Trust and Honesty Key to Managing Gen Y in the Workplace

Mutual respect and flexibility are taking the place of power and experience in the workplace, the latest Robert Half International Podcast reveals.

HR expert and author of ëLeadership revelations, an Australian perspectiveí, Avril Henry, talks about the core values of Generation Y candidates, and the implications for companies who wish to employ them.

ìTheir catch cry is ëI have a lifeí, and for them it means one life, ëI donít have a work life and a home life or social lifeí î, she says.

Ms Henry states that Generation Y individuals want to work for people they respect and can learn from. She says that employers need to invest in management training for older staff if they are to retain the loyalty and interest of younger Generation Y employees, and avoid conflict between different generations.

Access to training and development is fundamental to a Gen Yís choice of workplace, according to the podcast, and the generation will actively search for potential employers who have clear corporate social responsibility programmes in place.

Ms Henry also discusses predictions that the average Gen Y candidate will work for an excess of 29 employers throughout their career, and change career up to five times. She offers advice to Baby Boomer and Gen X employers and managers on dealing with this fundamental change in attitude.

The podcast suggests a number of ways in which companies need to adjust to cater for Gen Y employees. Henry states that ìWe are now in an employees, and not an employers, marketî, and insists that employers must learn to adjust or face the consequences.

ìGen Yís are sending the message to the corporate and public sector: If youíre not willing to have good leadershipÖchallenging work, not willing to mentor me, then Iím not coming to work for youî.

The podcast is available at www.roberthalf.com.au and is sent to Robert Half International clients and candidates in Australia and New Zealand. The podcast will also be made available via various online ad campaigns during the broadcast period.