In my last column, I spoke about the flashing neon “MMFI” sign (Make Me Feel Important). I decided to have a few Gen Yers and their baby boomer bosses chime in on this.
First, let me share a couple of highlights from a recent chat between Stephen Colbert (of The Colbert Report) and Ron Howard. Ron was sharing some things with Colbert about his experiences as a 7-year old actor on the Andy Griffith Show. He recalled a scene in which he was to walk into Andy’s office and recite a particular line in the script. He walked in and stopped. Andy asked him, “What’s the matter?” Ron replied, “Well, I don’t think a 7-year-old would say it this way.” “Well, how would he say it?” Ron shared. Andy responded, “Well, then say it that way.” After a few moments of silence, Andy asked Ron, “Well, why aren’t you saying it?” Ron replied, “I don’t think you’ve ever listened to one of my ideas before.”
It mattered to him … at age 7.
Now, back to our Gen Yer’s and their baby boomer bosses:
Rosalind Elliott, who has been an account executive for just over two years with Brookfield-based LePoidevin Marketing Group, shared that both her boss and the owner, Dean LePoidevin, seek out her opinion, among other things.
“They foster a mutual respect between us,” she said. “They send me out to develop my professional skills, and they touch base with me to make sure things are right. This is my first professional job out of college, and I’m very happy here. I know they care.”
Dean had shared with me in an earlier conversation, “I want Rosalind to stay here. She’s very talented, and I know she’ll do whatever it takes to get the job done. I’m willing to do what it will take to keep her.”
Jaimie Kotlarek, an employee at Aerotek in Madison (and one of my three Gen Y offspring), shared in a grateful manner recently, “Oh! Tony (her boss) bought me a very nice watch, and my partner a suit, as a reward for the bonus he just got. He told us he couldn’t have done it without us.”
It’s interesting. When we baby boomers were young professionals starting out, thank you’s were shared more commonly in the way of, “Hey, let’s all go out for dinner to celebrate.” I asked Jaimie if she and her co-workers like getting these things. She replied, enthusiastically, “Yes! We’re trying to build our wardrobes. It’s perfect. And, we feel appreciated.” She went on to say, “We also get bonuses, but this is an additional incentive that feels particularly personal.”
Bob Bukowski, founder and CEO of Milwaukee-based Alpha Investment Consulting Group LLC, shared the following about his Gen Y workforce, “I have plenty of Gen Yers! I give them a high degree of freedom with flexible hours and vacations. I also give them lots of opportunity to discover what they’re good at and no formal reviews. We do our work reviews by project. They are all given a lot of responsibility, paired with high expectations. And we top it all off with relatively regular after-work gatherings. They like this, and keeping them happy is important!”
In his book, “Not Everyone Gets a Trophy,” author Bruce Tulgan shares the following quote from one of his Gen Y interviewees: “I was so psyched on my first day. I came crashing through the door like, ‘I’m here!’ They were like, ‘Oh right, we forgot you were coming today.'” Be careful about this. You already know it … you have one chance to make a favorable first impression.
Max Wollering, manager of employee relations and benefits for Cudahy-based Ladish Co. Inc., has much to say about making the young, onboarding professionals feel valued, starting with the first day they arrive at work. “We’re very intentional about fostering top down communication from our seasoned leaders to our new employees,” he said. “We want every employee to feel a sense of belonging to this company, as a family member. We strive to provide a working environment with jobs that are challenging, with employees who want to learn and who care about one another.”
At Ladish this is working. Andy Schwarz, who has been part of the supply chain management group for six years (his first job out of college) said, “Both my boss and the company provide me with the opportunity to make decisions. My decisions are trusted, and I’m thankful to be able to have an influence on how the company does.”
Kyle Ricchio, a sales engineer who has been with Ladish for six years, expressed gratitude for both the culture of the company and the management style of his boss. “I’m able to have a sense of ownership, to run on my own,” he said. “A sequence of job promotions have fostered a sense of pride for me. I just told my boss recently, ‘I want to make my career here.'”
Keep this last declaration in mind.If Gen Yers feel important, they just may stay.
