Leveraging the Labour Force - Younger Workers
Younger workers have a different set of values when looking at work and life versus their older counterparts. These individuals are well educated, are more focused on attaining material goods, and grew up with technology. Typically, these workers learn quickly, are accustomed to working in teams and have a “project approach” to problems and tasks.
In defining Younger and Older workers for the VHRD, “Generation X” is refers to persons born between 1964 and 1978 and “Generation Y”, those born from 1979 to present.
Generation “Y” may also be referred to as “Millenials”.
If your organization has identified a need to hire individuals that will bring in new ideas, high levels of competency with technology, a strong ability and motivation to learn, you may need to include in your recruitment program efforts to target new or recent graduates and other individuals newer to the workforce.
Similar to looking at any other group of applicants, factors such as education, experience and communication skills will be determining factors as to the suitability of a younger candidate.
As also outlined in the other Leveraging the Labour Force resources, it is important that your efforts to attract younger workers and the unique traits that they bring with them do not create a discriminatory effect with regard to other categories of candidates. This information is offered only to assist you in ensuring that your recruitment efforts are reaching this segment of the labour force as well.
Attracting Younger Workers
Recruitment Do’s:
 Advertise on Internet sites such as Monster, Eluta, Workopolis, Careerbuilder, and even craigslist.com or Facebook. Including links in the career section on your company’s website titled “Students and Recent Graduates” will help direct this group of individuals.
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Recruit at schools of all levels such as High School, University, and College. Events such as job fairs and “orientation weeks” are excellent ways to advertise and recruit students.
 Using your current employees is an excellent way to gain access to a wider network of people. Those already working in your organization understand what your company is all about and know what it takes to be successful. Current employees may have children or younger relatives that would fit well in the organization.
 Any and all advertisements should include promotion of company culture, team environments, and social events. Younger workers grew up in a team-based system in schools. This means they often will be looking to continue a social connection at their place of work.

Recruitment Don’ts:
 Don’t assume younger workers need big compensation packages as the primary attractive reason for applying at your place of business. Emphasize career development opportunities. In many cases, youth will be aiming for entry-level positions which do not require as much compensation.
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It is also not always a requirement to provide full-time opportunities immediately. You can
“try out” younger workers in a co-op placement or on a contract basis before employing them on a full time basis.
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Do not focus your recruiting efforts in only one area of the city or in one province. Try advertising in various other geographic locations as there are differing percentages of younger workers in the labour force from province to province.
Selection Do’s:
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Focus on the talents of the potential employee instead of the position to be filled.
Skills and abilities are more transferable in this group, which means these employees can flexibly transition through the organization and can apply their talent to multiple areas.
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Competency may be just as important as experience. Assessing how competent the younger worker is, instead of looking at solely the number of years they have in a certain position, will allow your organization to capitalize on how successful younger workers can be.
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Provide clear job offer documentation outlining benefits, compensation, and position expectations.
Selection Don’t:
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Do not oversell jobs, set clear and realistic expectations. As a well-educated group of people, younger workers are exposed, and have access to, many more job postings and companies. This level of education translates into the need for transparency and a clear expectation of the position instead of general descriptions.
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Allow a long period of time to pass between interviews or any of the selection process steps. Frequent communication is essential to maintaining the interest of candidates and prevent them from seeking employment from other organizations.
Retaining Younger Workers:
Do:
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Offer opportunities for training and development. Youth are interested in further developing their personal and professional skills to become more successful when working in your organization. Therefore, if you understand that providing opportunities to develop this group of individuals you will demonstrate that you are truly interested in retaining them in your organization.

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Consider a newer concept being explored called “reverse mentoring”. In this situation, there may be a younger individual providing coaching and support for experienced or older workers. This situation allows for a younger worker to show management that they are capable of transferring knowledge to others. Allowing for opportunities such as this demonstr ates your organizations’ forward-thinking by recognizing young people can add value. You can assess how this younger worker may play a role in your succession plan. The succession plan is the long-term plan for your organization where you plan where people will fill vacancies internally.
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Establish a relationship that is based on trust and respect, not based on authority.
Both Generation “X” and “Millenials” feel they have the right to be respected as individuals. There is a strong feeling to not respect authority figures just because they are in a position of authority.
 The environment is an important and relevant part of their lives. Generation “X” and
“Y” grew up with recycling and composting. For this purpose, your organization should maintain these ideas as well. If paper is not recycled at your facility, you can be sure that one of these individuals will bring up the lack of environmental friendliness.
 Create opportunities for social activities and team building. Generation “X” and “Y” are more social groups and want to be part of a team. Since so much of these individuals’ non-work time is largely social in nature, activities that build solid team dynamics will strengthen their bond and commitment.
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Allow engagement with management, responsibility for their actions, assign challenging tasks, and the chance to aid in the decision-making process. When younger workers are given the opportunity to interact with management and be a part of how their work is completed, they feel valued. This generation is more comfortable with management and can tolerate change better.
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Explain why and how tasks are executed. Youth have grown up making collective decisions with groups to which they belong; therefore, they need to understand the reason behind the requested task.
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Provide immediate and constructive feedback. This group has grown up with instant messaging, cell phones, and fast computers, resulting in the need for receiving constructive feedback on their progress immediately.
Don’t:
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Develop rigid company policies, they should be clear and enforced. Younger workers want to be successful and have the drive to do so. However, they may be resistant to strict and rigid policies. Generation “X” may be more compliant in this respect, but
“Millenials” want to be individuals and be different from others.
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Underestimate their resourcefulness and problem solving abilities. Being groomed in a team-based and projectbased society, Generation “X” and “Y” are well-versed in

how to work with others. They are also aware as to where to find the information they need. They have been brought up to figure out problems.
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Expect younger workers to only be interested in traditional workweek structures. An example of this is to consider a compressed work week of 4 days, 10 hours per day.
Time is very valuable to younger workers; therefore compressing their work week may support a few values in their lives.
Rewards and Recognition:
Reward them as individuals, not only based on seniority. This means that although this generation has grown up in a team atmosphere, they also want to be recognized as individual people. Younger workers believe those who work hard and achieve results should be rewarded, not those who are rewarded based on length of time in the organization.
Reward successes, however small, along the way. An example of rewarding success could be a gift certificate for dinner when a younger worker spends a bit of their highly valued personal time to finish a project on time.
Compensation and Benefits:
Understand work-life balance is very important. Younger workers do not look at one specific job as a long term commitment. Although they may want a career that is successful and a means to enjoy life, they are more interested in a shorter timeframe to maintain flexibility, maintain mobility, and learn new skills. Time is a major form of currency for this group; they want more time to enjoy their personal and social events.
They value getting their tasks done, putting them behind, and moving forward.