Linnaea Newman

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the lower birth rates during the 1960s-70s will create a 6 million person shortage in the American work force by 2008, and a 40 million person shortage by the year 2015.  Add to that the number of retiring baby boomers, and we are in the middle of a labor deficit, with every company vying for the same potential employees. 

The people available to fill the void are the GenX and GenY workers, who are as different from the baby boomer generation as we are from our parent’s generation. 

1999 American work force

13% Veteran Generation

48% Baby Boomers

23% Generation X

16% Generation Y

In the past seven years, the numbers in the first two categories have continued to decline due to death and retirement, while the last two categories have increased.  In order to grow successfully into the future, we must widen our managerial skills.

GenX and GenY are proficient computer users. Consequently, an organization’s web site is a particularly important recruitment tool for younger workers. Make sure the employment characteristics that matter most to them - such as mentoring and skill-building opportunities - are featured prominently.

As Generations X and Y move into the workforce, they’ll pose real challenges for plantscaping managers. Some of the current patterns will have to change, like scheduling, for example. "Cutting-edge organizations build flexibility into schedules in incredibly creative ways," says Sharon Jordan-Evans, a retention expert and executive coach in Woodland Hills, CA.. "It’s hard work but this is the only way you’ll hang onto GenXers and manage them effectively."

In the past, the plantscaping organization has run on the backs of dedicated people willing to work extra hours, and put clients’ needs above their own. "We don’t really know what level of resources it takes to run a plant maintenance service," Jordan-Evans says. "In the past, technicians worked extra hours and managers worked 60-hour weeks. They enabled a dysfunctional system to limp along. We cannot expect this to continue."

She adds, "The key to managing GenX and GenY is to ask them what matters to them, and really listen to their responses. Even more, it’s time to engage them in helping to figure out solutions. Before long, it is going to be their organization."

Check out the related article on the Leadership Capital Group www.legsearch.com/news/cio01.htm