Posts

How the Healthcare Industry Must Evolve for Millennials and their Children

/ /by

While the attitudes, preferences, and needs of the Millennial generation have definitely been high on the minds of the business sector in recent years, they probably haven’t registered too high up the list of priorities for the healthcare industry. In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, that’s something that needs to change. The oldest Millennials are now having their first children, and, as a consequence, are becoming more aware of health issues and more frequent users of health services. This means big changes are on the horizon for healthcare professionals, administrators and, in particular for healthcare industry CIOs who will need to adapt to meet the changing habits of the people they serve.

Why Millennials are Driving Change

If you’ve raised your own kids, you’ll remember that when they’re little, they are non-stop sick. As such, the cohort of young millennial parents are much more likely to come into contact with health services, and to be seeking health related information. That’s a trend that will only be on the increase as their parents move into their later years and find themselves with greater healthcare needs. Why is that important? Study after study has revealed how the millennial generation, generally defined as those born between 1977 and 1993, have grown up in a digital world that has shaped the way they think and act in all aspects of their lives. Millennials are reshaping retail consumerism, so why would the consumption of health services be any different?

Surrounded by rapidly evolving technology from the word go, millennials are tech savvy and focused on using the Internet—and particularly their mobile devices—to simplify their lives, find information, and engage with one another on social networks. They largely rely on—or hope to rely on— their mobile devices in order to communicate with doctors, pharmacists, and other healthcare providers, with their preferences leaning towards texting over face-to-face interactions. This group is also a big consumer of video, not just for entertainment, but also as a means of finding information. This all means they are looking for solutions that health care providers may not yet be in a position to provide. Therein lays the challenge that healthcare CIOs face in the digital age.

The Scale of the Challenge 

Global consultancy Communispace reports that, “As political, financial, and technological forces combine to remake the healthcare landscape, Millennials are highly dissatisfied with the current state of healthcare in America. As a result, today’s young adults have developed alternative approaches to managing their health and wellness.” Here’s a closer look.

Healthcare and health insurance. More than a third of the millennials surveyed said that they rate U.S. healthcare as “poor” or “terrible,” with almost half laying the blame straight at the door of government. More than a quarter (26 percent) blame health insurance companies for the state of healthcare today.

Alternative treatments. Just over half (55 percent) of millennials said they would go to a doctor right away if they discovered a lump on their neck, compared to almost three-quarters (73 percent) of non-millennials. Even those who would end up going to the doctor would be more likely than those in the non-millennial group to self-diagnose and try treatment at home before doing so.

Work/life balance and breaks from technology. Less than half of millennials said they consider traditional check-ups, screenings, vaccinations, self-examinations, and health insurance as being a part of maintaining their health and wellness. A higher proportion of respondents considered a healthy work/life balance as being of more value. In fact work/life balance ranked higher than all the other above considerations. And, interestingly enough, a higher proportion of millennials than non-millennials said that unplugging from the technology was important to their overall health and wellbeing. Perhaps they’re finally wising up to the toll being constantly connected can take on one’s wellbeing.

This infographic from Communispace illustrates some of the main findings from the report.

screen-shot-2016-02-10-at-10-49-44-pm

Clearly, many of today’s young adults are seeking alternatives to more traditional approaches to their health.

Creating Healthcare for the Millennial Generation

So from a CIO standpoint what does all of this mean, and how should CIOs go about creating healthcare services millennial users will want to engage with? Many hospitals and healthcare providers are already creating digital records and using text messaging and email to confirm appointments, check in on patients, provide care instructions, and/or other step-by-step directions a parent might need when caring for a child. But to fully engage they need to go further.

Cross platform access. Digital records need to be integrated across health services and information has to be provided in a format available across multiple platforms and devices.

Information all the time, anywhere. Millennials have grown used to finding information when and where they want it. Healthcare is no longer confined to the hospital and physicians’ offices and IT services need to reflect that.

Wearable tech and healthcare apps. Millennials are more likely to use healthcare apps and health tracking devices. No surprisingly, as millennials have grown up “sharing” their lives online, more than a quarter of those surveyed said they were willing and eager to share health data with employers, insurers, providers, and brands, providing they see clear value in return. They also expressed fewer concerns about privacy and security concerns about doing so. Health IT systems need to be able to tap into this data source.

CIOs and their healthcare IT teams clearly need to react by having systems in place to meet the needs of this new breed of healthcare user. Allowing quick and easy access to services and information, as well as the ability to interact with the their own data, will be key to gaining the trust and patronage of the millennial generation.

Corey Schwartz, managing director of Communispace Health sums this up neatly, “Millennials are not only the healthcare consumers of the future, but—as many continue to or begin caring for their aging parents—the present as well. For brands seeking their business in traditional health sectors and beyond, it is critical to work with, not against, their unique set of healthcare values by embracing institutional aversion and self-reliance, providing tools for empowerment and connection, and expanding your own notions of health and wellness.”

You can find out more about “Health Without Borders: How Millennials are Reshaping Health and Wellness,” and some analysis of the results, by viewing this video presentation from report author Katrina Lerman.

The Communispace study would seem to suggest there is much work to be done by the healthcare industry in order to integrate systems and services with the needs of the millennial generation. That presents healthcare providers with a great opportunity, but one that will only work if the carrot is used—and not the stick. What do you think the priorities for CIOs and IT teams should be to meet that challenge? As always, I’m interested in hearing your thoughts.

Additional Resources on this Topic:

What Do Millennials Want from the Healthcare System?
Millennial Parents have it Much Tougher Than Their Parents Did
The Brave New World of Modern Medicine: Healthcare Meets the Digital Age

A version of this was first posted on Converge.

 

Millennials Are The Workforce: A Plea For Present-Casting

/ /by

Our industry fixated on Generation Y with the same market-heat fervency once reserved for boomer teens: how can we engage this generation? But with 53.5 million by the beginning of this year, they take up the largest segment of the U.S. workforce, many aren’t kids anymore (the generation’s first year is 1981), and they are making major workforce decisions themselves. Some will soon be in their 40s themselves.

So while some of us still wonder ponder best recruiting strategies, here’s a not so new newsflash: them is us. Actually, it’s nearly two years since that post. It’s not about just pinpointing differences in order to get a better bead on how, what, all that. It’s about collaborating to best shape the future of work. 

Millennial behavior is the new normal.

Millennial behavior and devices caused a certain amount of boomer-generation and Gen-X headscratching. Among them: mobile / social / IM / texts not calls, lots of neat apps, preference for constant or at least quick feedback, the ability to hop jobs like a superhero in Gotham, a preference for meaning (egads) and transparency. But all of these should be woven into the workplace fabric by now. Even job hopping, which actually makes a great deal of ROI sense, enabling talent and projects to strategically align — and be optimally productive.

Millennials are becoming the older generation.

Generation Y is now having brainstorm sessions on how to capture the hearts and minds of Generation Z. We’re starting to see some interesting takes on how to handle it. (Perhaps we should have started earlier in the alphabet.) Among the challenges: making sure we’re starting in the classroom to nurture that future talent, not alienate it. Vis a vis diversity and STEM, that’s not really going to help.

The workplace will now be digital.

I’m riffing on the future as now here: it is digital. There’s a new study by PeopleFluent that I’m really looking forward to about the Digital Generation in the Workplace. I’m already thinking of it more as being about, in essence, the Digital Workplace. Here’s why: digital generations, starting with millennials, actually comprise far more than half of the workplace: cogito digital, ergo sum. By 2025, they will comprise some 76% of the workforce. As we transform our functions and strategies across the full range of the HR spectrum transform to digital, what we’re actually facing the potential of a skills and culture gap that looks backwards. The challenge: as we innovate that shift, make sure it’s up to speed with the über-facile skills and culture of those it’s meant to address. (We’re not really talking about a car service, but we are.) In other words, innovate faster, or our fancy new recruiting and training apps will be left behind by other, faster, better means.

There are other gaps to mind.

A key facet of millennial thinking that helped improve workplace culture is transparency. Among its impacts in the workplace, it has led to a better connection between company mission and employer brand. The 24/7, always on, ever-linked nature of millennial and post-millennial generations has also pushed that envelope.  We have been forced to galvanize a clearer sense of message and intention and then to make sure it carries across multiple platforms. That in itself ought to be transforming the workplace; function dictating form, and not the other way around.

Get over it.

How do we best recruit, engage, and motivate millennials? By insisting on excellence, and appropriateness, and functionality. There’s not much new about this, except in the most simple imperatives: we must be digital, social / mobile; agile; inclusive; and stop wasting time asking ourselves the if questions. Or the gap will be one mired in perception, not reality. Perhaps there’s a connect that happens when a generation is online all the time: they are acutely aware of their own place in the world, in the digiverse, of their own personal brand, in essence, because they are always expressing it. We need to simply accept that. Right now, we are all millennials.

A version of this was first posted on Forbes.

How Are Multitasking Millennials Impacting Today’s Workplace?

/ /by

Many business leaders still think of multitasking as a great thing, clinging to visions of employees who get more done than ever before. And, they think, there’s no generation better equipped to juggle multiple tasks than people in the 18 to 34-year-old age group, commonly known as Millennials. And it’s true, Millennials are known for being adept with all forms of technology and moving from one job to another, shifting between priorities with relative ease. Unfortunately, the latest research conducted in the fields of psychology and business productivity suggests we’ve got it all wrong.

Multitasking doesn’t always live up to the dream. Instead, it tends to mean a lack of focus and an increase in impulsivity. There’s a financial cost, too. Lack of productivity due to multitasking equates to global losses of $450 million per year and Millennial job-hopping costs the U.S. economy more than $30 million per year.

Studies have shown impulsivity isn’t a good thing. Researchers at Stanford University conducted a famous experiment 50 years ago where children were given the chance to eat a single marshmallow immediately, or wait until someone returned later, at which point they would receive a second marshmallow. The kids were tracked later in life, as adults, and it turns out those who waited for that second marshmallow fared much better than those who chose instant gratification. The participants who didn’t wait were more likely to have behavioral problems, be obese, use drugs and spend time in jail.

Today’s tech-centric world means a lot of impulsive, quick shifts in direction. Amazingly, research shows Millennials switch their attention between media platforms 27 times per hour. If you think they’re just getting a lot done, think again. Multitasking during cognitive tasks has been shown to lower IQs by 15 points and multitasking on a regular basis can reflect lower emotional intelligence and less brain density in the areas controlling cognitive and emotional control.

Impulsivity affects the workplace in other ways, too. Nearly nine out of 10 Millennials plan to stay in a job less than three years and 21 percent say they’ve changed jobs in the past year. While the average job tenure for all workers 25 and older is 5.5 years, it’s only three years for Millennials. The cost of job-hopping to employers isn’t marginal, either. The loss of one Millennial employee runs between $15,000 – $25,000, for most companies.

So, what can be done? When it comes to multitasking, employees can set up their schedules so they focus blocks of time on specific tasks. Allowing short breaks to be more impulsive and employing apps to limit certain technologies can really help keep people on track. Employers might consider offering yoga and meditation classes to help employees improve concentration. Shortening the workweek can also encourage people to make better use of their time.

In terms of the turnover issue, employers can discourage Millennials from leaving too soon by offering finite terms of employment from the get-go. Giving Millennials a sense of purpose through meaningful work and projects that require a variety of skills has been shown to deter job-hopping.

A version of this was first published at bryan.edu

Photo Credit: euromobile_ukraine via Compfight cc

Listen Up, Leaders: We Are All Millennials

/ /by

A lot of digital ink has been spilled regarding Millennials and how they are reshaping and reordering the workplace. I’m happy to report that ink has not been wasted.  The influx of Millennials into the workforce tops virtually any short list of today’s business trends.  No doubt, Generation Y is poised to make a big impact on the world of work.  But are the supposed differences of the most tech-savvy generation in history all they are cracked up to be? Even more importantly, how will generational differences play out when it comes to leadership development, workplace culture and recruiting?  Here are a few points worth considering:

  1. Millennials And Non-Millennials Are More Alike Than Not: Sure, Millennials have a language all their own, which is not easy for outsiders to decipher.  But studies of Generation Y show that they value many of the things other generations value: like hard work, fair compensation, and establishing the right blend between career and family.  On yeah, there’s another trait they share with the rest of humanity: they thrive on leadership and team feedback. Yes, today’s twenty-somethings are a new breed of human, but they are not necessarily a breed apart.
  1. Employee Engagement: Just like everyone else, millennial employees seek and appreciate basic acknowledgement.  However, they do differ in the way they expect feedback to be communicated.  This is the generation that grew up with Instant Messages and texting.  They assume that communication works at the speed of light.  And they are right.  Taking a week to recognize a job well-done makes about as much sense to them as sending an offer letter by pony express.
  1. Embracing The Winds Of Change:  Millennials are fearless when it comes to digital and technology.  Let’s wrap our minds around the Cloud, Big Data, and the globally inter-connected workplace.  They can run social media circles around the rest of us.  Right? Well, Sort of….On second thought, these aren’t just traits of a single generation, so much as skills necessary to succeed in the future that is unfolding before our eyes.  We are all Millennials now, like it or not.
  1. Generational Communication: We live in an era of virtually unprecedented generational diversity.  Every generation has strengths and weaknesses, but differences in communication styles can breed misunderstanding and conflict.  Organizations need strategies that will help them mentor younger generations and encourage all age brackets to work cohesively.  Communication styles need to be tailored to each person’s needs.  Similarly, dissimilar age groups respond to different incentives.  For example, members of Generation Y may value flextime more than financial compensation.  Of course, grooming today’s talent for leadership positions of the future is part of how tribal wisdom is transmitted.  Here, more seasoned workers can share their valuable experience while younger employees share their knowledge of technology.

Generation Us is entering the workplace in a big way.  We have the power to change the way we work, for the better.  Our tech and digital skills will help us deal with a world that is more global, diverse, and fast-changing than ever before.  We must embrace change, technology, and more disruption because that’s where the future is going, in a hurry.

A version of this was first posted on Forbes.

Photo Credit: Labour is Listening via Compfight cc

How HR Can Recruit for IT Departments of the Future

/ /by

I’ve written a lot about Millennials and the massive impact they are having on the future of work. The largest generation in today’s workforce, they are the generation perfectly matched to ride the wave of digital technology and mobility that came of age more or less at the same time they did, and they’ve helped turn traditional business practices on its ear.

One of the areas in which these two “change makers” are having the biggest impact when it comes to the future of business is in IT. IT departments, and the professionals that staff them follow old school stereotypes no longer. Gone are the days of IT being a mysterious “NASA’esque” area of your organization that most of your employees never entered, let alone collaborated with.

Today’s up and coming IT professionals consider themselves partnered with their peers in the enterprise, and are eager (and able) to participate in strategy planning and long-term corporate goal setting. They tend to work closer than ever these days with both sales and marketing teams, and understand—and make sure their teams know—how what they’re working on in the “backend” will impact what’s happening in the front end. The result? Excited, engaged teams, increased productivity, better products, happier customers and clients, and reduced turnover.

Hiring for IT Departments of the Future

Millennials are driving a majority of this change. These “digital natives” were practically born with a smartphone in their hands, and they live and breathe mobile devices, apps, and software. They are also the cohort who demand connection and collaboration in their work environments. That will not sit idly by and take orders from superiors, instead, they want to know the “why” behind tasks, projects, and business initiatives.

As an HR professional or anyone tasked with IT hiring, you need to be on top of these changing expectations when it comes to recruiting for the future of IT.

Seek out potential recruits who, though skilled in the technical areas as they should be, also score high when it comes to soft skills—things like excellent communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills. Sharon Florentine, who writes for CIO.com, recently shared a quote from Kevin King, founder and CEO of the management consulting and assessment firm, Transformation Point. King says that there’s a direct relationship between soft skills and workers’ effectiveness, which translates to better overall business results.

“A higher degree of soft-skills competency brings improved effectiveness and improved organizational results, and that in turn drives greater employee engagement and retention… When people work more efficiently and effectively together, that means their organizations see better results and they’re more likely to stay,” says King. He adds, “You can have the best technology and processes in the world, but if your people aren’t able to communicate about them, if they aren’t effectively demonstrating teamwork, critical thinking and emotional intelligence, it doesn’t help your business succeed.”

What CIOs Need to Change

According to a recent Gartner study, the 2016 Gartner CIO Agenda Report, “talent has now been recognized globally as the single biggest issue standing in the way of CIOs achieving their objectives.” Where are the most significant talent gaps? Big data, analytics, information management, and knowledge/acumen. The worst part of this revelation? These are many of the same talent gaps CIOs cited four years ago!

Gartner goes on to explore a little of what today’s CIO’s and other IT professionals can do to start bridging those gaps. The key here is to think about talent as a platform— and be innovative. When you’re thinking about staffing, don’t be afraid to think outside the box, and try new ways of sourcing talent—like these:

  • Recruiting/rotating staff from outside IT
  • Working more closely with universities on internships, co-designed courses, etc.
  • Crowdsourcing
  • Considering customers, citizens, vendors, and partners as extensions (and digital accelerators) of the talent platform

Today’s CIOs, in many cases, are already seen as a corporation’s digital and/or innovation leaders. And most of those tech leaders also feel their power and influence is increasing as they become more cross-functional and collaborative across the enterprise. The successful IT departments of the future will maintain a focus on new technology, new software, and hardware, and the ‘hottest’ new skills. To build an IT department at this level, IT staffers will be required to be just as cross-functional, collaborative, and engaged as their CIOs are learning to be.

Empathetic, “big picture” thinkers, who are comfortable moving between the confines of the IT department to a client meeting to customer service or the corporate boardroom, are the types of IT professionals you will need to seek out when hiring and/or staffing for the IT departments of the future.

What are your thoughts on this? Have you seen such an evolution in your organization’s IT department? Do you find yourself collaborating and teaming up on projects more often these days with IT teams? Or are you seeing pushback from IT teams who aren’t ready (or able) to adapt to this new way of enterprise business? I would love to hear what you think.

Photo Credit: codiepie via Compfight cc

A version of this post was first published on Converge.xyz

How Noise and Distractions are Killing Office Productivity – And What You Can Do To Fix It.

/ /by

Is your office feeling a little too “open” lately? You’re not alone. Open floor plan layouts have become increasingly common in a wide range of industries. These environments can enable better collaboration and innovation which can help businesses stay competitive. But an open office also usually means greater distractions in the workplace.

Distractions come in all forms. Loud coworkers, impromptu brainstorms or meetings, phone calls, or even digital distractions such as mobile devices and social networking sites can all lead to lower productivity and less focus on actual work. Recently, Oxford Economics, in collaboration with Plantronics, surveyed more than 1,200 senior executives and non-executive employees from around the world on this subject. Understanding the challenges of these distractions, and how to address them, are critical to developing a collaborative environment. Some of the study’s top findings include:

  • Noise and distractions are a big source of conflict between management and employees

Employees ranked the ability to focus on work without interruptions as their top work priority, (even more important than office perks like free food or onsite day care). These employees report that noise reduces their satisfaction at work, with some seeking to block out distractions by holing up in break rooms, taking walks outside or throwing on headphones and using music to escape. Interestingly, bosses often don’t see the problem. Nearly two-thirds of executives surveyed said employees are equipped with the tools they need to deal with distractions at work; but less than half of employees agreed.

  • Millennials are more likely to say noise distracts them

While the research shows that millennial workers are not as different from their older colleagues as stereotypes suggest, younger workers did set themselves apart in one aspect: they hate noise. Millennials reported being more annoyed by ambient noise in the office and are more likely to drown out the noise in their own way, including listening to music or leaving their desks. These workers were more likely to say that blocking out distractions increases their productivity and improves their mood. Millennials are also more open to the use of technology and look to technology and personal connectivity as a means of career development.

  • Noise is an afterthought in office design

As more and more companies are shifting to an open culture environment that promotes more immediate interaction with others, increased noise and distractions is often a trade-off. When asked which factors were considered when designing their organization’s office space, executives ranked minimizing distractions far below other choices: encouraging employee interactions, improving productivity and the ever popular minimizing costs.

It’s clear that the main priority for employees at all levels is the desire to do their work, and to do it well. Good employees strive for an environment and access to the tools that will ensure they can do their job to their best ability.

Companies that are proactive about gathering and receptive to their employees’ feedback are most likely to see a more positive and fruitful work environment. To begin the process:

  • Start a dialogue between executives and employees about what is working—and what needs to change
  • Consider encouraging more flexible schedules as some people may benefit from working on certain projects from home or during times that the office is less busy
  • Make sure employees have the tools and devices they need to do their jobs anywhere – whether it’s from the office, or somewhere remote.
  • Give employees the opportunity to collaborate, but also ensure they get quiet time, spaces, and devices they need for focused work to allow them to be more productive during the work day.
  • Provide employees with the technology that will positively impact their performance – According to the Oxford Economics study, up to 90% of employees see new and emerging technologies as having a positive impact on their productivity, career, and quality of life. Employees have a variety of different needs for technology across an organization, depending on their role, duties and preferences. A recent Plantronics study on “personas” found that there are five unique personas that comprise 82% of any typical enterprise environment, meaning there are at least five different work styles that must be considered.
  • Encourage everyone—executives and employees alike—to disconnect after hours. This will ultimately lead to a more relaxed, engaged workforce and better business results for the company as a whole.

The Oxford Economics Study, “When the walls come down: How smart companies are rewriting the rules of the open workplace,” is available on OxfordEconomics.com. For more workplace productivity solutions, please visit Plantronics.com. This post has been sponsored by Plantronics.

photo credit: 055 | 366 – Office pranks continue via photopin (license)

How HR Can Recruit for IT Departments of the Future

/3 Comments/ /by

I’ve written a lot about Millennials and the massive impact they are having on the future of work. The largest generation in today’s workforce, they are the generation perfectly matched to ride the wave of digital technology and mobility that came of age more or less at the same time they did, and they’ve helped turn traditional business practices on its ear.

One of the areas in which these two “change makers” are having the biggest impact when it comes to the future of business is in IT. IT departments, and the professionals that staff them follow old school stereotypes no longer. Gone are the days of IT being a mysterious “NASA’esque” area of your organization that most of your employees never entered, let alone collaborated with.

Today’s up and coming IT professionals consider themselves partnered with their peers in the enterprise, and are eager (and able) to participate in strategy planning and long-term corporate goal setting. They tend to work closer than ever these days with both sales and marketing teams, and understand—and make sure their teams know—how what they’re working on in the “backend” will impact what’s happening in the front end. The result? Excited, engaged teams, increased productivity, better products, happier customers and clients, and reduced turnover.

Hiring for IT Departments of the Future

Millennials are driving a majority of this change. These “digital natives” were practically born with a smartphone in their hands, and they live and breathe mobile devices, apps, and software. They are also the cohort who demand connection and collaboration in their work environments. That will not sit idly by and take orders from superiors, instead, they want to know the “why” behind tasks, projects, and business initiatives.

As an HR professional or anyone tasked with IT hiring, you need to be on top of these changing expectations when it comes to recruiting for the future of IT.

Seek out potential recruits who, though skilled in the technical areas as they should be, also score high when it comes to soft skills—things like excellent communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills. Sharon Florentine, who writes for CIO.com,recently shared a quote from Kevin King, founder and CEO of the management consulting and assessment firm, Transformation Point. King says that there’s a direct relationship between soft skills and workers’ effectiveness, which translates to better overall business results.

“A higher degree of soft-skills competency brings improved effectiveness and improved organizational results, and that in turn drives greater employee engagement and retention… When people work more efficiently and effectively together, that means their organizations see better results and they’re more likely to stay,” says King. He adds, “You can have the best technology and processes in the world, but if your people aren’t able to communicate about them, if they aren’t effectively demonstrating teamwork, critical thinking and emotional intelligence, it doesn’t help your business succeed.”

What CIOs Need to Change

According to a recent Gartner study, the 2016 Gartner CIO Agenda Report, “talent has now been recognized globally as the single biggest issue standing in the way of CIOs achieving their objectives.” Where are the most significant talent gaps? Big data, analytics, information management, and knowledge/acumen. The worst part of this revelation? These are many of the same talent gaps CIOs cited four years ago!

Gartner goes on to explore a little of what today’s CIO’s and other IT professionals can do to start bridging those gaps. The key here is to think about talent as a platform—and be innovative. When you’re thinking about staffing, don’t be afraid to think outside the box, and try new ways of sourcing talent—like these:

  • Recruiting/rotating staff from outside IT
  • Working more closely with universities on internships, co-designed courses, etc.
  • Crowdsourcing
  • Considering customers, citizens, vendors, and partners as extensions (and digital accelerators) of the talent platform

Today’s CIOs, in many cases, are already seen as a corporation’s digital and/or innovation leaders. And most of those tech leaders also feel their power and influence is increasing as they become more cross-functional and collaborative across the enterprise. The successful IT departments of the future will maintain a focus on new technology, new software, and hardware, and the ‘hottest’ new skills. To build an IT department at this level, IT staffers will be required to be just as cross-functional, collaborative, and engaged as their CIOs are learning to be.

Empathetic, “big picture” thinkers, who are comfortable moving between the confines of the IT department to a client meeting to customer service or the corporate boardroom, are the types of IT professionals you will need to seek out when hiring and/or staffing for the IT departments of the future.

What are your thoughts on this? Have you seen such an evolution in your organization’s IT department? Do you find yourself collaborating and teaming up on projects more often these days with IT teams? Or are you seeing pushback from IT teams who aren’t ready (or able) to adapt to this new way of enterprise business? I would love to hear what you think.

A version of this was first posted on Converge.com.

Photo Credit: codiepie via Compfight cc

Smart Leaders Engage Tomorrow’s Workforce

/1 Comment/ /by

One of the topics most pressing on my mind these days is the battle for young, emerging talent and how fierce the competition is these days in certain sectors. Companies that win it are the ones that will succeed in the years and decades to come.  So what is the key to first hiring and then unleashing the full potential of Millennials and thus building your future workforce? And what exactly are we doing about The Class of 2016, 2017?

First, understand where Millennials (this “label” seems outdated btw #justsayin) live. They’re the first generation to come of age in the mobile era, when even desktop computers are beginning to feel like relics of an earlier time. They have been living online for years – social networks, apps, and multitasking are as natural as breathing to them. They’ve also come of age in a time when the old employee-employer contract has become obsolete. Millennials don’t expect their employers to take care of them in the way previous generations did. They understand that we live in a freelance world, and their expectation is that they will move from company to company during their careers. They’re independent and savvy and can spot duplicity from a mile away.

Since they expect to be moving around during their careers, slowly increasing wages and perks don’t carry the same weight with them. My sense is this is now happening for every generation btw. We want meaning. They want to be fairly paid from day one, and come into an environment that is engaging, has a strong online presence, and allows for personal freedom and expression.

The great (not so) secret driver of Millennial (and every generation btw) engagement is emotion. In order to hook this free-spirited talent you need to win their hearts and souls, as well as their heads. Research has shown that emotional commitment is four times as strong as rational commitment (i.e. just a paycheck) in motivating stellar performance. People may stay at jobs because they have bills to pay, but they excel at jobs because their hearts are in it. This is a core truth that all great leaders know and act on. Work tirelessly to make jobs meaningful, tailoring them to the individual’s gifts and strengths; build synergistic, energetic teams; and articulate (and live) a mission that people can believe in.

To attract this talent, make sure you have a strong online presence on networking and social sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Experience.com. A robust and appealing online brand is crucial to making sure this talent finds you. Pay attention to your employer brand. This is so important now more than ever.

Once you’ve hired young talent, how do you hold onto it? Be straightforward and speedy. The pace of the world has accelerated and Millennials operate in real time. Feedback should be as immediate as possible. Annual or semi-annual reviews can be stale, and it’s better to correct problems as they arise.  And managers and leaders need to establish an ongoing dialogue with talent about their career objectives. Become a partner in helping them reach their goals.  Recognize good work immediately and reward it appropriately and with meaning.

To some leaders I’ve worked with, Millennials can sometimes seem like a different species. In some ways they are, and the specifics of their new paradigm in regards to work, online engagement, and career expectations must be factored into any company’s hiring and talent retention equation.

Major caveat: Yes, Millennials are different. All generations are. But I believe strongly, passionately, that beneath any generational divide, we all want the same from our jobs:  to be engaged and fulfilled mind, body and soul. Leaders who can create a company culture that partners with its people to make this happen are not only far more likely to succeed, they are heroes.

A version of this post was first published on Forbes.com. 

Photo Credit: jonahengler via Compfight cc

iGeneration – He's Got the Whole World in His Hands

/ /by

I’m not waxing poetic about the spiritual carol. I’m talking about my 17-year-old son.

Most of what is being written about this generation (1996-current, which is 23 million strong in the U.S.) is about what the heck to call them: Generation Z, Plurals, Media Gen, or iGen, which seems to be winning. I say, who cares? Let’s talk about what it’s like to work with them, because they are very different from their Millennial big brothers and sisters.

My kid shakes his head at Facebook and stares blankly at the thought of reading a paperbound book. This new generation that is hitting your workplace as I write is serious about adventure and integrating into something that is meaningful to their intimate tribe.

[easy-tweet tweet=”He has access, (in his hand) to the largest encyclopedia ever… YouTube” user=”@highperformance” hashtags=”#iGeneration”]

Unlike his older sister who was born eight years ahead of him, this kid was a baby during 9/11 and has no memory of it. It is simply his historical reality, as is a large volunteer military that fights and creates heroes and madness in sandy places. And, I may add, attracts his serious nature.

The American dream is alive and well. But the Great Recession has made him serious about work (not school, but work) and driven to consume. And because he is only 17, he’s not really clear, yet, which comes first. Because most of his salient life has been in a time of loss and shortage, he has no illusion that he is “entitled.” He is not. He will work hard and be happy for that work. He just wants to be treated with respect. Disrespect him, and he is out the door.

Since all of his life has been spent learning thus far, he knows that if he wants to know something he has access (in his hand) to the largest encyclopedia ever … YouTube. He can fix a motorcycle, reboot an operating system, have sex, or bake a pie by watching a short video series.

“iGeneration was born with consumer-driven capitalism at its core and altruism at its heart. Never before has there been a generation so globally plugged in and so informed.” – Stefan Pollack, PR Weekly

He knows that with Prime, things arrive on his doorstep, in two days, with one click. The whole world in his hands.

And, contrary to popular thought, he’s not as social (as in social media) as his sister. He has access to an even quieter roar. A network of friends and influencers who will quietly (and by that I mean so his parents can’t hear) guide his choices and decisions in a new and private language: TXT.

The Center of Generational Kinetics:

  • “To say that this generation will be hooked to their smartphones at work is an understatement. iGen’s future supervisors and managers will have to know that leaving their cell phone at home—or even leaving it in a drawer—is simply not an option for this new generation.”

Here is some of their reality:

  • They are a highly integrated group. Race matters less. Heck, they grew up with the first black U.S. president.
  • Sexism is rampant, (raging body issues, 24/7 available porn, trafficking, and sexting) but feminism is leaning in.
  • Bullying creates rampages.
  • Gay and transgender is the new normal.
  • Marijuana is legal. (Thanks, Grandma!)
  • The globe is warming.
  • Our food is making us sick.
  • Cars drive themselves.
  • Everyone’s a star.
  • It is entirely possible to be a billionaire at 20.

[easy-tweet tweet=”Working with iGeneration? Don’t make any sudden moves.” user=”@highperformance” hashtags=”#iGeneration”]

The Urban Dictionary.com:

“They are driven by endless possibilities and are actively exploring them—jobs, travel, love, sex, identity, and location. This generation collects experiences more than money.”

Here are my observations about the one I know:

  • He is serious.
  • He doesn’t want his time wasted.
  • He wants the lowdown quickly.
  • He can and will learn it himself.
  • He will— no matter what—talk to his friends via text. All day long.
  • He expects an immediate reply.
  • He learns about products from friends and influencers, not media—social or otherwise.
  • He takes pictures and videos of everything and anything.
  • He will rate you, your product, your job site, your attitude, and text his friends, all day long.
  • He knows to protect his online reputation.
  • He works hard for people who show concern for him.
  • He will blow off anyone who bores him.
  • He doesn’t want fake motivation.
  • He sees through insincerity.

The peak of the iGeneration are in college now and youngest are babies. They are posturing to take on the serious societal challenges that face us. They are a cultural, generational force, and I believe that if Millennials are the creative generation, then iGeneration has the capacity to focus and be problem-solvers.

Pay attention: iGeneration really does have the whole world in their hands.

photo credit: “his” computer via photopin (license)

How To Mentally Prepare For Working Life

/ /by

It may only be the middle of summer, but for many, this means the beginning of their life-spanning career; their first experience of the 9-5 and an extremely important life transition. I, for one, have just started working full-time after university, and I wish someone had told me these five things in order to whip my mind into shape. But instead, I can help others by running through my top tips on how to mentally preparing for working life.

  1. Get Into An Appropriate Sleeping Pattern

Let’s be honest, moving from student to ‘young professional’ essentially equates to which side of midday you wake up. At least a few days before you start work, but preferably longer, you should start training your body to fall asleep earlier. Ok, you’re not going to get 8 hours of sleep every night, but there’s no harm in trying. Surely you’d rather your body adapts to the working week a little earlier, than spending your whole first week feeling like a zombie.

  1. Pre-Plan As Much As Possible

Be it what you’re going to eat for lunch every day, or a detailed outfit plan for the week, do it now. Of course, not everyone enjoys writing lists and getting organised before they really need to. But if you’re between jobs, or education and work, use your free-time to your advantage because ultimately nerves will be lessened the more planning you put in. And what about the commute? Do you know how long it’ll take? You definitely don’t want to be late on your first day, so either go for a test-run or leave super early.

  1. Do Your Homework

Just like you did before your interview, take some time to clue yourself up on the company’s recent news, any national or international news that might affect your job sector, and even the area in which you’ll be working. Look up some recommended lunch spots, and some local tourist attractions that you can drop into conversation – and visit – but also remember to go with the flow once you arrive.

  1. Write Up A Budget

A quick google search will tell you how much your annual salary will pop in your bank account each month (after tax), and with this knowledge, you can start to work out your budget. How much do you need to save? How long will it take you to eat away at your student overdraft? If you haven’t already, make an excel spreadsheet and make a list of your monthly expenses, including rent, bills, travel, food and socialising, not to mention any wardrobe revamps your company’s dress-code requires. With a rough idea of how much cash you’ll have to play with each month, you’ll be able to start work excited and a bit more relaxed, knowing your debts will soon diminish.

  1. Enjoy some you-time

Trust me, my mere month between university and starting work flew by and I wish I’d spent more time relaxing and enjoying weekdays off. So while I can only look forward to weekends and annual leave, make sure you give yourself a break. If you’ve done all the leg-work mentioned above, enjoy some quality time watching Storage Hunters whilst sitting in just your pants and eating ice cream straight from the tub – not that you shouldn’t do this on the weekends too.

 

Image: bigstock

Leaders Young & Old: #TChat Preview

/ /by

Here’s a pop quiz: When was the last time you reported to a manager older than yourself? Younger than yourself? The workforce is multi-generational, but unlike 10 or even 20 years ago, age is not the primary determinant of management status. Many organizations are less hierarchical by design; matrix management may have fallen out of favor as a leadership style, but in many workplaces it’s the de facto organizational structure.

From an HR or leadership point of view it’s clear talent shouldn’t be chosen by age, but for raw ability, skills and vision. Leaders must combine strategic understanding of the business’s goals with tactical ability to execute to plan. They need soft skills too — lots of capable individuals don’t have what it takes to lead.

So we’re puzzling here at TalentCulture World of Work about multi-generational workforces, why (or if) it’s problematic for older workers to be led by the younger ones (because they say “like” every other word, perhaps?), and how to achieve cultural fit when managers are younger than their staffs.

The term “reverse mentoring” has come up, but we’re curious what the crowd thinks, so we’re throwing it open to our #TChat tribe to help us find clarity. We’re also wondering if there’s technology out there that may help smooth out the younger manager–older worker dynamic. Here are a few of the questions we’ll be discussing this week:

Q1: Used to be, age was synchronous with seniority & mgmt. How has the multi-generational workforce changed that?

Q2: Does leadership come when experience meets the right context of strategy, tactics & soft skills? Why or not?

Q3: Why is it so hard for older workers to be led by younger ones beyond the usual cliches?

Q4: What can orgs do better to assess & execute cultural fit as well as employee & leadership development?

Q5: What technologies can help facilitate the older employee/younger manager dynamic and how?

Please join us Wednesday night, Sept. 26, from 7-8pm ET (6-7pm CT, 4-5pm PT, or wherever you are). Look for yours truly (@MeghanMBiro) and Kevin W. Grossman (@KevinWGrossman) on the #TChat stream. We’re open to your thoughts on reverse mentoring, culture and multi-generational workforces, so bring your thoughts (in 120-character blocks) to this week’s TalentCulture #TChat.

We’re fortunate to have guest moderator Mark Babbitt (@YouTernMark) and the team at YouTern (@YouTern), where Mark is CEO and founder, lending their wisdom this week as we all explore reverse mentoring, culture and the many roles workers will fill as they progress through life.

Image Credit: Stock.xchng

The World of Work for New Grads: #TChat Preview

/ /by

Originally posted by Charles Purdy, one of #TChat’s moderators, on Monster Thinking Blog

It’s not just that many recent grads are new to the world of work — it’s also that the world of work has changed quite a lot in recent years. The tumultuous economy, fast-changing technologies, and the social-media revolution (just to name a few factors) have made the workplace 2011′s grads are entering a very different place from the one 2oo1′s experienced.

Of course, many of the questions new grads face — such as “Should I follow my passions or work on finding a stable career?” “What mistakes should I beware of?” and even “Was my four-year degree really necessary?” — aren’t questions that only young people ask. We’re all dealing with these questions to some extent.

If you’re a new or recent grad looking for answers, a job seeker with questions about the new world of work, or anyone who has career wisdom to share, join #TChat tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern (5 p.m. Pacific). This is sure to be a lively discussion!

#TChat Questions and Recommended Reading (06.07.11)

Here are tonight’s questions, along with some posts on emerging workforce issues we think are worth checking out.  This background reading isn’t mandatory to get in on tonight’s #TChat action, but we suggest checking out these articles by top career-advice and talent-management thought leaders before the chat (or if you missed it):

Q1: Should 2011’s new grads follow their passions, or focus on finding a stable career?

Read: How to Find Your Calling: Lessons from Larry Crowne by Monster College

Q2: What rookie mistakes are new grads in danger of making in the workplace?

Read: The Worst Career Advice Continually Given to College Seniors by Emily Bennington

Q3: What are some tactics a new grad needs to employ in a troubled employment market?

Read: Job Search Tips for New Grads: Standing Out From the Growd by Charles Purdy

Q4: Do you think a four-year degree (at least) is necessary for career security?

Read: Should You Go Back To School? by Jacob Milner

Q5: What makes this generation of young workers different from those of 20 years ago?

Read: Workplace Entitlement? C’mon, Mom Told Us All We Were Special by Kevin Grossman

Q6: How do you think this decade’s crop of new grads will transform the workplace?

Read: The Non-Generational Talent of American Workers by Peter Weddle

Q7: What’s the best piece of career advice new grads need to hear right now?

Read: Recession Job-Search Tips for New Grads by Margot Carmichael Lester

Monster’s social media team supports #TChat’s mission of sharing “ideas to help your business and your career accelerate — the right people, the right ideas, at the right time.”

We’ll be joining the conversation every Tuesday night as co-hosts with Meghan M. Biro and Kevin W. Grossman from 8-9 p.m. (Eastern) via @MonsterCareers and @Monster_Works.

Embracing Generational Differences in the Workplace?

/4 Comments/ /by

On a recent #TChat, the topic was Generations in the Workplace.  It’s always intriguing to hear people talk about this in HR because this isn’t a “new” issue.  There have been generations in the workplace – FOREVER!

Also, many HR people and consultants alike tend to want to take this topic to the point of emphasizing the differences between generations instead of focusing on their strengths.  HR would be such a powerful force in organizations if we broke the paradigm of “Let’s fix what’s wrong or different” and instead approached issues from a position of strength and identified how these differences make us more valuable.

Let me give you an example . . .

Growing up, I got hooked on rock music and one of the first mind-blowing groups I couldn’t get enough of was Led Zeppelin.  Now, even though this may date me, I listened to these rock gods on vinyl – Glorious, crackly vinyl.  I wore out my albums listening to them over and over.

When I got towards the end of high school, people starting recording music on cassettes.  Now you could take your music with you to play in your car, in other people’s houses on their stereo systems, or even in your Sony Walkman.  We were amazed that music could travel with us.

Then, in college I actually remember the day when a fellow student brought in a shiny round disc and said it was music.  I didn’t believe him, but as he laid the disc into this gigantic box of a player – here came Led Zeppelin in crystal clear sound.  No cracks, no skips – just Jimmy Page and Robert Plant bringing the rock.

After college, music continued to evolve and this thing called the iPod came along and now I could get music digitally.  Not only that, but I could add the other 5,000+ songs from my CD, cassette and vinyl collections all on one player AND take it with me!

So, what does Led Zeppelin and modes of music have to do with generations?  It’s simple . . . even though I have listened to Led Zeppelin on albums, cassettes, CDs and an iPod . . . the music remained the same.

Just as the four generations in our current workplaces are from different eras, the value and quality of their skills, knowledge and work remain the same.  Our modes may be different with technology or flextime or other cultural issues, but in the end the generations are always working to the same goal of great work and a great company,

So, quit trying to tear generations apart.  Let’s focus on the strengths that every generation brings to work every day!