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International Gen Ys in the Workplace

February 18th, 2010 by admin

I have focused a lot in this blog about successful management and collaboration in multi-generational workforces, and it’s interesting to see how these same issues are affecting businesses worldwide.

Take China as an example. On the surface, one wouldn’t really consider China to be a good candidate for discussing generational work issues given the government’s habits of stifling creativity and free speech (e.g. Google). However, more than half of China’s working population now is Gen Y (a crazy thing to consider when you think about the generational makeup of the U.S. Workforce) and multi-national companies are starting to turn their focus to managing Gen Y in China.

A recent Business Week article entitled “Working with China’s Generation Y”, authors Nandani Lynton and Kirsten Høgh Thøgersen argue that “Although local and foreign organizations in China must learn to manage Gen Ys effectively to remain successful, they are struggling,” and that “urban Chinese Gen Y members are smart and well-educated. While they hold on to many traditional values, they are beginning to challenge the preeminence of hierarchy.”

In urban China, Gen Y is a group of exceptionally talented people. No other generation in Chinese history has received such high-quality education for so many people. Chinese Gen Ys are single children born under China’s one-child policy. According to studies such as those by Posten and Falbo of the Guttmacher Institute, China’s solo children perform significantly better academically than peers with siblings. These single children have grown up in traditional extended families (including four grandparents and two parents), under pressure since kindergarten to pass entrance exams. This means that the child’s educational performance has been a top priority for six adults.

Read the full article here and an article introducing the concept (”Reckoning with Chinese Gen Y”) here.

What is most interesting to consider is how different the priorities of Gen Ys in China are from the much hyped priorities of American Gen Ys. How much does culture influence work ethic, work style and communication? Is this a stronger influence than generation or birth?

For example, our recent research has shown that Gen Ys in many industries are motivated heavily by salary and bonuses, job promotion and additional vacation time. Conversely, Chinese Gen Ys are more motivated by responsibility for the extended family, adherence to the middle way or harmony, and care of relationships. As the article states, “Despite surface appearances, China’s Generation Y is not becoming Western.” (Read more about our recent generational motivation research results here). I will be watching this topic with interest and updating on developing trends from around the world!

Also, on the topic of generations but on a different note, check out this great article on Brazen Careerist (very insightful on Gen Y business communications): “The Only Thing That Matters Is Your Story“

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Posted in China's Gen Y, Generational Workforce and Globalization | No Comments »

Despite Generational Communication Styles, Grammar is Still Important in the Office

January 27th, 2010 by admin

We have talked a great deal about generational communications styles and about how today’s company’s need to create open communication channels that suit the needs of their multigenerational workforce, strengthen team communication and boost overall office connectivity. HOWEVER, this doesn’t mean supporting the death of grammar and full words that many of today’s social media platforms and communications styles have instigated.

Despite the quickness and the fun of using acronyms, emoticons and the like to get your point across, businesses still require a high level of professionalism in communications, especially with media, client or prospect relationships. BNET recently ran a story to remind Gen Y about the importance of strong grammar and communications skills to their career advancement:

Texting, tweeting and the like are transforming the way the youngest generation at the office writes, but while knowing what ‘brb’ and ‘LMAO’ mean is a necessary skill for communicating with your peers, business guru Tom Peters reminds us in this three-minute video that clear, confident and convincing formal writing is key to career advancement — particularly when communicating with your boss’s boss who’s in her forties or fifties (and, yes, even if it’s only a short email).

(Ok Gen Ys, just because he’s a Boomer, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t listen to him!) If you still don’t think this is important, here’s something else to grab your attention: good writing is one of the few recession proof skills! As more and more people let their communication styles and aptitude for compelling or intelligent writing suffer, good writers become more and more in demand (even in a down economy!). Take this example from a BNet author discussing the need for solid writing in the PR industry (supposedly known for its focus on writing):

“If there was one thing, one thing that I could change about the PR industry, it would be the poor writing skills that are rampant in PR. It must be something about the people who are attracted to PR as a profession, because nothing else explains it. For an industry in which good writing should be a core, deal-breaking skill, the mediocrity of PR writing skills is, frankly, baffling.

I’ll let you in on a semi-secret: one of the reasons I moved over from mainstream media to PR 15 years ago was that I knew that with my above-average writing skills, I would always be able to find work. I’m sorry to say that 15 years later, there’s still plenty of demand for my writing skills in the PR industry.

If this sounds like a harsh critique, you’re right — it is. Good writers aren’t born, they’re made. And they are made with tough, no-nonsense criticism of their writing.

As we head into a downturn, this may be a skill you’ll want to improve. It could be one of the wisest investments you make in your career.”

Since, according to a recent study, 85 percent of written correspondence among adults and business professionals contains grammatical errors, improving or polishing your communications skills may be something you want to look at sooner rather than later. In this economy, all professionals (regardless of generation) need to have as many competitive advantages as possible!

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Posted in Web 2.0 Communications and Generations | No Comments »

Generational Shift Impacts: U.S. Job Satisfaction At Lowest Level In Two Decades

January 12th, 2010 by admin

This blog - and this entire site - is dedicated to researching and analyzing the ways in which the changing generational makeup of the workforce affects businesses in both everyday operations and long-term strategy and planning. In a lot of areas it is obvious that generational behaviors, preferences and differences are going to have an effect, such as communication preferences, flexible work schedules, working styles, etc.

However, this generational shifting is impacting and will increasingly impact businesses in ways that may not be overtly obvious to all managers or executive teams. Take the article below as an example. The report mentioned in the article below states that US job satisfaction is at a twenty year low and that managers need to be wary of this, not only in terms of reduced productivity and efficiency in an already difficult economy, but also in terms of talent and knowledge loss as the economy rebounds.

Managers who are not taking into account the generational workplace preferences of its employees or who are not creating an environment that supports and cultivates multiple work-styles and approaches will find themselves rapidly losing what talent they have as the economy turns around and new opportunities arise in the market. Furthermore, managers who are not focused on long term knowledge transfer management, mentoring and talent development now will have a difficult time attracting top talent and maintaining uninterrupted operational coherency when the market turns around (not only will the Boomers be more comfortable with retiring, but younger talent will be looking for the best opportunities with the growing companies). As the article explains (read full article here):

“While one in 10 Americans is now unemployed, their working compatriots of all ages and incomes continue to grow increasingly unhappy,” says Lynn Franco, director of the Consumer Research Center of The Conference Board. “Through both economic boom and bust during the past two decades, our job satisfaction numbers have shown a consistent downward trend.”

Fewer Americans are satisfied with all aspects of their employment, and no age or income group is immune. In fact, the youngest cohort of employees (those currently under age 25) expresses the highest level of dissatisfaction ever recorded by the survey for that age group.

“The downward trend in job satisfaction could spell trouble for the overall engagement of U.S. employees and ultimately employee productivity,” adds Franco.

“These numbers do not bode well given the multi-generational dynamics of the labor force,” says Linda Barrington, managing director, Human Capital, The Conference Board. “The newest federal statistics show that baby boomers will compose a quarter of the U.S. workforce in eight years, and since 1987 we’ve watched them increasingly losing faith in the workplace.” Twenty years ago, some 60 percent of that generation was satisfied with their jobs. Today, that figure is roughly 46 percent. Barrington adds: “The growing dissatisfaction across and between generations is important to address because it can directly impact the quality of multi-generational knowledge transfer–which is increasingly critical to effective workplace functioning.”

If you aren’t considering the effects of the generational shift on your organization, now is the time! Don’t be caught in a situation in which knowledge is lost, talent is not developed, and employee satisfaction and productivity are low! Businesses, now more than ever need to be focused on the generational issues at play in the economy and in their organization, and plan for the future by investing in talent development and knowledge transfer management. Although, as the first story indicates, businesses are increasingly cutting consulting budgets to save costs, this will not be a solid strategy for many organizations in the long term.

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Posted in Generational Job Satisfaction, Workforce Knowledge Transfer | No Comments »

Knowledge Gap: “Corporate America Worries About the Coming Brain Drain”

January 4th, 2010 by admin

This is a subject that I have been talking about for several years that is now starting to gain momentum in the media. The shifting generations in the workforce not only create the new management issues and challenges that we have been discussing here: team building, communication differences, working styles, etc. It also presents a very real challenge that most businesses haven’t had time to face while trying to survive the recent economic slump.

The interesting challenge of the shifting multi-generational workforce is this: the Baby Boomers are by far the largest of the current generations. As they begin their mass exodus from the workforce, they take with them years and years of knowledge and experience. Many companies will be sorely hit by this loss as the Boomers were more likely to stay with a certain companies for many years (sometimes for the majority of their careers). Companies that have not invested in mentoring or knowledge transfer programs will be facing quite a challenge as this knowledge exits their company, creating a knowledge gap. This knowledge gap not only includes internal strategies and operational knowledge, but in many cases also includes long-term client relationships, sales strategies and knowledge the directly impacts the bottom line.

As companies begin to replace the Boomers with the younger Gen Ys and Gen Xers, they will need to address these issues. Those with the capital to invest should keep long term employees on hand for talent development and mentoring, either in consultancy or part time roles. But for those who still have not recovered from the economic downturn enough to invest capital into this kind of training, the solution is not that simple. The economic slump has recently added another interesting piece to this puzzle, in that many who were approaching retirement were no longer able to afford retirement (via lost stocks, retirement funds, increased cost of living, etc) which has delayed the entry of many younger workers into the workforce and by extension delayed knowledge transfer and training. Recent articles from US News and World Report and TrueSlant.com describe this situation:

There’s been a lot of attention in this recession paid to seniors who are delaying retirement, and for good reason. Reporter Emily Brandon, writing in U.S. News & World Report in September, said the impact of keeping older adults in the workforce is that younger ones are kept out. Her story was based on research done by the Pew Research Center, which released a survey this past fall that showed most adults between the ages of 50 and 61 were considering working during the traditional retirement years. At the same time, more than four in 10 non-workers between the ages of 16-24 told Pew they had tried without success to find a job. Brandon wrote that for older workers, the decision to stay on the job isn’t always economic, although seventeen percent said they need the paycheck and another 27 percent said they were motivated to continue working by a mix of desire and need. That’s 44 percent working because of (or at least partly because of) financial reasons; 87 percent of employers said employees are working longer in order to rebuild their retirement nest eggs. When the economy begins to recover and the recession fades, will those seniors start retiring in droves?

Corporate America appears concerned that’s how things will shake out. According to MetLife’s Emerging Retirement Model Study, released Tuesday, employers today are deeply anxious and concerned about the impact of the knowledge drain on their organizations. When asked which of two retirement-related issues – delayed retirement or the knowledge drain – are of greatest concern today, 74 percent said it was the knowledge drain, as older workers retire. In fact 70 percent of employers surveyed anticipate that will be their biggest concern in the next 3-5 years. MetLife commissioned the survey of 240 employers to examine their attitudes and behaviors towards the aging workforce in the midst of a deep economic crisis.

Ironically, despite all their fears, 97 percent of companies surveyed have done little, if anything, to figure out how to transfer knowledge from older workers to younger workers, including calculating the cost. Last August The Conference Board in New York released a report, “Bridging the Gaps: How to Transfer Knowledge in Today’s Multigenerational Workplace”—that showed most companies had no plan to manage and transfer knowledge held by senior people. The result, concluded the report, “can be a significant drain of business wisdom that decreases innovation, lowers growth capacity, and reduces efficiency in the organization.” About 75 million boomers are poised to retire and as the economic recovery takes shape, those who delayed will likely begin moving on.

The article goes on to point out that many companies have not begun to address this issue because they are uncertain about cost or about where to start. However, companies that delay this process will fall behind companies who have integrated this process into their core operations, especially as the economy begins to rebound. We will be continuing to comment on this subject as the economy changes and media coverage increases.

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Posted in Workforce Knowledge Transfer | No Comments »

Communication Strategies in Multi-Generational Workforces

January 4th, 2010 by admin

One of the primary challenges inherent in building strong multi-generational teams and coherency in multi-generational workforces is creating communication channels that will be effective across multiple generations. Part of this challenge includes identifying primary methods of communication for existing workforce members as well as training different generations in the communication channels that best support the organization’s overall goals. This challenge becomes more complex when dealing with a multi-national or global workforce situation.

Ruby DeMesme, a former Air Force assistant secretary for manpower, reserve affairs, installation and environment who is now a senior adviser at the consultancy Deloitte, recently addressed these issues as they specifically face government organizations in an interview with GovInfoSecurity.com:

One of the critical challenges facing the government is how best to integrate work across multiple disciplines while maintaining a secure computing environment.

Ruby DeMesme, a former Air Force assistant secretary for manpower, reserve affairs, installation and environment, sees information technology as shaping the way government workers perform their jobs. No longer are jobs aligned with a predefined assignment, but are dynamic, requiring critical thinking and the ability to navigate technology to determine how best to perform a variety of tasks.

“We have a multi-sector workforce and we have a multi-generational workforce and we have the ability to deliver information instantaneously around the world,” Ruby DeMesme, now a senior adviser at the consultancy Deloitte, said in an interview with GovInfoSecurity.com (transcript below). “But, when all of these confluences or ideas and factors and events come together, it means that the person in the workforce must be very comfortable with their knowledge or know where to get information on a split second notice; it is not even minute by minute today, it is second by second.”

Read the full article here.

DeMesme also recently published a paper on the subject (”Equipping the Federal Workforce in the Cyber Age“) in which she states that “Building a cyber-savvy workforce will require a paradigm culture shift.”

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Posted in Managing Multiple Generations, Web 2.0 Communications and Generations | No Comments »

Generational Dynamics and Web 2.0 Communications

December 15th, 2009 by admin

We have talked about how communications preferences are a primary impacting factor in workforce generational dynamics, not only in internal workflow and collaboration but also in regards to client and prospects communications. This video gives an interesting look into how Cisco is developing internal collaboration with Web 2.0 communications:

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Posted in Web 2.0 Communications and Generations | No Comments »

How Generations are Driving Globalization in the Workplace

December 15th, 2009 by admin

An interesting new survey was just released concerning how the four generations in the workplace view the role of globalization and cross culture networking in their career development. This is an aspect of the generational workforce shift that hasn’t been focused on very much to this point:

“This is the first time in American history that we have had four different generations working side-by-side in the workplace. Remember, if you are old enough, when older workers were the bosses and younger workers did what was asked of them, no questions asked. There were definite rules as to how the boss was treated and how younger workers treated older workers. No longer: Roles today are all over the place and the rules are being rewritten daily.

“At work, generational differences can affect everything, including recruiting, building teams, dealing with change, motivating, managing, and maintaining and increasing productivity. Think of how generational differences, relative to how people communicate, might affect misunderstandings, high employee turnover, difficulty in attracting employees and gaining employee commitment.

“Each generation has distinct attitudes, behaviors, expectations, habits and motivational buttons.

“Research indicates that people communicate based on their generational backgrounds. Each generation has distinct attitudes, behaviors, expectations, habits and motivational buttons. Learning how to communicate with the different generations can eliminate many major confrontations and misunderstandings in the workplace and the world of business.”

For more information, access the full survey: “International Survey Reveals How Globalization Is Defining Workplace Skills.”

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Posted in Generational Workforce and Globalization | No Comments »

Managing “Unretirement”

December 10th, 2009 by admin

BusinessWeek recently ran a great article entitled “How Companies are Managing Unretirement: Leading companies are preparing for the demographic fallout of the Great Recession.”

This article discusses  numerous challenges today’s business are facing, caused by both the economic downturn and the generational shift:

  • The current economy is forcing companies to “run lean” and only maintain the staff they need to maintain quality and core operations while not forsaking new business development initiatives.
  • The rapidly approaching Baby Boomer retirement wave has been halted, as many do not have the financial stability or retirement funding they anticipated.
  • As companies fear the knowledge gap that will ensure with these experienced workers retire, they are working to keep them around until capital can be devoted to hiring new talent and facilitating mentorship from the exiting generations.
  • On the other hand, the costs of maintaining these veteran employees is putting a strain on already tight finances.

As the article puts it:

“In the talent wars, be careful what you wish for. Until very recently many of our client organizations were looking for ways to forestall the expected wave of baby boomer retirements and hold on to their experienced talent a bit longer. Now, with many employees’ retirement savings and home values decimated by the market meltdown and continuing uncertainty about full economic recovery, companies are wondering when—or if—their boomer workforces will sail off into the sunset.”

This is an incredibly relevant discussion for us as we examine generational workforce behaviors and preferences. While the job market is slim, furthermore, younger generations are branching out on their own, finding that entrepreneurial opportunities abound for workers who can provide intelligent support to certain industries. How will this change the face of the multi-gen workforce in 2010?

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Posted in Multigenerational Workforce, Unretirement | No Comments »

Skip the Trends and Get the Facts: Don’t Do Comp Plans Without Surveying Sales

October 8th, 2009 by admin

In this interview, Dr. David Brookmire discusses the importance of constructing your sales compensation packages around the preferences of the different generations within your organization.

Interviewer:

You mentioned surveying the sales force about what they prefer; you made it clear that a lot of the things we see in the media about compensation and the generations are just dead wrong.  What are some of the big mistakes you see people could make in building their sales comp plan these days?

Dr. Brookmire:

The first big surprise for us was the amount of companies across industries, across different types of sales jobs across size of companies who did not ask their sales staff what they prefer beyond cash.  Over 50% of our survey participants really have not been formally asked what their preference is.  It is surprising to us because many companies use non cash incentives to incent  and reward  and motivate their sales staff beyond base and commission.  One mistake we feel in design is not having a really good handle on what is valuable and we make lots of assumptions.  For example the notion of sales club or presidents club, its called different things where a small percentage of the sales staff goes away on a pretty lavish trip as a reward and recognition and it certainly does that.  I would say that if we polled our Gen-Y’s it would be interesting but probably not as meaningful anymore to Gen-Y sales staff as it is to Boomers.   Not really knowing what will cause a sales person to work beyond their normal level of effort is a mistake.  We heard setting quotas that are unrealistic and not attainable even with a great commission plan coupled with a great cash plan if you make it can also be de-motivating.  If you are constantly not achieving your quota maybe due to your performance but also partly it is just unrealistic and I am sure that is happening a lot in this economy.

Interviewer:

Obviously you want to take into account some outside research and information but is the most important piece know your own sales force?

Dr. Brookmire:

It is, absolutely.  There are stereotypes out their about different generations and what they prefer we showed that for sales it is very different.  I would also say that if you utilize these studies even our sales study it gives you some insight but your particular profile and your particular industry could be different in terms of preferences.  It is very important to have a way to ask and poll your sales staff on what is important to them.   By the way, if you don’t have any real desire to make changes in your sales comp plan then don’t ask, because that has a boomerang affect and really lowers your credibility if you end up asking and don’t do anything.

Interviewer:

Are you suggesting that we build different comp plans by generations because that seems a little complicated?

Dr. Brookmire:

I am not suggesting that.  It’s complicated and also for compensation and rewards you have to make those available to everybody regardless of position or generation.  There definitely needs to be consistency with respect to rewards across your sales staff.  What I am suggesting is that you create a competitive cash plan, you use non cash incentives that you would typically use through out the year to incent your folks and you might go to what is called a cafeteria plan.  About 10 years ago or 15 we looked at benefits and we knew that one size did not fit all with our health benefits,  so we went to what is called a cafeteria plan.  We gave people a choice to pick from column A or B and that’s kind of a new idea and that is what I would consider for sales comp.  If you would attain or beat your quota you would have a couple of different choices.  You might have a paid vacation day, you might have a trip, a long weekend that you can earn and take your spouse or significant other with you.  You might get to go to a training program or you might even get to have cash.  What you are doing there is you are picking some rewards that really do motivate your different generations of sales staff.   You are making them available to all sales staff and you might get different selections.  I am advocating a cafeteria plan for a multi generational sales staff.

Interviewer:

We are about to go into what I call sales comp planning season.  When companies are gathering all their data and starting to do their sales planning for next year and building those comp plans.  Do you have a check list for folks out there starting their comp plans?

Dr. Brookmire:

There are some basic elements in building a really sound comp plan.  First make sure that your pay is competitive and at market, the amount that sales people receive at quota.  Second you set difficult but achievable quotas, because if the quota lacks believability by the sales person its going to be de-motivating.  Next you tie the quota to measurable performance.  If the sales person has a really good line of sight between what they do and what they would receive whether its revenue or individual performance that is very very important as well.  Some companies rely on team quotas, so the team achieves it and everybody gets rewarded.  For sales superstars that is less motivating then having an individual piece.

Interviewer:

You really need to know how your team works to be able to develop the best comp plan.

Dr. Brookmire:

Yes, tying it to measurable performance.  We advocate accelerators, both thresholds so that you are not paid a commission until you hit a certain threshold, but more importantly there are accelerators for meeting and then exceeding quota.  I think those are very motivational.

Interviewer:

And those work across all generations?

Dr. Brookmire:

Yes they do.  Surprisingly our research showed that most companies have incentive plans that do not motivate sales staff not only to meet quota but also to exceed quota.  That is obviously something that you would want to have.  There are some administrative parts to the sales incentive plan in terms of administratively feasible,  that they are simple. One of our participants said that their comp plan is a 25 page document and its really impossible to figure out how it works.  Those are general high level tips.  We find also that incentive plans are somewhat of an art and somewhat of a science.  You need the mixture of the two to create a highly motivational incentive plan.

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Posted in Sales Compensation Plans for Multiple Generations, Sales Incentives and Rewards, Sales Rewards Preferences for GenY | No Comments »

Debunking the Myths about Gen Y Sales People

September 24th, 2009 by admin

An interview with Dr. David Brookmire discussing the surprising results of his recent survey, which assesses how best to compensate each generation of sales person. The study is Back to the Future, Hiring, Retaining, Motivating Multiple Generations of Sales Staff.

Interviewer: One of the first areas I want to talk about are the myths around Gen Y.  A lot has been written about the differences of each generation in the work place.  What is being said about the Gen Y in sales?

Dr. Brookmire: A lot has been written about Gen Y in general, as a category. There have been a lot of stereotypes about the millennial worker, not so much specifically working in sales, rather generalities have been applied to sales.  You hear of researchers or consultants talking about Gen Ys not being work-focused, that they are more focused around quality of life and work balance.  They (Gen Ys) are more interested in paid time off.  There was a recent Harvard Business Review article that found about 47% of Gen-Y’s wanted companies with sabbaticals.  They (Gen Ys) are also interested in their own career development, a “Me-Me-Me” focus.  Those are some of the most popular myths about Gen-Y’s.

Interviewer: In building a compensation plan, are you thinking that some of the sales operations and compensation specialists might be thinking that they can re-mix sales compensation away from cash, which is usually the largest component?

Dr. Brookmire: No question about it.  If you read any of the popular literature or research (on generational compensation), it suggests that although you have to have competitive pay, other incentives are much more appealing and interesting to the Gen Y sales person. That might include things like an opportunity to develop their career, an opportunity to take sabbaticals, leave the playing field for an extended period of time.

What we have found is quite the opposite.  Our research found that for Gen Y and Gen X and certainly Baby-Boomer sales professionals, the highest rated reward or incentive was either a base pay increase or cash bonus.  Cash is King for Gen Y, and it trumped everything else by quite a large margin.

Interviewer: Do Gen Y sales people adhere more to the sales profile than the broader Gen Y worker profile?

Dr. Brookmire: Yes, they do.  The statistic that amazed me was that 50% of college graduates go into some type of sales role.  That’s a heads-up on how the (sales) function is going to change over time with all that new talent coming in.  If you think about the sales role and its requirements, and the people who stick with it and are successful, it’s a different breed, a different type of person with a common success profile around winning, being competitive, getting a lot of satisfaction by closing sales and pleasing clients.

They enjoy being recognized not only by the company, but also in the community in which they live and work.  When you have these types of success profile characteristics you are definitely going to be motivated by cash, so that you can support your family and have quality of life.

Interviewer: I understand that cash is king, but were there any differences in preferences on rewards and compensation across the generations?

Dr. Brookmire: Yes, absolutely.  Right behind cash was job promotion (for Gen Ys).  It’s a way to achieve cash, but it’s also a way to develop your career.  They (Gen Ys) also preferred an all expense-paid trip with their spouse or partner. That was rated very high as motivational.  Other preferences were additional vacation time and flex schedule. Time off was important to Gen Y sales people, but was not really close to cash incentives as a motivator.

Gen Ys rated retirement benefits very low, and they did not pick stock plans, because they do not have much experience with it and it is a much longer-term focus.

Interviewer: If you are thinking about re-mixing your sales compensation, the number one rule is don’t mess with cash, but are there some secondary rewards that you may want to consider? That are more appealing to certain generations?

Dr. Brookmire: Setting a competitive cash compensation plan for all of the generations is a building block.  What we found is very few companies asked their sales staff what rewards they prefer. That was very surprising, and it was true across industries and across generations.  I don’t want to be prescriptive here, but I would encourage companies to ask their sales force what is of most value to them.

Interviewer: Back to Gen-Ys. Since all the things we are hearing about Gen Y and compensation need to be taken with a grain of salt, are there some other myths to watch out for? Such as, they are difficult to motivate?  From the study they seem to be more positive about a manager’s ability to motivate them than the other generations.  What are some of the other things you have found contrarian in your research?

Dr. Brookmire: Well, we found that Gen Ys generally met or exceeded quotas in 2007 and 2008.  In 2007, 60% of the Gen Y’s reported that they met or exceeded quota, only 12 percent were below quota.  For the remaining percentage, quota did not apply in their selling jobs, such as pharmaceuticals.

In 2008, 68% (of Gen Y sales people) met or exceeded quota, which is considered quite high for that year.  I was encouraged that we have a highly motivated, highly effective group of sales staff in the Gen Y profile.  This was supported by some recent research that showed companies feel that Gen Ys perform at or above their Baby Boomer or Gen X counterparts.  Not just in sales, but in other roles as well.

Interviewer: Are there certain sales roles that you think Gen-Y would excel in, or are really suited for?

Dr. Brookmire: We found the typical profile for Gen Y sales people—where they are meeting or exceeding quotas—is in selling technology or services, consulting or business services, healthcare, medical, and telecommunications.  I would say they do well when there are technology and high growth aspects to their job.  Their quotas are typically less than $500,000, and their selling cycles are generally 6 months or less.

Interviewer: This reflects more of an entry level sales position?

Dr. Brookmire: Yes, it does.  It also reflects hunter roles versus farmer roles.

Interviewer: It sounds like Gen-Y’s are doing really well at these entry level positions.

Dr. Brookmire: Yes, the candidates in our study did better than the average bear, so to speak.

Interviewer: If you are talking to a sales manager, who is hiring, recruiting and selecting sales people, what would you tell them about hiring the right Gen Y sales person?

Dr. Brookmire: Part of the hiring process is to make sure that you have the best role match for the incoming Gen Y sales person.  You need to be clear on what you are looking for from a skills and ability standpoint, and that you are matching the incoming sales representative to that profile.

You also look for a previous success in a selling role.  The best predictor of future performance is past performance.

You also ask for what their preferences are. Not so much in the hiring process, but once they are on board and performing, you really stay close and understand, besides the cash compensation, what really motivates them, what would be valuable for them to meet or exceed quota. You look at trying to provide these types rewards within your whole sales function.

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Posted in generational perceptions in sales, motivating sales people | No Comments »

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