March 19, 2024

Managing New Generation Is Challenging

... even for the best companies.

Cynthia Barnett | 8/1/2009

Jennifer Thompson, 24, an underwriter at FCCI Group’s Orlando office, is the youngest person in her department but doesn’t feel like it: “I started out nervous about how I would be treated and how I would be looked at being so much younger, but it’s never been an issue,” she says. “I’ve never been treated differently.” Thompson interned at FCCI during her junior year at the University of Florida. When she graduated with her degree in finance, FCCI recruited her into its underwriter trainee program. She’s worked full-time for the company for two years. The opportunities the company has offered, including considerable training, make her want to stay. So is there anything different about being a Gen Y employee in a company full of Baby Boomers? “I am the No. 1 go-to person in my department for any technological advice,” says Thompson. “That makes me feel good.” [Photo: Brook Pifer]

The management and employee ranks of Florida’s workplaces are dominated by Baby Boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964. While the economic downturn has forced some boomers to postpone retirement, they nevertheless have begun to leave the workplace and will need to be replaced en masse over the next 15 years.
The generation right behind is known as Gen X, born between ’65 and ’80. The first generation with both parents working outside the home, Gen Xers had to fend for themselves as children and tend to do so as adults. They’re adaptable and independent in the workplace.

The largest cohort of workers rising in the ranks to replace retiring Boomers is known as Generation Y, born between 1980 and 2000. Among managers at Florida’s best places to work, opinions about the Gen Y group are divided: Some rave about the Gen Y workers as smart and tech-savvy, while others say they have exaggerated expectations on everything from pay to flexible hours. “They also have an entitled attitude,” says one manager, “like they know everything.”

EXTRA
Read FCCI's analysis of four generations in the workplace.
[.pdf file]

The best way to manage for generational differences is to understand them, says Lisa Krouse, vice president of human resources at Sarasota-based FCCI Insurance Group (No. 7 Large). With a 660-employee, “mature workforce,” FCCI is working to understand the young people who represent the company’s future ranks and leadership.

FCCI recently devoted its leadership newsletter to four generations — aging “veterans” still make up a small portion of the workforce, too — in a report that included quotes from FCCI workers in all four categories. Krouse says each generation has its own strengths, challenges, motivations and leadership expectations. Managers who understand the differences will be able to meet the needs of employees at any age.

So what are Gen Y’s strengths? They are optimistic, tech-savvy and multitaskers, according to FCCI. Their challenges revolve around having been brought up in an age when parents began supervising their kids much more closely and advocating for them at every turn, resulting in inexperience in handling people issues. As a result, says FCCI’s Colleen Berish, they may need more structure and supervision.

If the economic downturn has a bright spot, it is that Gen Y and all employees “are suddenly hungry and humble like we haven’t seen in a very long time,” says Clint Drawdy, a co-owner at Hire Methods recruiting firm in Jacksonville. “For the first time in young people’s lives, they’re thinking to themselves, ‘I have to suit up and work hard and pay my dues,’ and that’s a switch,” he says. “I’m really excited about that prospect for the workforce here in Florida.”

Florida's Best Companies to Work For 2009
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