"Effective talent pipelines need people with different skills sets, and fresh ideas, linked to succession planning, which makes the recruitment of Gen Y graduates an integral part of any talent management strategy," says Paul Gibbons, chief operating officer of DNA, an organisation specialising in enabling culture shift through improved, measurable results from workforces.
"Attracting energetic, enthusiastic graduates and strategically placing them in relevant positions in the organisation is the first step. Regardless of the skills, competencies, ability and qualifications of the candidate though, if there are clashes in the workplace you will be defeating the purpose of hiring for the position from day one."
"Many of your Gen Y recruits are your organisation's future rock stars," added Michele Harpur, managing director of DNA GradFactory. "Unfortunately, however, members of this generation often bring with them a sense of entitlement, an attitude that can only lead to conflict in the rest of the team and, apart from upsetting the harmony in a department, it can also have a rapid and negative impact on clients. And, as per the domino effect, losing a client can lead to a huge dent on cash flow, and may result in an unrecoverable revenue stream."
The key for employers is to provide an integrated approach to meet the diversity of needs of all members of the team. Exposing the knowledge-holders to what is required of a business mentor and the role expected of them when it comes to talent development, and giving them the tools to engage with the new recruit, will aid the transfer of knowledge.
Similarly, these new recruits are really just completely inexperienced young people entering a completely foreign landscape - the new world of work. Apart from their respective qualifications, they really don't have that much to offer at this entry stage, and will need to work really hard for quite a while to gain the respect of their co-workers, the organisation and industry colleagues.
In reality, this can be quite a daunting and anxious time, and a feeling of isolation could be compounded by a complete lack of business etiquette skills. "Formal communication skills, open-plan workspaces, networking and acceptable social graces don't normally form part of an academic qualification. And you can't assume that everyone was exposed to a common code of behaviour whilst growing up. After all, the richness of the diverse cultures that constitutes our rainbow nation is what we as South Africans value. But it doesn't mean that this code of behaviour should be overlooked," continued Harpur.
"If a company provides a new hire with a rich on-boarding process, the orientation and integration into the business happens at a quicker pace and the recruit starts to add value to the business almost from the beginning. The orientation programme should not just be an exposure to the policies of the company, but should include the unsaid rules of the workplace, the social finesse required of the recruit to positively impact on the brand of the company. Ultimately, we want these recruits to be able to proudly and confidently communicate professionalism both in their appearance and in their business etiquette - they must walk the professional talk."
It is often said that 85% of job success related to getting, keeping and advancing in a job is connected to your people skills and the other 15% is attributed to technical knowledge and skills. Giving your new recruits these skills and codes of behaviour will ultimately positively impact on your workforce development strategy.
