Linnaea Newman

As a "Baby Boomer" myself, I finally realized that the Generation X’ers we hire into our businesses run on a completely different type of motivation than do their more numerous, and competitive, predecessors. How do you keep those employees in their 30’s and 40’s coming to work each day?

1. Let them know that you are committed to helping them achieve their goals within the context of the company’s goals. Don’t mention climbing the corporate ladder or paying their dues. Too many X’ers have seen their parents lose their jobs after years of ladder climbing and dues-paying.
2. Let them know that you will provide as much training as possible to help them develop new skills while they are there. Allow them some input into what training they will receive.
3. Tell them you will challenge their creativity, then keep your promise by giving them a challenging assignment or problem to solve.
4. Provide opportunities for them to work in spirited team situations, but with opportunities for individual achievement and recognition.
5. Make the work environment fun and informal. Introduce them to others and encourage the development of workplace friendships.
6. Allow them to experience a daily sense of tangible achievement.
7. Give them opportunities to reinvent themselves within the organization by learning new skills, moving cross-functionally, redesigning their jobs, reporting to a different mentor, working different hours, or working from a new location.
8. Open a dialogue with them on their first day about how you want to keep them and how you are willing to work with them to make that happen.
9. Look for opportunities to engage them in short-term, goal-oriented projects.
10. When X’ers say they want to leave, give them the option of continuing to contribute as a part-timer, flex-timer, telecommuter, periodic temp or consultant.

Adapted from KEEPING THE PEOPLE WHO KEEP YOU IN BUSINESS: 24 Ways to Hang on to Your Most Valuable Talent by F. Leigh Branham (AMACOM; October 2000).

F. LEIGH BRANHAM (Kansas City, KS) is vice president and director of professional services for Right Management Consultants, one of the world’s leading firms in human resources consulting.

Although strictly an outdoor plant, this flower’s namesake is often found in an interiorscape. First to post the correct answer will receive a free Employee Productivity Assessment ($50 value). Stay tuned for future plantscaping photos and problem-solving clues.

 CalScape 2006 was held October 11-13 in the beautiful (and sunny) Palm Springs Convention Center, while the northern Midwest and Eastern states received their first significant snowfall(s).  Although I hated to miss the first measurable snow, what I learned and did at CalScape were worth considerably more than the time and money I spent to be there.

1.  The keynote speaker, Patricia Fripp, alone was more than worth the price of admission. 

Yes, I’ve heard her before, and yet I can’t tell you how valuable it was for me and my business to hear her this year.  First of all, she has lived what she teaches, and can put hard numbers to her advice.  Secondly, she is constantly reinventing herself so she instructs along a continuum, as she continues to develop.  Most importantly, I am different from when I heard her last, and even if she had given the same talk (which she didn’t), I got to hear what I most needed to learn this year, and it’s much less painful to learn in an encapsulated form than through the painful experiential process.

2.  If you want to know what kind of company/employees/clients you deserve, look at the ones you’ve got. 

There are no accidents, and our companies reflect our development, both good and bad.  Can’t find or keep  "good" people?  What kind of person/boss are you?  Do customers keep shopping around for a better price?  Maybe we’ve failed to provide them the value they require, or inquired how they prefer that we provide it.  If the reflection we see is painful, that is our indication that it’s time to change.

3.  We are firmly into the age of modern technology, and those of us who do not yet have a web presence will lose more money than we would have spent to create a web site. 

Don’t know how to do it, and have no time to learn?  Perfect!  Neither did I, but here I am, right in the middle of the information age.  Click on BrightCite under "Resources" on my home page, and find out how easy it can be to create your own interactive web site.  Your increased sales are their own reward.

We have a great industry, and I couldn’t be prouder of the award winning companies at CalScape that make our industry look good.  They raise the bar, make me stand a little prouder, and make me want to do a little more to give back to the industry that has provided me my livlihood for the past 30 years.

PIA Cares is just one way that many of our industry’s leaders give generously of their time and materials to beautify with plants those non-profit organizations that have NO budget for what we do.  Providing the beautiful plants to places that could never afford them makes plants seem like less of a luxury, and more of a necessity.  Everybody wins.

There will be more snowfalls throughout this season, but there will never be another CalScape 2006, and I for one am grateful that I did not miss it.