Tapping into the youth's value

Government proposals to subsidise the costs of hiring young workers could encourage firms to take on inexperienced staff.  Here are some tips to getting it right.

During his State of the Nation speech earlier this year, President Jacob Zuma said proposals would be tabled to subsidise the cost of hiring younger workers to encourage firms to take on inexperienced staff.  Finance minister Pravin Gordhan re-iterated this in his Budget speech, saying a cash reimbursement to employers for a two year period, operating through the South African Revenue Service payroll tax platform, and subject to minimum labour standards, was under consideration.  Gordhan estimates that about 800 000 young people will qualify and the aim would be to increase employment of young school leavers by a further 500 000 by 2013.

Here’s how to make the most of taking on young, inexperienced workers with potential:

Payback time
Understand that young employees may not have much to boost your bottom line in the beginning, but over time, they will add value to your organisation.  “When someone starts out in a position, they’re simply learning the ropes and the value they contribute and money they earn is lower,” says professional coach, Denise Bjorkman.  “As time goes on, they get to better understand their job and what’s required of them better and start to add value.” Having a slightly longer term view to your investment in that person will reap rewards later on.

Understand the generation gap
Old and young generations approach their work and life completely differently.  The generation gap between business leaders and their young employees can lead to miscommunication.  For example, when young people talk about wanting faster promotions or higher salaries, what they really mean is that they’re looking for opportunity and personal growth.  A title change and increase won’t mean much to a young person who isn’t that interested in climbing the corporate ladder anyway, so think about innovative ways to reward your younger employees.

Be flexible
Younger workers find flexibility more important in a job than money.  While you may not be able to offer flexible working hours, ensure that young employees don’t feel too constrained in their work.  Regular mentoring sessions are one way to discover what their goals are and chart a way to help them achieve these.  

Offer interesting work
It may be tempting to offer an inexperienced youngster bottom-rung work, such as operating the copy machine or getting coffee, but this shouldn’t be their whole job.  A young, inexperienced worker can help out with simple tasks you may need done, but be sure to mix this in with other work too. That way, young employees start to understand all aspects of the business, while developing skills and useful experience. Since jobs are no longer certain over the long term, don’t make promises of more interesting work later on, as you may find young people quitting before they get a chance to add value to your organisation.

Provide training opportunities
Learning how to communicate with the different generations in your organisation is the key to unlocking potential across generations.  It is important to understand that different generations communicate differently.  Younger employees may prefer to use email, social networking sites and picture phones to stay connected 24/7, while older employees prefer good old fashioned letters or phone conversations.  Using different communications methods to talk to your younger employees is a step towards managing an inter-generational workforce effectively.