Looming worker shortage means perpetuation hinges on Generation Y

Given predictions of a worker shortage in Canada by 2015, and keeping in mind that Generation Y employees work an average of only four years for one company before moving on, it is especially important for the insurance industry to find ways to retain Generation Y workers, says Wayne Kehl, president of the management consulting firm Dynamic Leadership Inc.
Generation Y describes employees born between 1980 and 1994. There are approximately 75 million of these workers in the North American workforce, according to statistics supplied by Dynamic Leadership Inc.
“By the year 2036, we will be at a zero population growth in Canada and the United States,” said Kehl, a Chartered Insurance Professional, at the IBABC 62nd Annual Conference and Trade Show. “That means you are soon going to run out of people to fill the available jobs in Canada.
“The reason you need to know this is that those Gen Ys who are working for you now, you need to keep them, you need to attract more of them, you need to train them, you need to get them on your side, you need to be the best that you can be to grow, and you need to be the best you can be for them, because they are not going anywhere, you are.
“So if you want your business to perpetuate itself and live through the coming workplace shortage, get on the train and start working with them.”
Kehl’s presentation included 10 tips for attracting and retaining Generation Y employees.
The first was to establish the loyalty of at least one Generation Y employee, and then use him or her as the go-to person to attract others. “The best person to connect with a Generation Y is a Generation Y,” Kehl says in one of his presentation handouts. “They will understand each other and they will put each other at ease.”
This sense of mutual trust is especially important to Generation Y employees – as is honesty, openness and transparent communication – because many cultural references for Generation Y employees involve media manipulation and authority figures lying to them, Kehl points out.