New Generation recap

So who are the “New Generation”?

Generations X and Y are commonly known as the New Generation and their importance has been recently highlighted by the ageing population trend. As Baby Boomers begin to leave the employment market, the New Generation will be moving into key sales positions. In order to manage your next New Generation sales star, you need to understand their motivations for joining and remaining with your company.

The New Generation is the most numerous out of all demographic groups. In fact Generation X and Y make up 51% of the total population. If you have sales staff in your team right now that are between the ages of 18 – 40, you are managing the New Generation.

Why is management of the New Generation such an important topic?

There are 4 key factors at work:

• Ageing Population – As the population begins to age, so does the workforce. The management rules that worked yesterday are not likely to work in the future.
• Transitioning generation (Success Planning) – As Baby Boomers begin to leave the workplace, Generation X will move into more senior leadership roles with Generation Y providing much of the fresh talent for the employment market.
• Increasing options (Increasing Competition) – The New Generation is faced with a myriad of options including work and study patterns, more career options and a global labour market. All these factors combine to drastically increase the mobility of this group, making them more likely to take opportunities as they see them.
• Redefined work life (Declining Tenure) – Gone are the days of the life long employment and the golden watch, in fact the average tenure today is 2-3 years. This figure, combined with the increased cost of recruitment of sales people makes managing the New Generation a vital topic for any sales manager.

How do you manage the New Generation?

Leadership style

The New Generation is looking for those leaders which understand their needs in terms of career development and support. The emphasis has shifted from authority to authenticity of managers, and from command and control to respect. The New Generation responds best to organisations with flat management structures, work-life balance, flexibility and those managers who have both technical and people skills. Life long education has been embraced by the “New Generation” and so training opportunities are highly valued.

New Leadership
What works best today?

The question is – are you managing for the 20th Century or for Today?

What is going to attract and retain the New Generation?

Work/Life balance – Flexibility is highly valued, as the New Generation works to live rather than lives to work.

Work Place culture – The sense of community is very important to the New Generation. They look to the workplace as not only a place where they work but also as a place where they socially interact.

Management style – The New Generation responds to a those managers who can relate to them. They value the EQ (emotional intelligence) over the IQ (technical competencies).

Job Content – A broader job description is highly desired by the New Generation. They dislike jobs which are repetitive, and narrow in their job content.

Training – Keeping job related skills sharp is a key issue for the New Generation. With the frequent churn through jobs and careers, this generation needs to keep their skills relevant to remain employable in the years ahead.

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Mark McCrindle, Social Researcher, MA, BSc. (Psychology), QPMR

Mark is one of Australia’s foremost social researchers. He extensively researches the changing generations and accurately tracks emerging trends. By taking the social pulse of the nation, he is able to analyse the constant changes and communicate the implications these will have on our lives.

For more information about the “New Generation” please contact Mark on:

Mobile: 0411 5000 90
P: +61 2 9980 1777
E: mark@markmccrindle.com