Hiring and Managing Those from the Entrepreneurial Generation

Although many in Generation Y (or those that many of us call the Entrepreneurial Generation) want to own a business, the odds are good that a number will never be entrepreneurs. They will need to find jobs.
But, the unique nature of this generation is proving make it quite challenging when it comes to recruiting and retaining them as employees.
Fortune on-line examines the unique nature of this new generation of workers:

“This is the most high-maintenance workforce in the history of the world,” says Bruce Tulgan, the founder of leading generational-research firm RainmakerThinking. “The good news is they’re also going to be the most high-performing workforce in the history of the world. They walk in with more information in their heads, more information at their fingertips – and, sure, they have high expectations, but they have the highest expectations first and foremost for themselves.”

To call the change in management philosophy a true paradigm shift may be a bit strong, but it isn’t that far from the truth.

Never mind that they often need an entire team – and a couple of cheerleaders – to do anything. For some of them the concept “work ethic” needs rethinking. “I had a conversation with the CFO of a big company in New York,” says Tamara Erickson, co-author of the 2006 book “Workforce Crisis,” “and he said, ‘I can’t find anyone to hire who’s willing to work 60 hours a week. Can you talk to them?’ And I said, “Why don’t I start by talking to you? What they’re really telling you is that they’re sorry it takes you so long to get your work done.'”

If you have even just one position in your business to keep staffed, you need to learn about the generation coming to age and entering the workforce. They will be challenging much of what you think you know about managing workers. This article is a good start.
Thanks to Rob Hill for passing this along.