The Net Generation grew up digital. Along with the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Rio Environmental Summit of 1992 and 9/11, they rank the iPod among their defining moments. To help you understand their impact, the White House and Department of Defense have completed a comprehensive study of their demographics, norms and why government needs them.
The report, entitled Net Generation: Preparing for Change in the Federal Information Technology Workforce says that Federal IT leaders will need to borrow tactics from the private sector to recruit talented young employees for the government's growing IT workforce. It also focuses on how to manage institutional changes brought about by rapidly changing technologies, (eventually) retiring Baby Boomers and the rising influence of the "Net Generation.”
Media expert Don Tapscott originally coined the term “Net Generation” in his 1997 book Growing Up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation. He has updated his findings in Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation Is Changing Your World (McGraw-Hill, 2008). This latter book contains results from a large amount of quantitative and qualitative research that Tapscott’s team collected from multiple generations in North America. When studied in conjunction with the Federal research, one can get a detailed look at what TMP Government calls “digital natives.”
While the Federal report, which can be downloaded at http://www.cio.gov/pages.cfm/page/Recruiting-the-Net-Generation, limits its workforce planning data to information technology requirements, its overall findings have implications throughout government.
The study is not just another rehash of truisms about so-called Generation Y. Although Net Geners overlap with this category by virtue of being born between 1978 and 1994, the report is not concerned with “tenth place trophies.” It takes on the more difficult task of the internal and external resistances toward assimilating America’s future leaders in a multiple- generation workplace, where Baby Boomers still dominate.
Engaging the Net Generation
Don Tapscott has suggested that our entire approach to recruitment should be revamped in the light of Net Geners. They simply do not respond to the tired, one-way, top-down communications approaches of the past. A few clicks on their laptop or mobile phone give them the low-down about most any employer they’re considering. As TMP’s new approach to employer branding puts it, they can easily get their answer to the question “How’s work?” from the proven, most credible source: your own employees.
In this situation, complete transparency provides the only reliable conduit to get them on your side.
Tapscott even revamps what he calls the outdated standard employee development paradigm: Recruit. Train. Supervise. Retain. He encourages a new model that better reflects the reciprocal nature of the new employer-employee paradigm as well as Net Generation forms: Initiate. Engage. Collaborate. Evolve.
The Federal study’s results confirm Tapscott’s approach. In fact, in spite of the current economic picture, which has led to a surge in Federal hiring, the report adds that many technical positions are going unfilled.
Getting Your Workplace Ready
Along those lines, the report outlines key recommendations for capturing and engaging Net Gen talent. It also promotes ways of creating a Net-Gen-friendly work environment.
TMP is actively involved in implementing these ideas with many of our clients. The report recommends the following:
- Vision and culture: Net Geners want to know how they personally can contribute to the mission or vision of an organization. They want accessible information (via what TMP calls a “career website”) about the "corporate culture."
- Job fit: Net Geners want to know what the job entails, what "a day in the life" will be like and which specific skills, functions and responsibilities are part of the role. That is why TMP’s branding stresses in-depth focus groups to understand employee workplace realities. In the tactical arena, we believe that Realistic Job Previews (RJPs), videos of employees at work, can be especially effective.
- On-boarding: Net Geners want fast and easy access to the cultural norms, tools and networks they need for success. The old Federal excuse that computing resources are not available on day one of the job will no longer suffice. Tapscott acknowledges that even Fortune 500 companies can disappoint Net Geners by giving them equipment inferior to what they used in high school. We are not talking here about unreasonable, selfish demands. In today’s world, certain informational standards have become norms, and qualified professionals cannot be expected to succeed without them.
- Professional development: Net Geners seek opportunities for growth through job experiences, coaching and mentoring and formal learning. That is why TMP’s employer value proposition emphasizes psychological growth on par with material advancement. Ideally this growth leads to what psychologist Abraham Maslow called “self-actualization,” popularized by the U. S. Army in the Army’s famed slogan: “Be all that you can be.”
- Performance management and recognition: Net Geners want tangible feedback on what is expected of them, how they are performing, how their performance is linked to their pay and how they will be rewarded for success. We realize that most Federal agencies face an uphill battle in blending civil service with performance-based considerations. However, the study adds urgency to change. It points out a survey that found that 39% of Net Geners expected daily or weekly feedback, as compared to 25% of Baby Boomers.
- Web 2.0 technologies: The Net Generation wants to leverage social networking and related tools on the job, and expects 24/7 connectivity. Here again TMP knows that security issues can make Web 2.0 difficult. When possible, we like to work with our clients to find solutions that can satisfy the employee as well as meeting the demands of cybersecurity.
Joyce France, Director of CIO Management Services at DoD and a major force in spearheading the study, concludes "We need to look at the Googles and Microsofts of the world and see how we can apply their workforce strategies for success. The Net Generation is the Federal government's future. We need to be competitive. We want to pull in the best and the brightest."
TMP adds that we can also share pertinent best practices of Net Gen successes within government. We look forward to discussing how you can make your communications more Net Gen friendly.
For more information, please contact John Bersentes at john.bersentes@tmpgovernment.com or call 703-269-0092.
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