Use the following tips as training tools.

Present this situation to your group and brainstorm solutions together, or submit your own situation question to be answered in an upcoming newsletter.

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SITUATION QUESTION:
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How do we get the new twenty-somethings who demand a lot of attention and nurturing to integrate into our business and stay on board? We seem to have a revolving door with our young employees and it is costing my department and the company productivity and money to interview and train them over and over.

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SOLUTIONS:
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Since every company has front line service positions that are usually filled by entry level, twenty-somethings or retired people reentering the workforce, I am constantly researching solutions to turnover and productivity. Here is an excellent article from the Herman Trend Alert newsletter that answers our Situation Question today.

Buddy System Helps Bridge Generation Gap by Joyce Gioia-Herman

We have long suggested to clients and audiences alike that pairing older and younger employees really works, because of the respect the two generations have for each other.

Finally, there is proof that this "buddy system" works to increase productivity and employee retention. Randstad, the Dutch-based staffing company has apparently been "pairing" people, since its inception forty years ago. With a motto of "No one should be alone", the company founder Frits Goldschmeding built his company on the premise that job sharing would optimize productivity. He wanted his sales agents to share one job and trade off responsibilities.

That original concept has now been refined to bridge the generation gap and help young people acclimate faster to Randstad's jobs and work environment. Now a week at a time, one team member will make outside calls, while the other interviews potential "talent" and handles administrivia. The next week they trade responsibilities. The key is that one employee is a veteran and the other is a Millennial, mostly defined as those born 1981 and later.

We know that new twenty-somethings often require high levels of attention and nurturing. The neat part of this "Unit System", as Randstad calls it, is that older workers learn from younger worker as well. Of course, this system only works with "team players", because the work and rewards are shared.

Initially brought to the United States in the late 1990s, this partnership concept was only fully integrated two years ago, when Randstad began recruiting new employees in larger volumes. Of the 600 people hired last year, 420 were twenty-something workers.

The bottom line for the company is a significant reduction in employee turnover to the point where their turnover is 20 percent below the industry standard. "We have determined a clear connection between being in a unit and feeling more successful and productive,” says Genia Spencer, Randstad's Human Resources executive. Increases in productivity come from mutual accountability.

Randstad is on the leading edge of this optimal use of human capital. In 2008 and beyond, expect to see more of this sharing and pairing to help Millennials to acclimate.

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With permission from The Herman Trend Alert, by Joyce Gioia-Herman, Strategic Business Futurist. (800) 227-3566 or http://www.hermangroup.com. The Herman Trend Alert is a trademark of The Herman Group of Companies, Inc.


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JJ's FAVORITE QUOTES:
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“The principle of using interactivity as a creativity-builder is not restricted to computer games. Once we become fully conscious of this principle, we can find ways to become more interactive everywhere. We can make conversations with our family and friends more interactive than they once were. The more thoughtful our questions get to be, the more interactive the conversations.”
- Steve Chandler

“I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion.”
- Mia Hamm


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ABOUT JJ:

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JJ Lauderbaugh, CMC
408 445-1590 or 800 500-9656, 1716 Husted Ave., San Jose, CA 95124.

JJ works with companies that want to give exceptional customer service to increase sales, and with Directors and Call Center/Help Desk Managers who want to improve human performance.

She's an international speaker, trainer, facilitator and certified management consultant (CMC) on customer service management, specializing in performance improvement, call centers, up/cross selling and outbound calling.

For training resources, free articles, tips and streaming video, go to our web site at

http://www.JJLauderbaugh.com

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Copyright and Reprints:
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© JJ Lauderbaugh, CMC, JJ Lauderbaugh & Associates, 2007. Reprinted with permission from JJ's Tips, a monthly internet newsletter. For your own personal subscription:

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JJ