1. 05/10/12 www.barbadostoday.bb Page 31
Coping with ‘Y’
STRATEGIES FOR
MANAGING MULTI-
GENERATIONS IN
TODAY’S CARIBBEAN
WORKPLACE – PART III
Today we will examine part III of the multi-generation
debate. Let’s be honest, this debate is taking place for
one sole reason – that is, there is a new generation (the
millennials) in the workplace and their managers are, by and
large, unable to cope with them. Had GEN Y walked into the
organisation without challenging the status quo, we would tips
never have had this discussion. for managing and incorporating the
What makes Generation Y so different? Are they really millennials into the workplace.
that different? Finally, it is important to note that today’s
As discussed before, in most Western societies, including training programs are quickly trending towards the virtual
the Caribbean, this is by far the most privileged generation
since World War II. The GEN Ys enjoy the highest levels of
Engaging the Milllennials environment, even here in the Caribbean. When compared
to five years ago, we are now witnessing a marked increase
education and are the children to parents who have enjoyed in the demand for e-learning here in the Caribbean. This
comparatively higher incomes and standards of living than Remember that the same old rules of Talent Acquisition is driven largely by the global recession, more affordable
their grandparents. will apply and we cannot treat an entire generation as one bandwidth and more millennials entering the workplace.
homogeneous grouping. However we have observed some
trends that led us to these tips.
Obvious answers 1. Millennials definitely like technology. So one way to
How to make your elearning
So what makes this generation so different? Are we
engage them is by incorporating the computer and the
internet into their daily work. In fact, many organisations
training fun?
talking about values, their worldview or are they simply a have now replaced paper based systems with computer based
product of their technological age? There are certain obvious systems, using tablets. 1. We recommend “snack learning”. These are very short
answers: 2. You may also consider solutions that employ mobile courses in the form of webinars not exceeding one hour.
1.Gen Y was clearly born into a technological age that is telephone technology. This will certainly keep your Millennials Three hour elearning courses simply DO NOT WORK.
driven by digital technology. Though there is some evidence engaged. 2. Any-time-learning! Make your courseware available to
of the digital divide within the Caribbean, our region has 3. Be careful not to over-regulate your Internet and the learner at any time.
a relatively high penetration of digital technology. See for cellphone policies. There is a need for balance rather than 3. Mobile apps. This can be a costly upfront investment
example, the Watson-Ramlal 2007 study on the Digital Divide outright prohibition. We are aware that there are challenges but mobile apps are the way to go. Integrate your training
in Trinidad & Tobago. of lost productivity because of excessive use of these program into web and mobile apps. This makes your training
2.This technology, together with Internet technologies, has technologies and the Internet in the workplace but our fun and more accessible to the your younger staff.
made information more readily available and GEN Y is clearly challenge to employers is to find creative and innovative ways GEN Y is really not that different when we get to the
more empowered with this easily accessible information. to incorporate these into the working environment. core of human behavior, we just have to employ different
3. From a hardware standpoint, GEN Y is also very familiar 4. Dialogue. It is important to bridge the generational techniques to keep them engaged.
with the accompanying hardware and navigates this new world divide in the workplace through dialogue as we alluded to
of computers, ABMs and other electronic devises and gadgets before in earlier articles. It’s no different with the millennials. •Next week we will start to examine The Rise
with much more ease than say their parents and grandparents. Engage them and make them a part of the decision-making and of the New Independent Professional Worker
4. More importantly, this generation is accustomed problem-solving within the organisation. Class.
to information overload and a pop culture that is heavily 5. Finally, we have found that many of the GEN Y enjoy For access to the entire series of GES articles
influenced by excessive consumerism, change, speed, working in a project environment. This helps to alleviate the in pdf. feel free to download them from http://
shortened product life cycles and a bombardment of boredom of routine tasks. Again, this is not a one-size-fits-all www.scribd.com/GlobalExpertSystems or http://
marketing and advertising. but we strongly recommend that you experiment placing your www.slideshare.net/GlobalExpertSystems. We
It’s against such a background that companies are struggling millennials on project teams. also have tons of interesting related content on
to find ways to incorporate GEN Y into the organisation. our Facebook page, visit us and like us at www.
However, GES does not support the idea that the millennials facebook.com/global.expert.systems.
are some special breed that is wreaking havoc on the
organization. Nonetheless, what is required are the following:
Developing training •http://sta.uwi.edu/conferences/09/salises/
documents/BRamlal_PWatson%20.pdf
understanding, open dialogue and engagement. Here are some programmes for Millennials