Employee Engagement, HR Consulting, Business, Gen Y , India, Mumbai, leadership, coaching, management , talent, hr, human resources,

1. Engaging the Gen-Y employee
The article is drawn from the results of primary research conducted with 98 participants from different fields and
industries. The views expressed belong to the participants and HR leaders from the industry.
© WhiteLight Consulting Pvt. Ltd. 2013
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2. Introduction
The global business environment, over the past 5 years has
undergone
tremendous
change.
Organisations
have
redefined their strategies and approach in the way they
operate. To the external stakeholders and bystanders, this
has been the result of the visible economic turbulence. While
it does hold true, there has been another major change, a
“Different Folks
very gradual one and hence unnoticed. This internal change
Different Strokes”
generations.
is the transition of the reins of organisation between
The age of baby boomers has now passed. Gen-X employees
have risen to the peak of careers and are now at the helm of
organisations. This means that the rest of the show – from
middle to junior level of organisational hierarchy – is almost
completely driven by Gen-Y.
But naturally, this new
generation has come in with a new mindset and a new
outlook towards matters. They have a different set of
expectations from the organisation than Gen-X. At the top,
the leaders have a fresh set of expectations from employees
to tackle the turbulent times. While some expectations on
both sides are met, the ones that do not meet create a gap,
leading to one glaring question on both sides: “Are they
doing enough?”
© WhiteLight Consulting Pvt. Ltd. 2013
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3. The Gen-Y Mindset:
During the research, the term that popped out for Gen-Y was
“Fast Track”. They set a high personal goal, and wish to reach
Top -5 priorities of Gen-Y:
there in the shortest time possible. Gen-Y employees are
own terms.
 Alignment of
organisational goals with
personal goals
They expect to be in a management position within three
 Compensation
highly ambitious with a desire to grow quickly and on their
years of starting work. They want to be in an organisation
that can cater to their aspirations, be it purpose, pay or
 Work-Life Balance
position. The highest level of engagement is seen when the
 Career advancement
personal goals coincide with the professional goals. Such

Challenging roles
employees are all praise for their work and organisation, with
the motivation to carry on more than 2 years.
They want to be paid proportionally to the level and amount
of work. Also, the work should relate to what they have learnt
in the past – from their institutes and experiences. Graduates
Work v/s Pay
feel more comfortable when they get a feeling of being able to
apply their knowledge. But when asked to pick one, money
wins over work. 57% rated compensation at higher priority
than challenging work.
43%
57%
Gen-Y graduates value a higher level of freedom and
autonomy, in the way they approach and carry out their work.
While there is an expectation of hand holding to some extent,
they like taking pride in accomplishments achieved on their
own. There however, is a constant comparison between
Compensation
Challenging work
training needed and training given. 43% of respondents said
that they felt a lack in initial and ongoing training.
© WhiteLight Consulting Pvt. Ltd. 2013
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4. Work life balance holds a dear corner in the minds of
graduates.
Long hours are not appreciated unless they
serve the purpose of greater pay or greater growth. Most
graduates hope to put in long hours to reach a certain
position within a year or two before shifting to another
organisation for a less taxing job.
The message to be taken is that the time of loyal employees,
striving for the organisation has now come to pass. Gen-Y
engagement levels today stands a point there is satisfaction
to contribute just enough till a better opportunity comes by.
What Organisations Expect:
From the organisational perspective, the demand from the
“They are not kids
anymore. In order to
earn, in order to be
valued, they should
be first ready to
deliver”
Gen-Y employees is quite simple, “Do what you do best to
improve
either
the
bottom-line
or
the
top-line”.
Organisations have come to expect a large amount of zeal
and zest from the younger employees, especially those
falling within the age group of 24 to 27 years. The
expectations however, vary depending on the role of the
employee. While a fresh graduate joining the organisation
at an entry level position – e.g. a software engineer – is
expected to do tasks on time and be compliant of the
policies, an employee joining at the junior management level
is expected to shoulder a lot more responsibilities and
contribute in terms of improving processes in addition to
compliance.
© WhiteLight Consulting Pvt. Ltd. 2013
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5. Organisations expect loyalty and commitment to the bigger
cause. They want the organisational goals to precede
personal
goals.
When
it
comes
to
remuneration,
organisations expect a proportional return on the amount
they have spent on an employee. They expect to derive apt
value on the salary given to an employee along with the
training costs and branding costs incurred.
For career progression, all organisations want the employees
to prove their mettle before they can step into leadership
roles. Barring entry level positions, the policy of periodic
promotion has almost ceased to exist.
“They have to prove
themselves in order
to Progress”
Organisations accept that a certain amount of attrition is
bound to happen and is healthy to an extent. But that being
said, they wish their Hi-Pots and High performers stay with
the organisation for at least four to six years in order to
deliver the desired value and results.
From a learning and development standpoint, organisations
expect the Gen-Y employees to be comfortable dealing with
ambiguity and pick up lessons on their own. They should
have the initiative and be alert enough to learn at each point.
Gen-Y should be able to internalise and apply learning as
soon as possible without it being pointed out. Knowledge
sharing by spoon feeding is something which organisations
wish to avoid.
The question that comes to the fore is that in the current
business environment, can organisations promise a fixed,
periodic path of growth? If the answer from an organisation
is no, then it’s up to the employees to create their own path.
© WhiteLight Consulting Pvt. Ltd. 2013
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6. The Gaps:
Points of Dissatisfaction:
 Lack of Role Clarity
 No alignment of
roles with skill sets
 Lack of growth
opportunities
 Low Compensation
 Organisational
Culture
Role Satisfaction
Gaps arise because of the lack of clarity and understanding
of expectations from both sides. The biggest gaps arise
between the priorities and perspectives of the organisations
and the employees. Gen-Y employees are more self-centred
and tend to focus on personal goals as compared to the
organisational goals. Organisations wish the employees to
have a long term perspective of around five years whereas
employees do not think beyond two years at a stretch.
The shorter tenure of Gen-Y employees in organisations can
be linked to their dissatisfaction across certain areas like:
career progression, coupled with unmet expectations on
compensation and benefits and to certain extent, being
14%
bound in their approach towards their work. While 85% of
the respondents are happy with their current role, only 29%
are definitely sure that they would carry on for more than 2
86%
years with their current organisation.
This staggering statistic poses a dilemma to organisations as
to what they can do or improve to engage and retain these
Yes
No
employees for a longer term. While they do their best,
practices do not seem to have the desired effect in terms of
Motivation to carry
on for > than 2 years
motivation and retention.
29%
71%
© WhiteLight Consulting Pvt. Ltd. 2013
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7. Bridging the Gap:
By bridging the gap between the expectations, organisations
can pave the way for higher engagement and retention. Given
the widespread nature of the issues, bridging the gap
effectively can prove to be effective in creating a competitive
advantage.
The task however, is easier said than done. The gaps in this
case are in expectations, which are different for all employees.
While a “one size fit all” strategy is definitely out of the
question, it is impossible for organisations to cater to every
“Rethink,
Redraw,
single employee. Organisations will therefore have to rethink
their practices in order to set up a halfway mark where both
Retain””
the sides can put forth their views. Be it through internal
communication, new processes or any other top-driven
initiatives, organisations have will have to create a feeling of
acknowledgement and hope in the Gen-Y minds. For only then
will they be in a position to understand the organisations’
expectations and act upon them. For addressing lack of clarity,
career progression maps need to be designed such that they
give light to each role and highlight them as beacons an
employee can look to in times of ambiguity.
In conclusion, it falls upon the shoulders of the organisation,
especially the human resource leaders to create a system for
balancing expectations, for in the end, it is more feasible to
retain than to recruit.
© WhiteLight Consulting Pvt. Ltd. 2013
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8. About WhiteLight Consulting
At WhiteLight Consulting, we differentiate ourselves through
our vast experience in the design and delivery of programs
that bring a strong return on investment – and we have the
results to prove it! We bring a blend of creativity to traditional
methodologies to drive effectiveness in our programs.
Executive Coaching | Leadership | HR Consulting |
Theatre | Business Storytelling | Employer
Branding
We Consult to Inspire!
We Inspire to drive Results!
Contact us at:
WhiteLight Consulting Pvt. Ltd.
Regus, Level 1, Trade Centre, Bandra Kurla Complex
Bandra (East), Mumbai 400051.
Phone: +91 22 61623250 Cell: +919820077876
Email : sandeep.kaul@everythingtraining.in
Website: www.whitelightconsulting.co.in
© WhiteLight Consulting Pvt. Ltd. 2013
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