MightyRecruiterGen Y and IT Skills: Millennials Can Solve Your Tech Problems
Some recruiters shy away from Generation Yïalso known as Millennials or abbreviated simply to ïGen Yïïcandidates in favor of older, more experienced IT professionals. Don’t sell this younger generation short before doing your due diligence! Gen Y and IT skills can be a match made in technological heaven. What’s even better: these workers typically cost less to employ, are diligently looking for employment in this economy, and are often just as qualified as older generations to tackle your IT problems at hand.
About Gen Y
Per The Center for Generational Kinetics, Gen Ys are individuals born between the years of 1977 and 1995. However, these birth years are not set in stone when referred to as a general demographic, which accounts for nearly 80 million workers in the United States alone.
Gen Y and IT Skills: More Qualified Than You May Think
Many IT Gen Ys make up for their lack of experience in other ways; specifically, in their certifications. Knowing they must stand out in whichever ways necessary, Gen Y and IT skills often go hand in hand; in fact, they are three times more likely than other workforce generations to hold relevant IT certifications.
Furthermore, Gen Y has been raised on technology. They don’t shy away from it; in fact, most can’t live without it! Because they are extremely familiar to the digital world, even those who do not hold IT degrees are often just as proficient as their degreed peersïyet typically cost less to hire.
Managing Your Gen Y Employees Effectively
If you are used to dealing with older workers, you will want to make some adjustments on your end prior to ushering in a new wave of Gen Y employees. Unfortunately, many companies still adhere to their inflexible ways of management, with fixed hours and rigid regimens for productivity while in the office. As you may have guessed or already know from experience, you’re likely going to rub your younger employees the wrong way with this approach. Your Gen Ys will start looking for greener pasturesïexcept now, with the experience they have gained by working for you, their chances of securing even better employment at a competitor have now exponentially increased. Don’t let this happen to you!
It’s no secret that employee hiring and retention is one of the more expensive parts of doing business. Rather than insisting that all your employees fit the same exact moldïa mold that, as your older employees continue to retire and your options for replacing them invariably become younger and younger, will soon be ill fitting at best for the majority of your staffïwhy not learn more about what makes Gen Y tick and use it to your advantage Many complaints about this generation stem from general misunderstandings about them. Small differences in approach or attitude, with a little communication and compromise, can often find brilliant solutions for all parties.
Be Firm, Yet Flexible
Gen Y and IT skills can be a powerful combination in the workplace. These employees want it allïand why not They are some of the most well educated workers in our country. They want to live life to the fullest, and the majority refuses to embrace a lifelong cubicle-driven career. Some tips:
-Allow your workers to have more flexible schedules.
-Consider setting up remote offices when possible.
-Perhaps most importantly, consider shifting your attention off of how many hours your employees are putting in at the office, and instead on how they handle the project(s) at hand.
Gen Y workers want and need their work to have meaning in order to feel fulfilled, and punching a clock just doesn’t fit into that equation. Give them that fulfillment, and you may find that your Gen Ys employees are some of the hardest workers on your team.
On the flip side, let them know that with increased freedom and flexibility comes increased performance expectations. It is unfortunately true that some Gen Ys come from a coddled, over-privileged background. Without frequent check-ins and reviews, complacency can sometimes set in. Some employees will quickly figure out exactly how much work needs to get done and when in order to keep themselves off the absent-minded manager’s radar. Fostering this type of lackadaisical atmosphere can be catastrophic to your IT department; be sure to stop this problem before it has a chance to fester.
Gen Y and IT skills: often hirable for less money, and truly not as high-maintenance or flighty as you may think. As you continue to search for ways to improve your business, utilize the resources here at Mighty Recruiter.