Your training interventions are great, you’ve vetted the provider and the programme and it looks like you have found what you want - but is it getting you what you want. Creating expectations and following up with your staff is the key to a successful training intervention. Know what you want and ask for it.

No facilitator, whether they are employed by you or contracted in, is going to give you a guarantee of success. Crazy isn’t it that you can get warrantees and guarantees on almost anything you buy except for training. You would think that there would be some degree of ownership for the outcomes of the service? So why aren’t you getting any guarantees?

There are so many factors to training being a success:

• Is the training you are providing the right training for what you want to achieve?
• Do you know what you want to achieve?
• Is the learner ready to learn the new skill?
• Is the learner willing to apply the new skills?
• Are you willing to support them as they try the new skills?
• Is your business ready for the new skills?
• Are you passing your management responsibilities onto a training solution?

Firstly, training addresses a group of people all at the same time. It is like taking 500 people to the opera and only 20 of them will fully appreciate and enjoy what they experience. It is true about training what they say about therapy, people can only change when they are ready to change and if they want to change. They say that with opera, the more you understand it the more you can learn to appreciate it. I remember having to study 18th century literature; it was not until I understood what the 18th century was all about that I could get through Moll Flanders with any amount of interest.

Secondly, training addresses the majority of what we think is needed rather than the specifics of each person’s needs. Training will always cover the topics in a subject rather than the needs of the person in the classroom. When you complete the evaluation form at the end you will probably be asked a question about what you found most valuable. This implies that you wouldn’t find everything valuable. How do we get more from training? CTD likes to enable the managers to be able to get more from a training intervention, and it is simple. There are 4 easy steps:

1. Know the intended outcomes of any course that you are sending your staff members to attend;
2. Take 15 minutes before the course with each staff member who is attending to explain what you are expecting from them afterwards;
3. Take 30 minutes after they attend the course to discuss what they learn and what they intend implementing;
4. Support them learning and applying the new skills or knowledge.

On every course that you send you staff to attend with CTD you, as the manager, will get a brief about the intended outcomes and expectations. Each learner will get an ‘Implementation Notepad’, this is where they begin to note down what they are going to change when they get back to work.

Their notes prepare them for the 30 minutes you are going to have when they get back to work. Your discussion with them is vital because that is when you are able to take the generic learning and make it applicable for your business and your targets and outcomes. Keep coming back to this site for more ideas and tools to help you to increase performance and motivation from a simple training workshop.

Even if you have decided to use another provider, or tackle the training need in-house, take this opportunity to build your skills and enhance your interventions.

While all divisions and all companies are cutting budgets, freezing staff placements and looking for ways to spend money wisely, it is perhaps now that we question the value of things more. We're doing this in our homes and when we shop for necessities not only luxuries. While some of us are looking for bargains others are looking for value for money. So when it comes to training, what is value for money?

Do we see value in the NQF accreditation a programme offers? Do we see value in the cost to benefit ratios we're calculating? Where does the value of training lie? “At CTD we hold value in the ability of a person to take real and lasting action once a new skill is learnt”, says Lauren Edmunds, director of Creative Training Dimensions, “it lies not in what we communicate but in what is heard and understood. We often find that hundreds of staff are put through intensive programmes and leave with guns blazing only to find that it is harder than they thought it would be to actually do what has been taught.” It has been said that if both the person listening and the person talking don't see exactly the same picture in their minds then the communication has failed.

At CTD we take the approach to learning that raises the personal responsibility of a learner to a level where he or she is able to truly see what they can and can't do with the skill being taught. Each learner needs to take responsibility for the communication process by asking questions of the facilitator, their manager and of themselves. We ask them to

• take it upon themselves to first understand the skill,
  
• then to understand what it means for them,
  
• then to move on to know what and why processes exist and how it makes sense to them as well as the business and
  
• lastly to get to grips with the fact that they have a choice.

They have a choice, in fact they have many choices, and the power of this concept is the crux of personal responsibility. Just as they have a choice to stay or to leave, they have a choice to actively engage in the skill back in the workplace or not. With each choice comes consequences and when a person can take the level of responsibility required of learning then they can take charge of their ability to perform and reap rewards from that. But we can only make choices when we have all the facts.

Lauren says, “We offer workshops that teach new skills to staff as well as reinforce old skills. At CTD we believe in the person and leave each learner, who is willing to take responsibility for their learning, with a life time skill. A skill that will change how they see everything in their lives and help them to change what they do not like and what is not helping them anymore.” If we had more staff who were prepared to see that only they can make the difference then we'll have a very productive and communicative team. A team that is prepared both to challenge and accept, to learn and to try, to make the choice to make a difference in their own lives first so that they can positively affect others.

If you are going through a tough time of getting your staff to do what they have been trained to do then you might want to consider CTD. You might want to invest a little more in laying the foundation that will make all of your other training successful. “It's not about a motivational talk, while useful in generating spirit and uplifting morale, it is more about getting to the cause and not stopping at symptoms.” says Lauren. “We've recently run a 2 day workshop with a set of middle managers who weren't coaching because they completely misunderstood what they were expected to do and they had made the choice to give up. By giving them tools to take complete ownership of their roles as coaches, we have moved a team from seeing coaching as a paper driven game done on a quarterly basis to a team that now knows what and, more importantly, how they can coach the way it was intended.” Lauren goes on to say, “When new processes and skills are driven down an organisation it is natural to find that the project team rolling it out knows more about it than anyone else, but shouldn't it be the other way around, or at least an equal amount of knowledge shared.

“I know that when I write a workshop I need to make sure that all the relevant knowledge I accumulate in my research is passed onto the learner so that no assumptions are made. When a learner sees the full story they get the picture.”

In summary, make sure your training is not missing any links and jumping to the conclusion without acknowledging that the learner, while they may not have the words for it, is able to see what will work and what won't. It can be assumed that some learner's are not in a place to learn but take that learner and add personal responsibility, in the sense that they fully understand that only they can affect their experiences. Then you have something that works, then you have a team committed to doing what they are supposed to be doing.

 

Trauma in general is often thought of as having to be violent and workplace trauma mostly seen in the same way.

According to Carol Hoffman from the University of California at Berkley, “A workplace is a community, with all of the subsequent issues of identity and culture. It will have its own norms and expectations for how and when things are discussed, what are acceptable and appropriate behaviors, the roles of formal and informal leaders, and feelings of pride and identification with the community. Because of this sense of community, when a traumatic event occurs in the workplace, there needs to be a response by an employer to one of the organization¹s greatest resources - the employees. Such support must be afforded to workers regardless of what is being done for the people in the organization by the outside community. To ignore an event and its impact on employees is a tragic mistake for the continued success of the business and the recovery and mental health of the employees - both being dependent on the other. What an employer would do in any situation will vary and depend upon many variables. A response, however, is critical.”

The causes of workplace trauma are as varied as the people in the workplace and in saying that no one traumatic event will affect everyone in the same way. Trauma can come from:

• Work Environment Related Trauma: armed robberies; assaults; violence; harassment; retrenchment; relocation; increased dismissals; threat to job; increased pressure; change in job; reduced communication; management styles; bullying; death ...
• Work Environment Impacting Trauma: Divorce; debt; domestic violence; death; hijacking; armed robbery; rape; loss ...

According to Dr Peter Jones PhD, of Traumatology Services International in South Africa, trauma can be defined as having occurred if one or more of the following is present:

1. Your usual coping abilities are severely impaired;
2. There is an element of ‘fatalness’; or
3. There is an irrevocable conclusion.

We often box trauma into the ‘violence’ category and negate the possibility that losing our job can have a devastating effect on our ability to cope. We also forget that a series of seemingly harmless events can cause a debilitating reduction our coping mechanisms.

According to David Lee from humannature@work, “Trauma impacts every aspect of a person’s effectiveness in the workplace. Traumatized workers are compromised in their ability to learn, think, manage change, and relate to others. They are more likely to have mental and physical health problems, including depression and substance abuse, two of the costliest health problems in the workplace today.” Hoffman states, “Success of the business or company, both short and long-term, may hinge on management¹s response to a traumatic event. If employees feel neglected, their loyalty and commitment to their employer can be withheld. If an employee develops posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the health care costs borne by the company will be extensive.” She goes on to say, “ Often there will be increased physical health costs secondary to emotional response that will also affect absenteeism. Productivity can suffer. The loss of productivity can be minimized and contained if the employer plans a timely and appropriate response. The loss of loyalty, commitment, productivity, increased absenteeism, retention challenges, and health costs are all sufficient reasons for employers to plan for and address trauma in the workplace, especially given the minimal expense involved in planning.

Our ability to think and function is directly related to the emotional state we are in. Under extreme stress the body goes into a trauma state and normal functions decline. Our ability to reason, to solve problems, to think intelligently, to perform normal tasks and to handle the increased pressure decline. There is no doubt that a workforce under stress is less effective and more combative or passive to external stimuli.

What can be done?

1. Increase the level of awareness of trauma and its impacts. We believe that facts are the most important coping mechanism we have because it is when we deviate from the facts that we make it almost impossible to cope with the situation at hand. Awareness of trauma and its impacts is vital at all levels of the organisation from the CEO down. The more people know about what trauma is, how it affects us and how we can handle it, the better equipped everyone will be to deal with stress and pressure and trauma.
2. Increase communication. One of the causes of stress and trauma in a workforce is the lack of open and regular communication. It is human nature to fill in the blanks and when those blanks are vast and reoccurring, everyone’s imaginations run wild causes unnecessary stress. While the facts may be harder to swallow, it still remains that only truth we have and affords everyone the courtesy of being able to deal with what is real rather than what is perceived. One of the causes of trauma is the lack of control and the more control a person has, the less effected they are by the traumatic event. While some facts are better kept under wraps, at times, it still remains true that fiction is harder to fix in the long term.
3. Empower managers to deal with the trauma in their teams. From being able to handle an employee who is struggling to cope in the workplace to managing a team with care and diligence, all managers need to understand the impact of their actions as well as their inactions. It is important to help managers to learn skills and to intrinsically understand the impact of implementing these skills in a responsible manner. From simple behaviours like not rewarding effort or giving undeserved rewards, managers create a sense of helplessness and disempowerment.
4. Provide support to those who are most affected. By understanding Work Environment Impacting and Relating Trauma you can start to target the employees who are experiencing higher levels of trauma. Retrenchment assistance is a must and should be offered to those employees who are being retrenched, the employees who are retrenchment survivors as well as the HR Professionals and managers who are having to make the final decisions. Survivor trauma as well as being the cause of trauma can be as debilitating as being retrenched. Call centre staff and debt collectors are experiencing enormous amounts of trauma at the moment as they constantly deal with delinquent and stressed clients.
5. Increase your internal capacity to deal with trauma. Relook at your Corporate Wellness division, are they in a position to handle the scope and extent of trauma that your organisation is experiencing? Looking at both capacity and skill will be important over the next few months, should you be empowering a selection of line managers to be able to deal with first line trauma? Trauma facilitation can be handled at a variety of different levels and by empowering more employees to be able to facilitate trauma sessions will lessen the burden on HR teams and increase response times.

Lee summarises, “By recognizing and addressing the many less dramatic stressors, organizations can take action to prevent and treat trauma before the effects become catastrophic. By creating a workplace which does not traumatize its workers; employers can not only reduce the tremendous cost of trauma, they can also help access more of their employee’s latent creative and productive potential.”

For more information about the corporate services we offer please look at our traumatology section.

There are many reasons why your employees are struggling. The lucky staff members are dealing with financial strains, time pressures, fear of retrenchment or dismissal, stricter performance measures as well as a bevy of friends and colleagues who are bombarding them with their problems and worries. The unlucky employees are going through divorces, losing their houses, handling children and parents, dealing with trauma in all its many forms and the list goes on.

We believe there are 4 things that Human Resource Professionals and Learning and Development teams could be focusing on:

•  Managing Trauma ,

•  Personal Coping Skills ,

•  Sales Skills , and

•  Debt Collection .

These four focus areas will turn your business around. Everyone's coping mechanisms will return to normal and they will be able to perform at a higher level. Your employees will feel more positive and motivated. Your sales will shoot up and your bad debt will shoot down. No guarantees though unless the company and the managers are willing to support the staff. So we add one more vital element to the 4 focus areas:

•  Managing by Leading and Supporting

Other areas of focus you might be interested in.

•  Managing Personal Finances – The Basics

•  Handling My Financial Situation – Get your head out of the sand

•  Stress Management Your Way – Being realistic about how you can cope

•  Managing What I Do With My Time – Using 24 hours responsibly

 

Managing Trauma

The simple fact of trauma is that it affects almost every part of your life. Your home trauma comes with you to work and your work trauma goes home with you at night. This probably means that your mind is never totally on what you are doing and that you struggle to motivate yourself to get through the day.

The trauma we experience is not limited to violence and death as we often think. Traumatology Services International defines trauma as one or more of the following being present:

•  Your usual coping abilities are severely impaired;

•  There is an element of ‘fatalness'; or

•  There is an irrevocable conclusion

While the second point is easy to understand, the other 2 are where many people misunderstand trauma. An irrevocable conclusion could be retrenchment or losing your house because once you have lost your job or your house you cannot get it back. This affects people in different ways and to varying extents and could result in a trauma response. The first point above, which deals with your ability to cope is more general and could be as a result of many small trauma's or stressors. Much like carrying one shoe box at first and then slowing having more and more shoe boxes placed on top of each other, the last box becomes the straw-that-brakes-the-camel's-back. If you are feeling a little lost or overwhelmed or if you are not coping with life as well as you were able to in the past, you could be experiencing trauma.

Having said all of this it is important to explain that trauma is not a bad thing, but rather it is a natural response to an abnormal situation. The effects of trauma can also be dramatically reduced, if not eradicated completely, if dealt with properly.

Managers can be equipped to deal with trauma in their teams. To deal with trauma proactively as well has handle trauma reactively. The extent to which managers can educate themselves is vast and can begin at the simple stage of awareness and end with having a Diploma in Traumatology. The benefit of managers having the basic knowledge of trauma is that they are better able to identify employees who need assistance. They are also better able to manage performance as trauma and performance can be inextricably linked.

So if you are in the middle of retrenchments or if you are going through changes, if you are dismissing more staff than usual or even if you have relocated your premises, you might be interested in knowing more about how we can help you to get your staff back on track.

To see more about trauma, go to www.ctd.co.za and view the Traumatology link.

To find out how we assist companies to manage the trauma experienced by their staff, click here .

To see what Corporate Services we offer to enhance your existing wellness programmes, click here .

 

Personal Coping Skills

There are two levels at which people need to be able to cope. The first is removing the fiction within which we all operate in the absence of facts. The second is a proactive education of how to process information and situations so that moving forward and improving self becomes the only option.

Too often we get into a downward cycle of dread and fear and worry and we don't always have the tools to pull ourselves back out. Sometimes we think our jobs are the problem when in fact it is not the case or that our health is holding us back when in fact we just need to take some time out. Simple techniques and knowledge can help us all to see what we are normally unable to see and to change the way we respond to events so that we are more in control of how we feel and respond.

We all have the innate desire to move forward but we can get stuck in the ‘what is'. Personal Coping Skills is a refresher and an energiser that puts you back on track.

See what we have for you by clicking here .

 

Sales Skills and Motivation to Sell

Sales is a state of mind. In this ‘sales state of mind' comes great success. The trick is in knowing what that is and how to get there. Understanding generations and life stages in a way that makes sense in your role will go a long way to helping you to sell more effectively. Creating a character for yourself around your sales role will build your skills beyond the usual sales techniques. By showing up and choosing to be present you can create a personal brand that enhances your companies image and elevated your call to sales ratio.

From ‘wooing' back old clients to finding new leads, from creating your personal brand to creating an experience for the client, sales is a game that we need to step up to, we need to create our character and build our skills.

We also have to be realistic about what drives us and to use that knowledge to improve our techniques as well as how we structure our days, our calls and our approaches. We need to know our own energy levels before we can expect our clients to get excited about what we are selling. We need to know what we can do rather than just settle for what we think we can do, raise the bar and test the ceiling.

In a ‘recession' we feel the external group-think that there are no sales to be made or at best only very few to be divvied up between a whole team of sales staff. Really, what could you be doing now that you won't have time to do when the ‘recession' is over? Write yourself a letter, pretend you are 2 years older and still in the same job and write your present self a letter of congratulations. What should that letter say? How can these words help you now?

To find out how we approach sales training today, have a look at what we have to offer here .

Debt Collection

Debt collection teams are becoming an ever more important part of our businesses this year. In fact we are even starting to rename these departments and when we rename a department it usually means it is starting to transform. Banks are moving from the term ‘collections' to ‘rehabilitation' and they are approaching the client differently, (Yes, out of very sound financial necessity).

It has been said that in a recession, the guy who looks after his clients the best, will come out of the recession smiling. So in your Collection / Rehabilitation Departments what are you doing to look after the client best while still getting your money back from them? I have always felt that a true indication of how a company will treat me in the good times is how they treat me in the bad times.

By placing the debtor's clerks into the shoes of the client, we enable them to understand which approach will work for which client. We enable them to build relationships with the clients so that the good clients stay with us. Now it must be said that a relationship can be built even if you are collecting money. Perhaps, more importantly, the relationship is built when the interaction a company has with a client is consistent. I have had the experience with a close friend when the moment they had paid off their debt they were offered a credit card, needless to say, this friend no longer deals with the company. It reminds me of a pendulum swinging wildly left and right, no middle ground, no room for recovery, just sell and collect again and again.

Our purpose is to create a department of debtor's clerks who add value to your entire business through relationship building at the most crucial turning point in the relationship, while still getting results.

Take a look at the 2 day workshop we run for Debtors Clerks.

Managing by Leading and Supporting

The worst part of what we do as corporate training consultants is hearing on the first day of a workshop that no one has been briefed about the training. So they don't know exactly why they are in the room, what they should be learning and more importantly what they will be expected to do afterwards. Sure, they get a general idea because the facilitator explains the outcomes to them and imparts knowledge, skills and more during the 2 or more days. But where does the manager come in?

It is a very simple formula to ensuring that training is worth the money you are spending:

•  Choose the right course

•  Explain your expectations to your employees before they attend

•  Listen to what they have learnt once they are back from training

•  Ask them what they will be implementing from what they have learnt

•  Support them as they implement it

If you want to know more, send us an e-mail and we will send you our Managers Briefing Guide absolutely free. We want you to have it because we want our workshops, and in fact all workshops, to work and change the way employees perform and produce results for you

Mood music, meditation tapes and breathing exercises not working? Stress is a large part of life and the big question is how to manage it in the work force.

If you are the type of person who naturally takes on responsibility, who is very aware of fairness and who looks for a little acknowledgement every now and again then you are probably finding that the more someone tells you to relax, the more you tense up. We all know why we are stressed but what can we do about it?

Step 1 - Give some reassurance and acknowledgement

If you are a manager and would like to see your staff a little less agitated and confrontational, a little reassurance can go a long way. Start by showing some confidence in them, thank them for showing up and doing their work every day even though it can be tough at times. This will help them to feel appreciated as well as double up as positive reinforcement. Also remember though that they are adults so never be condescending, show genuine appreciation for something you think they deserve to be acknowledged for.

Most people just want to be heard, or at least it is the first step to feeling a bit better. Spend some time asking them how they are doing. This might seem like dangerous ground but it will only become a problem if you take on the responsibility for them. If they are feeling down and stressed and under-acknowledged then all you have to do is say ‘okay’. They will feel a lot better for having been heard by you and you will have some real information to work with.

Step 2 - Restore identity and confidence

Get creative with how you can help your team. One of the biggest causes of absenteeism is overload and stress. Think about why a sports team has a half-time, it’s not really just to change direction. Coaches use this half=time to regroup the team, refocus them. The team gets a chance to refresh and refocus, getting ready for the next half of the game. What can you do with your team to rejuvenate them?

Mid-day meetings might be the perfect thing to counter the ‘graveyard shift’ after lunch. Use the meeting to acknowledge the mornings work and refocus them on what needs to be done in the afternoon. Keep it positive and encouraging, this will restore their identity and confidence. They need to know that they can perform well and that their efforts are recognised.

Step 3 - Get creative.

Perhaps it is said that employees leave at least 20% of who they are back at home when they come to work. In some cases this is a good thing but when the going gets tough we need everyone to be present. Think of ways you can get your team to choose to be present 100% of the time.

Consider a healthy snack you can provide, even water (most people dehydrate without even realising it). Get a friend to come in twice a week to take your team through a yoga class. Get into the habit of praising jobs well done even if it is an e-mail. Create a vision board or a team board that people can communicate on. Start off with positive messages. Google some team games you can try that don’t take a lot of time. Keep it light and refreshing.

If this is not your thing, then think about what your team really needs and find a way to give it to them.

Summary

Recognising stress can be hard but it would not be a stretch to say that if you are stressed then so is your team. Use these simple techniques to start bringing your team back on track or contact us for information about workshops and one-on-one sessions we can run to help you to get out of the stress bubble.

More information

Workshops you can book for your team

Stress, Change and Chaos Trauma – Understanding and Managing

Work Trauma

A simple definition of stress - it is the emotional and physical strain caused by our response to pressure from the outside world. Common stress reactions include tension, irritability, inability to concentrate, and a variety of physical symptoms that include headache and a fast heartbeat.

The definition of trauma is the presence of one or more of the following, 1) severe reduction in the ability to cope, 2) an element of fatalness or loss and 3) an irrevocable conclusion. This definition is provided by Traumatology Services International.

What is the difference between stress and trauma? Often stress reactions can lead to trauma which makes stress a precursor to trauma if not managed. Workforces are starting to move from stress into trauma because of the many changes and uncontrollable events that are occurring. From some serious events such as armed robberies to life altering processes of retrenchment to even a change in job description or adjusted performance expectations.

Managing this level of stress can be hard because most managers are going through it right along with their teams. Have a look at these helpful hints or consider an intervention that could get you all back on track.

Hint 1 – Recognise the stress

My acknowledging the stress that is present in the team you will break down a communication barrier that might have built up between you and your team. Most teams feel that they are the only victims at work and can start to build a ‘them’ vs. ‘us’ barrier before you’ve had time to notice it happening. While there will be a lot you will have to take on the chin because you are the one in the role of manager, you can listen to what they have to say and acknowledge that they have a right to feel that way.

Recognising the stress and alleviating the stress are two different things. Often there is not a lot you can do to reduce the pressure that the business is placing on you and your team. By listening to what your team has to say you will be in a better position to address the real issues rather than the issues you think they are facing.

Small wins can help your team a lot. If you hear a long list of problems you can probably find at least one thing that you have control over as the manager. It could be as simple as spending a few minutes with them every week or recognizing them for what they are managing to accomplish.

Hint 2 – Empower them

A large portion of stress comes from our inability to see that we have some control over what is happening to us. One of the best gifts you can give a team member is the power of personal responsibility.

Work with each member of your team as you move them to discover that they have choices. If they can see that they have a choice and that they can decide which choice will bring them the best consequence then they will start to account for themselves and not rely on you for as much support.

Use a simple technique that gets them thinking, ‘What can you do, what can’t you do, what could you do, what should you do.’ This powerful tool can help everyone to see what choices they have in front of them. The more responsibility they take for their own actions and reactions to life events, the less they will depend on you for support when they are stressed.

Summary

CTD offers a programme that allows everyone to see just how much personal responsibility they have and where they can improve their work lives by acknowledging that they are exactly where they choice to be. By helping people to take responsibility for how they operate at work we take the burden off management and allow each person to manage themselves.

Contact us to find out more.

Generation Yers want to enjoy their lives now. They are not into long term rewards not because they have no ambition but because they want to enjoy who they are and what they do now. They want a challenge and they want meaning so perhaps big business needs to start providing that because more than ever before, this generation wants to bring all of who they are to work and not leave part of them at home when they step out the door.

• Immediate recognition and reward count for much more than end of the year ceremonies and bonuses.
• A new challenge gets them fired up and ignites their capabilities so we need to drive projects and exciting changes.
• We need to harness what they know rather than mould them into what we want.

There is a lot of research that has gone into generational analysis and while there are often varying age group classification it all boils down to what is really happening. Many small companies I have had the pleasure of working with who have been around for more than 10 – 15 years are seeing the need to change their approach but the owners are at a loss on how to make the changes.

It’s easier than you think because immediate recognition only takes a few moments and saves your budget from being blown on expensive parties. Providing goals that give direction rather than rigidity will get millennials working for you.

• Climb on the coaching craze. This is the perfect management tool for millennials because it is immediate and rewarding.
• Harness their energy for teamwork and get initiatives started by setting a challenge.
• Provide inspiring training interventions that help them to grow as people. As soon as you invest in a generation Y’er you are investing on your company’s future.
• Recognise millennials as soon as you see just cause to do so. Don’t wait, remember that they are more interested in tomorrow than they are focused on next year.

In a recent blog post by Carol Phillips on 21 May 2009 she highlights how we misinterpret the behaviours of Generation Yers as being lazy and lacking motivation to climb the corporate ladder. She says,

“From a young age, Millennials were taught group cooperation over individual competition. A colleague related a story to me earlier this week about her 15-year old son’s race to be elected freshman class president. He prepared a speech, posters, a platform. But to her Boomer eyes, the degree of cooperation among the candidates was incomprehensible. Her son actually helped rewrite a competitors’ speech, without considering that he was giving away a potential advantage. (”But Mom, it was lame!”) When Millennials are asked to tackle something new at work, they are less likely to think of it an opportunity to shine individually as they are to wonder who they can involve to insure a better outcome and make it more fun.”

Generation Yers want a job that they love enough to invest their lives in, they want a challenge not necessarily the big promotion, they want to make an impact while doing interesting and meaningful work. More importantly they are not working for 5, 10 or 15 years time, they are working for today and tomorrow. If companies are to harness the power of this generation they need to start looking at what they can give them now.