Up until recently, they’ve never experienced a down economy, and have always been on the demand side of the labor market. But skyrocketing gas prices and the mortgage crisis have rocked more than our national economy; they’ve rocked the optimistic spirits of Generation Why as reported in this recent article in the The New York Daily News.

Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, and Gen X’ers have each fought through turbulent economic cycles and have been forced to learn how to survive on less money and fewer jobs. How Gen Why responds to this economic slump remains to be seen, but they are undoubtedly going to be tested in the coming months, and maybe years.

There silver lining might come in the form of a stronger work ethic in the emerging workforce as teens and young adults will have to fight harder to find–and keep a job. These kinds of struggles are known to reshape a generation’s outlook on jobs, work, and careers.

While some employers have already abandoned the ‘I’ll bend over backwards to keep you happy’ style of management and reverted back to their ‘my way or the highway’ methods, smarter employers will not take advantage of their front liners. Instead, they’ll leverage these slower periods to train and engage young employees and build stronger relationships that will last long after the current economic storm has passed.

I’m on a westbound plane for Seattle, where tomorrow, my baby girl will graduate from Seattle Pacific University, Magnum Cum Laude, no less.  Sounds cliché’, but it seems like just yesterday when I held her as a newborn.  Time moves so fast.  Just one year ago, I walked her down the aisle as a new bride in what was one of the proudest moments of my life, and tomorrow, both she, and her husband of one year, will accept their bachelor’s degrees.

As Whitney’s father, I’ve been blessed by many proud once-in-a-lifetime moments.  She’s been the perfect daughter that every parent dreams of, and if all I had to worry about was her future based upon her drive and abilities, I wouldn’t have a care in the world.  So why is it that I am feeling angst and worry, when I should be feeling unbridled joy?

I am an optimist by nature, and as a ‘motivational speaker’, I am one by vocation, as well.  But with gasoline prices soaring and our national economy moving closer towards a major recession, I am not optimistic about Whitney’s chances of creating a happy work/life balance and the financial lifestyle that is equal to what someone with her impressive credentials would have more easily found thirty, twenty, or even ten years ago.  Although she is graduating with honors at the top of her class, I can’t say that I am optimistic about her finding the kind of entry level position she really wants.  And with our nation at war with a sinister breed of terrorist—and our local headlines frequently filled with woeful tales of gang violence and senseless bloodshed among our youth—I can’t help but fear for her personal safety, regardless of where she decides to call home.

The world today seems so doggone uncertain.

Looking back, I wonder if my father had the same trepidations when I graduated from college back in 1979. The world was chaotic then, too.  Gas prices were climbing each day and many stations posted ‘out of gas’ signs by 10am each day.  Terror was on the rise and innocent Americans were being held hostage at gunpoint in Iran.

The day I graduated from the University of Northern Colorado twenty nine years ago, while still dressed in my cap and gown, I raced 58 miles from the campus stadium to my parent’s house to show off my diploma.  When I pulled up to their house, dad was mowing the lawn and paused briefly to share my excitement.  He patted me on the back, said “Congratulations, son, I’m proud of you. “ He then continued “You look pretty snazzy in that shiny satin gown, but unless you want to get it all grass stained, you better go take it off cause I need you to grab the trimmer and edge the sidewalk for me. “

Come to think of it, my dad wasn’t overly concerned about my future.  He was too busy preparing me for it.

When it comes to attracting fresh young talent for your business, don’t look past your Gen Why employees. After all, they are already sold on your brand (or they should be) and they are connected to others that are just like them.  An employee referral program, by itself, is not enough.  Instead, solicit their opinions and ideas relative to your entire recruiting efforts and encourage them to give you frank and candid feedback on how to improve all phases of your recruiting game.

Then, move to the next level. Take advantage of their desire to be in the spotlight and invite them to create some recruiting videos for you and post them to You Tube.  Go even further by promoting a contest among your Gen Whys employees and kick-in some nice prizes for the person/team that can create the best recruiting video(s).  With the viral effect online videos are producing, this could possibly provide the best return you’ve ever seen from your recruiting dollar.

By creating their own cyber TV station they’ve dubbed “Zappos TV”, here’s one way this innovative online shoe retailer is keeping their application flow strong for their call centers, and keeping the buzz about them strong among Gen Whys.

Click to view - http://www.youtube.com/

In a cool twist on the take your kid to work concept originating in the eighties, the ownership group of the McDonald’s restaurants in the Northeast decided to promote a day where young crew members we’re encouraged to bring their parents to work.
“We are thrilled to launch Take Your Parent to Work Day,” says Paul Hendel, president of the McDonald’s New York Tri-State Area Owners/Operators Association. “It’s going to be an enjoyable day for parents, employees and customers, but most importantly it’s a chance to showcase the teamwork, ability and dedication of our teams at McDonald’s. We think everyone, parents and McDonald’s crew members alike, will learn something new about themselves from this experience.” (QSR Magazine).

I’ve long been an advocate of bringing parents of teen workers into the equation as the third leg of the employment stool (kid-manager-parent).  This is an exceptional idea that was put into action on April 24th, and it will be interesting to see what impact this will have on crew member productivity, performance and retention.

I predict the difference will be noticeable as parents continue to be a very powerful influence in the lives of their gen why teens.

When she switched to a new high school during her ninth grade year, my 14-year-old daughter Whitney, who was an honor student with a history of frequently telling us that she was ‘too sick to go to school’ throughout middle school, was asked to memorize her new school’s attendance policy.  Instead of being punished for missing school, students would get to opt out of one semester final of their choice if they had fewer than two absences and no tardies. Students with perfect attendance and zero tardies would get to opt out of two semester finals.  Students with a 3.5 GPA and perfect attendance could opt out of three finals, and so forth.  Whitney never missed one day of high school for the next four years and graduated with a 4.0.  Although a lot of people credited her parents for Whitney’s academic success, I know the positive motivation is what propelled her to get out of bed on those mornings when she would have otherwise not.  That same ethic has followed her throughout her collegiate career and will distinguish her from other finance majors when she graduates at the top of her class from Seattle Pacific University in June.

Not totally unrelated, this just came across the wire.  In an obvious attempt to control private business activity and affairs, legislation has just been introduced in California that would require employers to provide each employee one hour of sick leave for every thirty hours worked.  Undoubtedly, this will evoke a hardship on small businesses that will be forced to grant up to five days sick leave per year to each employee.  Employees, on the other hand, would be ‘entitled’ to paid time off, whether they were actually sick or not.

Apparently, some bureaucrats believe American businesses need help in finding yet another way to lose their competitive edge in the global marketplace.

Click here to read this news story from the Sacramento Bee.

As the featured interview of Marshall Goldsmith’s regular column on BusinessWeek.com, my comments and perceived generalizations outraged some Gen Y bloggers.  Their scathing posts then generated conflicting opinions from boomers and X’ers, and even objection from their peers.
Fascinating exchange going on.  Don’t sit in the bleachers… jump in!

You do it to be a good corporate citizen. But what comes back to you is more than just a good feeling.
I’m referring to the new innovative programs that smart businesses are integrating into the workplace to enable and encourage employees to volunteer for community service programs and needy non-profits. Not surprisingly, these volunteer programs are most appealing to the two polar ends of the four generations employee base - the seniors and the Generation Y’s; both whom are giving more than lip-service when it comes to making the world a better place.

The unintended result of employee volunteer programs among the notoriously flighty Gen Y’s has been a sharp reduction in costly turnover, as these young cohorts feel compelled to stay longer in jobs where they believe they are impacting more than their company’s bottom line. A recent study by Deloitte & Touche shows 62 percent of respondents between the ages of 18 and 26 want to work for companies that give them a chance to use their skills to help a nonprofit.
Major brands like Accenture, GE, Target, Google, and The Gap are using services like VolunteerMatch.org to connect their employee base to non-profits looking for dedicated foot soldiers. Hip companies like these are giving employees work release time to volunteer, matching contributions, and acknowledging them for their service.

“How do they get the cream filling inside a Twinkie?”

That’s an example of a curveball question designed to see how well your young applicant can think on their feet, and it’s one of 7 Interview Questions You Must Ask, according to Brian Libby as posted to BNET. I like Libby’s questions, but moreover, I like his reasoning for asking this unusual type of question in a job interview.

Gen Whys are the ultimate game players, and they know how to play–and win–the interview game. Many have been primed with the right answers by their doting helicopter parents who are determined to help their adult children secure job offers. But you don’t want rehearsed right answers, — you need honest answers. The only way you have a shot of hiring the best person for the job is to ask each candidate questions they haven’t been pre-programmed to answer.

Check out Libby’s insightful article, and if you want to get a list of More Than 50 Great Interview Questions to Ask a Gen Why, get this Special Report.

A year ago, I asked my readers to send me some of the questions they thought were the best to ask Generation Y applicants prior to extending a job offer. I was overwhelmed with responses, both in quantity and in quality. Obviously, the tremendous costs associated with employee turnover mean that it’s more important than ever before to make good hiring decisions, and the job interview is the first step in this process.
I set out to create a list of the 50 best questions and share these with my clients, but the quality of questions was so good, I couldn’t limit the list to just 50. So I put these interview questions–and the responses employers should look for– in a Special Report called More Than 50 Great Questions to Ask a Gen Why in an Interview, and it’s available in a downloadable PDF format.

This week, I’ll revisit this important topic and post some other great questions for your consideration. Remember, the first step in reducing turnover is to hire the right people and get them placed in the right jobs.

The Super Bowl has morphed into a world-wide spectacle, and except for the players and coaches, everyone else wants the day off from work to watch the game and party with friends.  As a result, restaurants that offer home delivery are generally overwhelmed with orders, presenting staffing nightmares for these kinds of business owners and operators.
How do you get 100% of your current employees — and many of your former employees — to show up and work during this sacred event and provide a high level of customer service?  The good news is that it is possible in even the most challenging of socio-economic areas.  The bad news is, if you’re just now thinking about how to do it, you’re probably three weeks too late to get the results you need for this coming weekend.

Here’s a great story that ran in the NY Times a few weeks ago that shows how one New York area Domino’s franchisee has already geared-up for the impending chaos. The article points out the management and motivation techniques he uses to get his Generation Y employees to go ALL IN during the big game.  And his business is growing in leaps and bounds as a result.
Pay particular attention to the photograph in the article showing how he huddles with his diverse workforce to unify them and prepare them for the huge challenge that lies ahead.  Winning coaches use a team huddle to disseminate information and mentally prepare players for victory; a strategy, incidentally, that works amazingly well for managers, if not overdone.