Thursday 24 July 2008

Attracting the Millennial Generation


In the UK, over 250,000 new businesses were set up in the first half of last year, with young people leading the start up craze. In fact the biggest growth in entrepreneurship was in the 24-30 year age group, who are deciding to go it alone rather than tread the traditional career path of their parents.

The new generation of talent known as the Millennials (born after 1980), are eager to make their mark on the workplace. Technologically savvy and globally networked through MySpace and Facebook, they are looking for innovation, creativity and community.

Having grown up with dual income parents who gave years if not decades of their lives to major corporations, only to find themselves unceremoniously shown the door marked exit, Millennials are looking for more than a wage packet to encourage them to sign up and stay.

As one wrote in Fortune 500, Money.com, 'Along with 9/11, the Columbine school shootings, Hurricane Katrina, the increasingly frightening climate change conversation, the layoffs we watched our parents and friends go through were formative for us. No wonder, when it comes to our worldview, we are a wary bunch; we've seen enough immediate and unpredictable upheaval to know that we can't wait too long to live our lives'.

Even with a slowing economy, employers realising the importance of investing for the future are getting more creative about how they attract and retain the next generation of talent.

Opportunity, challenge and responsibility are important deciding factors. Enterprise Rent-a-Car is an international car rental company with a multi-billion pound turnover, that will teach you all you need to run your own section of the business in as little as two years. Google lists on its website 'Top 10 Reasons to work at Google' which includes: No 6. Innovation is our bloodline and No 9. Boldly go where no one has gone before.

Flexibility in hours and locations and some discretion around the use of one's time appeals to the number 1 career goal of a balanced personal and professional life. Google allows employees one day a week to develop new ideas.

Access to senior executives, role models and mentors can encourage retention. At Innocent Drinks graduates of the Innocent Academy are allocated their own personal coach before being given the opportunity to accelerate their careers as future leaders.

The speed of movement and the degree of coaching and support available. Ernst and Young has an extensive Facebook profile and on-line messaging that allows students to dialogue with one another about careers in professional services. Innocent Drinks offers 3 to 6 month international transfers to encourage personal and business growth and has a Craft Development scheme to help build professional depth in areas of expertise.

The challenge for managers will be to develop the necessary skills to manage generation Millennials effectively and respond to their needs for fulfilling jobs, the opportunity to learn from experts and meaningful career development.

Monday 21 July 2008

Posit+ve Energy 2008




In July with my colleague Carole Ann Rice, http://www.realcoachingsolutions.co.uk/, we were delighted to run a workshop at the Posit+ve Energy 2008: The Future of Energy event. Zoƫ Ingle (pictured with Carole Ann), Energy Events Manager, The Petroleum Economist Ltd, brought together over a hundred amazing women in the Energy Industry to hear expert Industry speakers on topics such as the future outlook of the energy industry and how women are continuing to bring about change and play an ever increasing role in energy innovation.

Posit+ve Energy (http://www.positive-energynetwork.com/ ), is the first independent worldwide network dedicated to women and their advancement of their careers in the energy industry. Through a programme of interactive networking events, personal and professional development opportunities and an on line community for female executives across the energy industry Posit+ve Energy aims to increase the effective recruitment and retention of female talent, to the benefit of the energy industry.

Friday 18 July 2008

The Fear Factor: Overcoming Self Imposed Obstacles to Success


We all encounter obstacles in life and business but sometimes we have to face the fact that these can be self imposed. Ever found yourself thinking ‘I can’t have this or do that because of my boss, family, children, dog, bank balance….’ It is only natural to be afraid when approaching an unknown situation but is fear stopping you from having your dream life?

So rather than waiting for the feeling to go away you can take steps to improve your confidence and sense of control:

Identify the pay-offs for your common fears e.g. being comfortable, avoiding rejection, not making decisions.
These are what will be keeping you from taking action. Once acknowledged you can then make the decision about what changes you need to make. If you are afraid of speaking in public your pay-off for not making presentations may be that you don’t risk any possible rejection or feeling uncomfortable in front of groups of people. This may be OK if your job doesn’t require you to talk to others about your business but could be a problem if you need to promote yourself and your work.
Notice and change the language you use from fearful, ‘it will never work out’ to fearless ‘I can handle whatever happens
Create a support or master mind group to provide positive encouragement and a sounding board for solutions and approaches.
Take responsibility for yourself and your actions and increase your sense of worth and power by acknowledging that you can be in control and make your own decisions.
Avoid the blame game. It is very easy to stop yourself from moving forward when you see an external event or person as being the reason not to take action
Build your confidence by stepping out of your comfort zone safely and recognising your achievements.
Set yourself time for ‘positive thinking only’ hours or days. It is amazing how much time we waste on worrying about the worst possible outcomes which may never happen. As
Benjamin Franklin, US author, diplomat, inventor, physicist, politician, & printer (1706 - 1790) said, “Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight”.
Be aware of the different choices you have in any situation
Take action
. Small steps can lead to huge leaps. Start by researching, asking questions, meeting people who have made the changes you want to make.

And finally enjoy the process! Keeping a sense of perspective and humour will help move you forward towards your dream life.