COMMENTS
Great pragmatic research that supports (or negates) existing perceptions! I’d also add that in today’s business climate mentoring/coaching is something that all parties in all functions can benefit from and that execs in any function – Sales, Marketing, Engineering, etc – should make it part of their responsibility to cultivate the next generation of leaders.
Trish,
I have found that Gen Y individuals who have high aspirations and expectations. We as a society have created the situation to allow Gen Y to become overconfident. But with the right leadership and team construct, Gen Y can be extremely successful. Even more so then Gen X.
I've written a blog about managing millenials that I think offers some great tips. If you are interested here is the link: http://blog.openviewpartners.com/6-tips-for-managing-millennials/
Thanks for getting this discussion going Trish!
Brian
@Jennifer You nailed it. It is the "responsibility" of executives to cultivate the next generation of leaders. Something that seems to have slipped down the "to do" list.
@Brian. Thanks for the link. Our research is very much in alignment with your advice!
It hard to generalize. The data is interesting however. Everyone craved attention when they were 18-25, back then everyone was too busy doing busy work to give it to us :-) I am going to ask my Gen Y reps what they think of this survey and get back to you.
@Dan. Just to be clear. This report was not based on generalizations but rather was a survey taken by 983 Inside Sales reps. The data is the data...
I agree that everyone craves attention when they are young but do they crave "professional" attention? I think that is what makes this generation so interesting. They are ready, willing and waiting for us to pay attention to them and .. are we still too busy? If so, shame on us!
Finally, rather than ask your reps what they think why not have them take the survey? That way you can get your own culture driven feedback and they could provide it anonymously. Would be happy to help you with that so let us know!
This is very interesting! Gen Y sales people mostly depend on the automated tools available right now, that does the analysis and provide information for them. But nothing can replace the guidance of a human who has been doing the job for a longer time than them, who can actually talk about the lessons learned from the past generation. http://bit.ly/ayeen8
Yes, the data is the data. And answers always beg the next question. Several of the answers show a progressive difference between the generations. That is what begs the question of whether the generational differences are because of age vs culture. Tough to get at that one. Can be done by comparing survey results from the same instrument applied generations apart in similar protocols.
One answer you do give is what that generation wants today... according to the data.
In my opinion, humans remain humans and are driven by human dynamics. The Woodstock generation showed how relational they wanted to be. I think we make too much of the generational difference and too little of the needs of people at a certain age and age-driven perspective.
The value of your research is to show us the data and perhaps remind us of "what it was like to be a teenager."
Thanks for the survey & results.
@David - That is certainly the question. It would be *very* interesting to do longitudinal research (maybe 5 years on from now) to see how Gen Y's wants/motivators change over time.
It may be, as you suggest, motivating reps in their 20s v. those in their 30s v. 40s & beyond.
Thanks for sharing your feedback.
It would be interesting to see some of the soft aspects around compensation which seem to be more apparent in Y Gen i.e. job satisfaction is worth more than $ sales commission. Did you guys also research this?
@Khuram Interesting question! We didn't get to the $-tradeoff level with this study.
We are discussing internally how to conduct any follow-up research. I appreciate your idea.
I know, for example, that GenY value "cool/innovative culture" more highly than X & Boomers. BUT I don't have any idea how/if they would accept a 10% reduction in OTE in trade for a cool vs. stagnant culture.