Gen Yers love to keep score. They’ve been keeping score their whole lives. They keep score in their personal relationships, in the workplace, and even with the companies that advertise to them.
It all started with video games. Do you think games like Pacman and Frogger are really THAT fun? If there were no scores, nobody would have ever kept playing them. As much as I liked navigating a strange, yellow, half-circle safely around a maze while being chased by glowing hairballs, I wouldn’t have ever played more than two or three times without a score attached. This principle even applies to more modern games such as World of Warcraft. Without the ability to keep score, the game would have died out a long time ago.
Alright, how do I keep score with Gen Yers?
What does this have to do with work or school? If you want to motivate a Gen Y’er, try helping them keep score.
Bruce Tulgan, a prominent voice in Gen Y workplace communication, wrote the following:
Think about a video game that a Gen Yer might practice and practice, beating one high score after another, set by himself. He wins every time, and nobody has a reason to feel bad. That’s the kind of competition Gen Yers are looking for: they want to compete against themselves in a safe environment where they can try over and over again to improve on their own performance benchmarks.
Does this mean that you have to employ a point system to motivate the Gen Y workforce? Not necessarily. Many companies have had success with having management play a closer role in the development of their Gen Y employees. This means sitting down with them frequently (more than once a week) and speaking openly about their performance. This still gives them the opportunity to improve and meet higher benchmarks with each week. The worst feeling for a Gen Yer to have is that they don’t matter, or that they are just another cog in the corporate machine.
What kind of reward am I supposed to give these kids?
What are the rewards for good performance? Managers have access to more resources than they realize. Consider the following points by Bruce Tulgan:
- What extra funds are available that might be used for special short-term bonuses?
- What can you do to improve the short-term work conditions for your staff?
- How much latitude do you have to make special short-term accommodations in employees’ schedules or paid time off?
- How much control do you have over extra training opportunities?
- Can you offer exposure to decision makers?
- Can you write a commendation to add to an employee’s file
Conclusion
I know, Gen Y workers seem soft. It seems like you have to baby them and give them special treatment to get them motivated. Will this last forever? I don’t think so. Being the most over-parented generation in history, moving into the workplace is a big adjustment. Give it some time. Show us that you care enough to take a few extra steps in the beginning and there’s a much higher chance that we’ll stick around at your company.
