Gen Y Motivation Needs
dsEngaging Gen X and Gen Y Employees
Three Significant Trends in Recognition
2/
Engaging Gen X and Gen Y Employees: Three Significant Trends in Recognition
The New Rules of Recognition: How To Engage Gen X and Gen Y
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Generations X and Y – the two youngest generations in the workforce – will constitute 57 percent of the workforce by 2011. As these generations become a workforce majority, the way they choose to work and be recognized will shift in significant ways. These generations have seen the median length of job tenure in the United States for all workers age 16 and older fall from 9.2 years in 1983 to 4.1 years in 2008 (the last complete year for which numbers are available). These employees don’t expect to spend their entire career with one company. As a result, the days are long gone when effective, meaningful employee recognition was all about giving a worker a reward for simply staying on the job. Total recognition is the name of the game today. But the rules of total recognition are rapidly changing as the landscape of the workforce and what we know about employees also change. The three most significant trends in recognition programs that create more meaningful employee engagement are: 1. Peer-to-Peer Recognition 2. Results-Based Recognition 3. Social Recognition Dr. Bob Nelson, an authority on employee recognition, points out that 89 percent of today’s employees report that recognition is very or extremely important to them. To attract and retain top talent, an organization needs to be exceptional at recognizing employees in ways they value. However, Nelson says that most recognition dollars
3/
Engaging Gen X and Gen Y Employees: Three Significant Trends in Recognition
are still spent on programs that reinforce presence over performance, such as years-of-service awards. 1 “It’s almost universally accepted now that any effective recognition program needs to be built upon a foundation
Three Significant Trends in Recognition
2/
Engaging Gen X and Gen Y Employees: Three Significant Trends in Recognition
The New Rules of Recognition: How To Engage Gen X and Gen Y
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Generations X and Y – the two youngest generations in the workforce – will constitute 57 percent of the workforce by 2011. As these generations become a workforce majority, the way they choose to work and be recognized will shift in significant ways. These generations have seen the median length of job tenure in the United States for all workers age 16 and older fall from 9.2 years in 1983 to 4.1 years in 2008 (the last complete year for which numbers are available). These employees don’t expect to spend their entire career with one company. As a result, the days are long gone when effective, meaningful employee recognition was all about giving a worker a reward for simply staying on the job. Total recognition is the name of the game today. But the rules of total recognition are rapidly changing as the landscape of the workforce and what we know about employees also change. The three most significant trends in recognition programs that create more meaningful employee engagement are: 1. Peer-to-Peer Recognition 2. Results-Based Recognition 3. Social Recognition Dr. Bob Nelson, an authority on employee recognition, points out that 89 percent of today’s employees report that recognition is very or extremely important to them. To attract and retain top talent, an organization needs to be exceptional at recognizing employees in ways they value. However, Nelson says that most recognition dollars
3/
Engaging Gen X and Gen Y Employees: Three Significant Trends in Recognition
are still spent on programs that reinforce presence over performance, such as years-of-service awards. 1 “It’s almost universally accepted now that any effective recognition program needs to be built upon a foundation