Gen X vs. Gen Y

Some people that I spoke to last week were surprised about an article in The Globe and Mail that was written by Wallace Immen.

The article revealed that Gen X workers are feeling the “Promotion Pinch” and the summary of the findings were that the youngest workers at companies (Gen Y) seem to be moving up the ladder faster than other groups.

The study was prepared for the banking industry but from the experience of some in the article, the observations were also seen in other industries.

A review of terms:

Gen X are people born between 1961 and 1981

Gen Y are people born between 1982 and 2010

Key Findings from the article:

-Gen Y promotion rates remain steady at 20% when compared to earlier in the decade.

-Gen X promotion rates decreased from 11% to less than 10%.

The surprise here being that historically this age group is starting to enter their peak earning years.

I found this article to be extremely accurate and I have compiled a list of my findings that also support the theme of the article.

My list is based on my experience with both candidates and clients and my observations are primarily related to the consumer goods industry.

- As I mentioned last week, retaining talent is the largest concern for companies at the moment.

One of the aspects that I have witnessed is that Gen X is becoming lost in the shuffle.

With the older employees (Boomers) staying in their roles longer, they are retaining strategic positions longer than in the past and as a result Gen X workers are not able to show their true value as easily as in the past because there is less opportunity for them.

Since Gen X

is not being allowed to deliver top line strategy, or deliver cutting edge new technology to compliment the business like Gen Y, many are becoming overlooked.

Unfortunately companies will find that they will lose Gen X employees to companies who will fully utilize their experience and skill sets.

This loss will not be fully felt until the boomers retire and companies will then realize that they missed a key piece of the succession planning process.

The number of senior managers and directors (Gen X)that contact me regarding wanting to know about upcoming opportunities has increased tremendously over the last couple of years.

-There is also an over evaluation in assessing Gen Y employees at the moment.

It is not unlike what often occurs in professional sports where a team will show more commitment to a young athlete with no professional experience but one who has tremendous potential.

There is certainly a trend of companies hiring based on potential rather than performance.

Two areas that I have witnessed this are in sales and marketing.

Social media is playing an increasing role in business and Gen Y has a very strong grasp in this area and the potential of this area.

Many companies do not fully understand what they need to be doing when it comes to social media and many are giving their ear to younger employees who appear to have a good understanding in how that can assist companies in this area from a corporate perspective.

-The young executive programs that some larger companies have implemented have also played a factor.

The “high flyer” or Gen Y employees are often given the first opportunity for promotions in order to keep them engaged with the company.

In addition to this, the company wants to protect their assets who have been earmarked as future leaders from going to other companies and they also do not want to lose the money that they have already invested into these employees as these programs can be quite expensive from a resource perspective.

-To some extent there is still a cost reduction consideration for companies.

If companies feel that they can add job responsibilities to the role of a younger, cheaper, possibly hungrier employee who has less work/life commitments, the company may exercise this option.

The current market is still at a point where people are happy to have employment and if a certain role requires more gumption rather than actual experience it can make

sense for some companies from a fiscal perspective.

Farewell,

Mike