Hyping Next Generation Workers

Oh to have been a Millennial. Generation Y, Generation Net, Generation Next.

That group of happy-go-lucky 'kids', now aged between 18 and 29, who always won a school trophy, just for trying were far less cynical than their Generation X elders and for good reason. Millennials came into a super welcoming job market, with wads of cash accompanying their new job offers.

Well, in this nasty economy, the kids are being forced to grow up fast.

That aforementioned wad of cash has all but disappeared, as has even the possibility of full time, meaningful employment for some. Generation Y has gotten its first taste of the corporate kiss off experienced by previous generations when times are tough, and it's left a bitter taste.  And while Cincinnati didn't feel as severe a bite from the recession as badly as other parts of the country, it finds itself with an opportunity to take advantage of this newly displaced and disgruntled workforce.

So how can Cincinnati companies lure or retain these young, talented workers? Those who do it best, HR and other recruitment professionals, are coming to downtown Cincinnati next week to tell us how, offering the latest research and tips at the second annual  HYPE (Harnessing Young Professional Energy) Talent Symposium Nov. 10 at Great American Ballpark.

Under the theme "The Impact of the Recession on Recruiting and Retention," the one day symposium hopes to examine today’s economic reality for both companies and workers and mix traditional and emerging tactics to overcome these obstacles, said event organizer Jennifer Young.

"It's our focus, given that folks aren't hiring right and left right now. We thought it was pertinent to what they are doing compared to last year," said Young, the Chamber's marketing communications account manager.

The symposium will start with a review of Next Generation Consulting’s survey of Cincinnati's strengths and challenges in attracting young professionals. The review will compare the city on several indexes to 14 peer cities, including Columbus, Louisville, Indianapolis and Denver.

Stacey B. Randall, founder of SBR Consulting, LLC, will also unveil the results of a recently completed survey that paints a picture of Millennials who have been laid off nationwide.

Randall observes that most of the participants held a bachelor’s degree or higher. A little over half worked at private companies; the rest worked for public companies. All were laid off in 2008 or 2009. One of the main findings is that for most laid off, it was their first time dealing with this rejection in the workplace. Many felt their layoffs were badly managed, and as a result will be less likely to accept at face value what companies promise them in the future.

"It doesn’t really matter how old you are, this has been a heart breaking experience for most people," Randall said.

This is something companies looking to hire this group of people should remember: Generation Y is looking for honesty and transparency.

"Companies will have to be smart enough to change their messaging. They’ll have to talk about how the recession impacted them, and what their plans are moving forward," Randall said.

For those looking to retain employees, Dr. Brooks Holthom a professor at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, will speak on job embeddedness, a concept he coined that refers to the strength of the links among an employee, an organization and a community. Basically, the stronger those links, the less likely it is an employee will leave for another job.

The concept might be easy to understand, but takes careful planning to carry out, Dr. Holthom said. Finding ways to strengthen those links depends on the particular employee group, community and company.

"The key is to find activities or programs and initiatives that are valued by your people that others don’t offer," he said. "Take a specific look at your employee base, and what you can uniquely offer."

Dr. Holthom worked with a hospital trying to retain nurses, which ended in replacing the traditional signing bonus. Instead of the bonus, the hospital worked with local Realtors and homeowner organizations to offer nurses’ assistance in buying their own homes.

"One of the factors we know helps in retention is people owning their own homes," he said. "Through that process they were able to reduce turnover among nursing staff, and we believe that was due to the nurses becoming embedded in the community," he said.

At least one Cincinnati firm is trying something new in retaining workers. The law firm of Frost Brown Todd this fall started a mentoring program for first-year attorneys.

It's a way to help prevent lawyer burnout, which has led to many a young attorney leaving a firm after being thrown into a new work environment, attorney Jill Meyer said.

"(Before), you got wonderful new lawyers thrown into the fray. As the pressures of paying increased salaries went up, the pressure to work harder, earlier went with it. It’s not an ideal way to bring a new lawyer up," said Meyer, member in charge of the firm's Cincinnati office.

Frost Brown Todd will evaluate the year long program next fall, and firms across the country are watching, Meyer said.

"This generation of new lawyers, they want to be part of something. It’s not satisfying joining a place and hitting the ground running. This is our opportunity to say, this is a broken system and we're going to do our small part to fix it."

The day long symposium is sponsored by HYPE, a Cincinnati Regional Chamber initiative. The cost is $75 for Chamber members, ($60 for two or more members) and $150 for non-members.
Registration starts at 7:30; sessions will run through 12:30, with lunch and a talent expo following until 2 p.m.

Photography by Scott Beseler

Cincinnati young professionals

Young talent curbside

HYPE members

YP's at The University of Cincinnati