Many of the newest generation of young workers lack basic employment skills such as good communications, a professional work ethic, leadership, self-direction, and critical thinking/problem sounding. Yet Millennials are much more prone than older workers to leave their current employer for another opportunity.
Those are among the findings of a new report issued earlier this month by a leading national human resources industry organization.
These types of shifts in the attitudes of tomorrow’s workforce has prompted 85% of companies to change or modify their work policies and rules in order to accommodate these changes, according to the new report, “Talent Sustainability Report: CHRO View from the Front Lines of the War on Talent“.
The report was based on surveys of leading US companies conducted by the HR Policy Foundation and was presented during the White House Upskill Summit, which was held earlier this month in Washington, D.C.
Making Room for Younger Workers
Companies are starting to make changes to facilitate the changing attitudes and work ethic of the newest generation of American workers. For example, 82% of the company leaders interviewed said they have developed a core recruiting strategy aimed at actively recruiting passive mid-career workers away from other companies.
That’s a testament to the transitory nature of Millennials, who are more comfortable changing employers more frequently and who often have unrealistic expectations about career progression, at least when compared to a traditional perspective, according to the report.
Inter-Generational Information Transfer
Many companies are seeking to use innovative practices to help transfer knowledge from the aging Baby Boomer generation of workers to the much younger Millennials, including creating generation meetings for information exchanges, hosting more company events that include both older and younger workers, using older workers as faculty in leadership development programs, and establishing more mentoring relationships and apprenticeship programs.
Employers participating in the survey reported that Millennials often lack essential job skills such as communications (40%), professionalism/work ethic (33%), leadership (29%), self-direction (22%), and critical thinking/problem solving (20%).
But young workers aren’t the only ones causing headaches for companies, according to the report. Baby Boomers also are presenting some challenges as they approach retirement age.
Problems cited include difficulty effectively managing younger workers, keeping up with technological change, lack of social media skills, and becoming “blockers” to up and coming workers within an organization.
IT Jobs Most Competitive
The survey also found that IT professionals ar the most competitive positions for which companies recruit. and that 69% of human resource professionals reported that innovation and transformation are happening faster than normal.
Plus, 69% of human resource professionals reported that innovation and transformation are happening faster than normal while 28% said the pace is the fastest they have ever seen.
The report is the culmination of a year-long project conducted by the HR Policy Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to education, qualifying and hiring US workers through the development of research, services and resources that better inform students, job seekers, workers, educators and policy makers about the skills needed by large employers in today’s rapidly changing workplaces.