I took part in a Human Resources panel session a couple weeks ago that was put on by West Fraser and the Pulp and Paper Technical Association of Canada. The theme was “Sustainability Through People and Technology”. There were four of us on the panel and the audience was supposed to “Gain insight from leading specialists in employee retention, recruitment and development that will help your organization address the human resource challenges facing the pulp and paper industry”. The first thing you might notice from that sentence was that they called me a “leading specialist”. That’s pretty awesome considering the only person who ever called me special was my mom (who’s probably the first person to read this blog whenever I update it. Hi Mom!). The second thing you should take note of is “human resource challenges”.
These “challenges” are relatively easy to understand. There’s more people leaving the workforce (baby boomers = old) than there are entering the workforce (Generation Y = small and possibly lazy). This will be part 1 of a series talking about the next generation of workers.
THE HR PANELISTS WERE…
CASEY FORREST, Pinton, Forest and Madden – Tall, not really dark, but still handsome, it’s this man’s job to find the best and brightest executives in the world and put them to work running huge businesses such as BC Ferries, Kal Tire, Silver Star Mountain Resort and the Jim Pattison Group (one of the largest private companies in Canada).
GEOFF STEVENS, Resource Trading Organization – There are clearly not enough trades people working in Western Canada right now and it’s Geoff’s job to make sure the apprenticeship training model works in BC.
ALLISTER HAIN, Forest Products Sector Council – Allister goes all over the country saying stuff like, “you need a succession plan” and “become a class 1 truck driver” and “social media is the coolest”. I agree with all of these statements.
CAM ROLLINS, Alberta Forest Products Association – This incredibly good looking young man is a modern day real life Lorax who is telling youth that if they want an awesome job, they can find it in the forest industry.
THE GENERATIONS
Mr. Forrest and Mr. Hain started the roundtable talking about having multiple generations in the workforce and how different they were.
BABY BOOMERS, 48-66 years old (my parents and many of my coworkers)
- They are often experimental, free spirited, and generally somewhat cynical;
- Borderline workaholics are motivated by job title and define themselves by their job titles;
- Very competitive and always trying to win at everything;
- Have problems adapting to a flexible work place and believe in putting in face time at the office;
- Live to work.
GENERATION X, 32-47 years old (some of my friends and coworkers)
- Independent, resourceful and self sufficient;
- They have a disdain for normal work hours and hate micro-management. They want to get the work done on their own time then go home;
- Adept with technology (because they created most of it) they were the first to use the original smart phone like object (a PDA);
- Willing to change jobs to get ahead and don’t feel committed to employers;
- Work to live, and value work life balance.
GENERATION Y, 18-31 years old (me)
- Grew up with technology and rely on it to live;
- Prefer communication through email and text messaging than face to face. Also like the option of distance/correspondence learning;
- Would prefer spending extra time with friends and family than working overtime. Also live with their parents WAY longer than GEN-X did;
- Confident and demanding of employers, GEN-Y wants meaningful work and aren’t afraid to leave employers if they’re not getting attention, praise and reassurance;
- World travelers who have been told “they can be anything”, this generation believes they deserve the moon, but don’t want to work to get it.
WHAT ABOUT ME
I’m kind of a tweener in the GEN X/Y area. I don’t know if it’s because I come from a rural background and didn’t experience the city bustle growing up, or if it’s because I wasn’t as spoiled as many kids were. My parents and grandparents actually put me to work (but then spoiled me) so I think I value hard work more than some. A lot of jobs in the forest industry will be great for GEN-Y because of the technology, potential flexibility of work schedules and the meaning you get from your job.
What do you think about these categories? Do you fit into one more than another despite your age?
Next blog I’ll talk about the death of the encyclopedia.