.
• There are only 45 million Generation Xers.
• There are 80 million Generation Yers that will continue entering the workplace, expecting to exceed Generation Xers employment share by 2010.
• By 2010 Generation Y will be the largest generation represented in the workplace.

What does this mean for employers? By 2010 the U.S. won't have enough talent available to replace the leadership intelligence leaving our organizations. Experts call this the organizational “brain drain". So what are organizations doing to prepare for this shortage? What's the solution?

The key to the talent shortage is understanding that it's not that there won't be people available to employ, it's that the people available won't have the leadership competence that organizations will need to stay competitive. You may already be feeling this shortage in your own organization (i.e. people apply, but you can't seem to attract those with the skills you are looking for.) Bottom line, organizations need to learn how to attract, leverage and retain Generation Y, use the skills of Xers, Boomers and Traditionalist to teach Generation Y leadership skills, and keep the leadership intelligence that older generations posses within the organization as long as possible.

There are four things organizations can do today to begin preparing for the talent shortage.

1. Gain awareness around the positive characteristics of Generation Y.
2. Teach Xers, Boomers and Traditionalist how to engage their Generation Y employees.
3. Offer professional development opportunities to your Generation Y employees.
4. Have your Xers, Boomers and Traditionalists play an active role in Generation Y development programs.

It's not all doom-and-gloom. Yes, the talent shortage is a reality, but the bright side is that if organizations put forth the energy and resources to strengthen their appeal to the younger generation, and provide added development opportunities for their employees, they can stay competitive and set themselves up for success. It's the organizations that choose to put the time, effort and resources into their people today that will stay ahead of the curve tomorrow.

Gina Kellogg-Gardner