Dear Aunty B,
The skills shortage is killing me. We have a young business that hires a lot of Gen-Ys and managing them is exhausting! As soon as we train them up, they leave. Most of them are unreliable, emotionally demanding and really assertive.
I just had one the other day telling me they are not going to do a job that I myself don’t do. And we have to pay them a small fortune (comparatively). I have been through three general managers in the last year.
But I am a bit nervous hiring older people as they might be stuck in their ways.
Grant T,
North Ryde
Grant, every time I open my mouth to comment on that wrecked Generation-Y, some of our readers bite my head off.
But here goes.
The answer is simple. Don’t hire them. Why not take a fresh look at the baby boomers? My guess is you would have to hire fewer of them, they would stay longer and be a lot more accommodating. Yes they are more expensive. But not that much.
Many are changing the way they want to work. They might be prepared to take a smaller salary in exchange for, say, more flexible hours, which a smaller company like yours could offer.
And what about those poor Gen-Xers, sandwiched between the two demanding generations? They tend to have all the traits you want: obedient, risk adverse, staying in one place…
Your other options are to re-cast your workforce. Can technology take over some of the roles of the Gen-Ys? Can you restructure the business to do without some of them?
Can you bring in a consultant to help train a GM that can handle them better?
Grant, take heart because you are not alone, but do share with us your solutions!
Cheers, Your Aunty B
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