Our Digital Creation: Generation Y’s Monstrous Leap into the Workplace

09/02/08 • -1 min

Veris Associates, Inc. - Corporate Learning and Training

Cheryl Croce
Sr. Consultant
Veris Associates, Inc.

“…my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open…”[1]

With all of the recent news around the Millennials – Generation Y -- and their impact on the workplace, you would think they were creatures from another universe. Who are these kids, with their iPods and their Social Networks and their – gasp! – flip-flops? Why do they think everything can be solved with the click of a mouse? They think they’re heroes because they showed up and mentioned something about working ‘green?’

When I think of how seasoned professionals will ‘deal’ with Generation Y’s own theories of how work will be done and their contributions, I think of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The story is about the construction of a creature from borrowed parts, and the subsequent events when it becomes part of the Doctor’s world -- whether he wants it to or not. Ultimately, the novel resonates with philosophical and moral ramifications: themes of nurture versus nature…and ambition versus social responsibility dominate readers' attention and provoke thoughtful consideration of the most sensitive issues of our time.[2]

Imagine that – all that influence from a book authored by a nineteen year old.

Generation Y, similar to Frankenstein’s monster, is our generation’s creation; and the generation before us; and the generation before them. They are the product of years of revolution and evolution. We have a choice – and a responsibility – on how we integrate our creation into the workforce. We can either fear and loathe them as they enter the workforce, or we can harness their strengths and help them through their weaknesses. In the end, the Millennials will add value to our workplace, and teach us things we didn’t know we needed to learn.

Borrowed Parts: The Genesis of Generation Y

“Every thing must have a beginning ... and that beginning must be linked to something that went before.”[3]

From Baby Boomers to Generation Y, while our music, dress and political tastes may be different, we share a lot in common. Like each passing generation, Generation Y’s genesis is embedded in the social, political and environmental elements of previous generations.

For people of the Depression Era, it was very simple: If you didn’t work, you didn’t eat. Many turned to manufacturing and government relief work programs, as jobs in farming and mining were devastated by the collapse of the economy. People, young and old, had to make due with what they had, and children grew up quickly in order to survive. There were no computers to automate any of the work done at jobs or in homes.

While the Stock Market crash of 1929 defined the Depression-era workforce, World War II defined the Baby Boomer generation. A sense of patriotism and necessity drove ingenuity, resourcefulness and mass production…in many respects. The Baby Boomers are roughly 80 million strong; with a work ethic set firmly in the belief that if you work hard now, you can do the things you really want to do when you retire. While the Baby Boomers did just fine without the use of computers, one technological advancement shaped their world: Television. Just in time for this wealthy generation came a magic box that showed them exactly what they could buy, where they could travel, and what dreams they could accomplish, all in a wholesome package that cheerfully emitted the benefits of the good life.

Life wasn’t perceived to be as ‘perfect’ for Generation Jones, otherwise known as the Shadow Boomers, who were influenced ...

Cheryl Croce
Sr. Consultant
Veris Associates, Inc.

Previous Episode

Classroom Training vs. e-Learning Training

Ron Przywara
ITIL Certified Consultant
IT Service Management
Veris Associates, Inc.

Classroom training vs. e-learning training: In the never-ending drive to get ahead of the curve, which road gets you to where you want to be?

If the decision is made using numbers on a balance sheet the obvious choice would seem to be “e-learning”. The direct cost of distance learning is generally lower than a classroom instructor-led course (average 40%-60% less) and there’s no travel expenses (mileage, hotel, etc.). The choice though is not as simple as the expense. Like any business decision, the cost is an influence, but there are other components in the equation that require consideration. In this article we’ll take a look at some of the components, both positives and challenges, of e-learning and classroom instructor-led training and present you with the information to help you make an informed business decision.

Why training in the first place? Define your goal. What do you want to accomplish with your newly acquired education? Is success measured by a certification, the physical proof of your knowledge? Or is achievement demonstrated by your application of a newly acquired perspective or capability? Perhaps it is a blend of both. The answer to the first question will in part drive the training method you choose.

Objections to Classroom:

Aren’t there books I can read?

There is a great deal of published information available on almost every topic. What is appropriate for your current stage of understanding? What is appropriate for your end-goal? Individuals retain material at different rates, but in general adults follow these retention guidelines:

o Adults retain approximately 20% of what they read
o They retain approximately 50% of what they read and hear
o The retention moves to almost 90% when adults read, hear and actively participate in the material

I’ve had prior experiences with a lousy instructor.

A past experience can have an influence in your decision, but don’t let a single poor instructor be your last memory of the classroom training experience. There are a great deal more instructors who show true passion for their students, the classroom experience and the material.

I can’t be away three (four, five) days away from work.

This is a challenge. The best way to overcome this barrier harkens back to the first question again “What do you expect to get out of training?” If your answer involves any of the following:

o Career advancement
o Improved job performance
o Development of new opportunities

The time away from work is required and involves commitment on your part and probably your company’s commitment. Instructor- led classroom education is a business decision and not a vacation planning event. You and your company have made a commitment to improvement, increased efficiency, greater effectiveness, insert training goal here________.

Objections to e-learning:

I can’t find the time to complete the course.

Sitting in front of a PC regardless of location and reading material can be mentally taxing. The time away from the day-to-day focus of work is real when attempting distance learning. Distance learning requires a level of dedication to complete the material. The course window available to satisfy the time course can usually be stretched over multiple weeks.

It’s boring sitting in front of a PC for hours.

Again, we’re back at the commitment factor. Usually a distance learning course is designed to be completed in a number of shorter, pa...

Next Episode

The Value of Training: An Investment, Not A Cost

David A. Zimmer
Practice Manager
Corporate Learning & Training
Veris Associates, Inc.

What is the value of employee training?

For most companies, training is seen as an expense and one of the first items to be chopped during the budgeting process. Yet, training, whether in technical skills or critical business people skills, has one of the highest paybacks of any investment.

Pat Muccigrosso, Project Management Officer at NetPlus Marketing, Inc. put it this way, “Training isn’t bodies in chairs being lectured; it is an investment in each person’s life and in the livelihood of the business that pays the bill.”

Sharpen The Saw

Stephen Covey, well-known author of Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, uses a phrase “sharpening the saw.” We need to take time to sharpen our saws – our skills – to meet the demands of today’s competition.

We would never dream of sending our teenagers out to drive a car without training. We wouldn’t dare go to a doctor to treat our critical ailment unless the doctor was trained in the latest information for that condition. The cost of going to a doctor not trained certainly costs us more in the long run and could cost us our life.

So intrinsically, we know the value of training.

Yet we continually require our employees to work with outdated skills because of cost-cutting measures.

Let’s run some simple numbers to see training as an investment.

We know the costs of training. There are the direct expenses of the seminar and the travel costs. Of course, we fold in the cost of the employee while being trained. The hourly rate of an employee making $50,000 per year is $25 per hour. For the purpose of this exercise, we won’t consider the overhead (benefits, etc.).

The cost of a two day, $995 seminar plus $200 traveling expenses (hotel, food, mileage) and the employee’s wages equals $1595.

From that training, the employee learns a better method of working saving five hours per week in labor equaling $125 per week or $6250 for a 50-week calendar year.

If we compare the cost of training ($1595) versus the return ($6250), we increased our investment value by almost 400%. If this efficiency saves as little as 1.3 hours per week, we recoup our total investment.

Key Factors Toward Gaining the Most Value From Training

What key determining factors exist in getting the most value from employee training?

After years of training thousands of people and seeing the effect it has in their daily work lives, I’ve come to the same two conclusions that others have found and documented: management support for training and empowerment to use the newly-learned knowledge.

The number one key factor is management commitment to training. Without active management support, the value of training diminishes. Those who attend a session are constantly interrupted, distracted by emails, phone calls and other “emergencies.” Rather than focusing on sharpening their saw, they continue cutting down trees with dull blades. When asked to prove the value of training, it amounts to a few wasted days.

Employees empowered to use the newly-found knowledge is the second key factor to valuable training. The purpose of training is to improve work methods, not continuing with the old. If we persist with the outdated methods, learning a better way only frustrates people.

Sergio Radossi, an Engineering Manager stated it this way, “In our case, training was a key component of a strategy to integra...