Is Your Supply Management Organization Ready for Gen-Y?

Hopefully, now that you understand that Supply Management is the solution to the woes of the company as well as the country, your organization is ramping up, hiring, and looking for new talent. At approximately 70 Million strong, Gen-Y, also known as the Millennials, will soon become the largest generation in the workforce. As a result, they will soon represent the largest talent pool available to your organization. But is your organization ready?

The Millennials are not like the Baby Boomers, who looked for long term job stability and growth. Whereas your average baby boomer might take a job with the intention of staying with the same company for her entire career, a recent survey conducted by the Australian Experimental Learning Centre found that 64% of Gen-Y employees intend to stay less than two years with their employer. Current estimates are that most members of Gen-Y will have 20 to 25 jobs in their lifetime.

This poses three major challenges for your organization:

  • Recruitment
    Gen-Ys are always looking for the next great opportunity. Why is your opportunity the next great opportunity?
  • Training
    Given the average lifespan of a Millennial in your organization, you will need to get Millennials up to speed quickly and efficiently in order to maximize the value you get from them before they move on.
  • Knowledge Capture
    You will need a great Knowledge Management Program that captures, indexes, and makes available all the knowledge they bring to, and create for, the organization. Otherwise, each new Millennial will have to start the cycle anew.

Is your organization ready?