Working with Generation Y

Integrating recent college graduates into your work place and team

Adnan Siddiqui, PE, President

Engineered Project Services LLC
 Engineered Project Services LLC

My Background
o 11 years of experience in various engineering and
construction project leadership roles.
o Very interested in attracting and retaining new engineers to
the projects industry.
o Authored article on “Web 2.0 Tools for Chemical Engineers”
in March issue of Chemical Engineering.
o Forthcoming article in Hydrocarbon Processing on how to
cut engineering costs without impacting your ability to
deliver future projects.
o Founded Engineered Project Services LLC to develop
ConcepSys™
 Engineered Project Services LLC

ConcepSys
 Engineered Project Services LLC

Agenda
o Who is Generation Y?
o What defines Generation Y?
o Generation Y in your workplace
o Attracting and retaining Generation Y
o HBR Case Study
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Generation Y
o Born 1978 to 2003
o Started graduating college around 2000
o 76 million
o Millenials
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Generation Y’s Defining Moments

o TMT Explosion
n Technology
n Media
n Telecommunication
o Economic boom of the 90s
o Web 2.0 in the 00’s
o Economic collapse of 2008?
 Engineered Project Services LLC

Generation Y’s Experience

o Technology!
o Technology!
o Technology!
o Examples
n Internet
o Email
o Web Classic
o Web 2.0
o Instant messaging
n Cell phones
n Electronic media (TiVo, Hulu, etc.)
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Generation Y’s Aspirations

o Work / Life Balance
n Myth or reality?
o What is more important?
n Generation Y side
n Engineer side
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Generation Y in Your Workplace

o Very low ratio
o In entry level roles
o How many do you interact with on a daily basis in your job?
n 1
n 2
n 3
n More than 3!
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Generation Y and You

o Preferred communication tool
n Email, IM, SMS
o Work hours
o Your technology sophistication = your intelligence?
n Do you must have a Mac laptop and iPhone?
 Engineered Project Services LLC

Attracting Generation Y
o Company Reputation
n Vault.com
n Wetfeet.com
n Facebook
o Proactive – Deloitte Careers Fan Site
o Indifferent
n YouTube
o First contact
n Interview team demographics
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Training Generation Y
o Rotation programs
o Mentorship programs
o Use online training
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Retaining Generation Y
o Career management
n Expectations
n Tools
n Challenges
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Retaining Generation Y
o Four Biggest Reasons for Intergenerational Conflict in Teams
n Choosing where and when to work
o Asynchronous with different locations and times
n Communicating among team members
o Rapid response expected
n Getting together
o No rescheduling of meetings
n Finding information or learning new things
o On-the-job, on-demand training
o Reverse mentoring
 Engineered Project Services LLC

“Gen Y in the Workforce” Case Discussion

o Harvard Business Review, February 2009 Case
o Case background
n Film studio with 3 new Gen Y hires
n Marketing dept led by 37 year-old: Sarah
n New hire, Josh, Gen Y, works for Sarah.
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“Gen Y in the Workforce” Case Discussion

o <<Audience Interaction 1 – See slide notes>>
o Josh does so-so job on immediate assignment for Sarah to
develop his own ideas.
o <<Audience Interaction 2 – See slide notes >>
o Sarah frustrated with poor quality work and end-run.
o Josh complains about Sarah to other Gen Ys in his company
 Engineered Project Services LLC

“Gen Y in the Workforce” Case Discussion

o Do you know a Josh?
o Do you know a Sarah?
o Have you encountered a similar situation?
o What should Sarah do?
o What should Josh do?
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“Gen Y in the Workforce” Case Discussion

o Ron Alsop – Author of “The Trophy Kids Grow Up: …..”
n Josh’s behavior is typical in terms of not respecting the corporate
pecking order
n Sarah should reaffirm lines of authority while addressing Josh’s
concerns
n Sarah may need to indulge Josh but not become a baby sitter or parent
n Encourage face to face communication over pure electronic
communication
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“Gen Y in the Workforce” Case Discussion

o Pamela Nicholson – President and COO of Enterprise Rent-
A-Car
n Sarah should not get angry but rather commend Josh for initiative
n Provide more feedback to Generation Y
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“Gen Y in the Workforce” Case Discussion

o Jim Miller, Executive VP of Sales and Marketing at General
Tool & Supply
n Josh is reaffirming Gen Y stereotypes
n Gen Y have outsize expectations about what an employer could and
should do for them
n Looking for paycheck and not a career in terms of employment
n Josh’s behavior is wrong. He is jeopardizing team success by not
doing the best job on current assignment.
n Sarah also needs to change her behavior and investigate Josh’s ideas.
 Engineered Project Services LLC

Conclusion
o Gen Y is joining the work force so companies must learn how
to rapidly integrate them into productive teams.
 Engineered Project Services LLC

Thank You
o What is ConcepSys?
n For process and project engineers who are frustrated with the time
wasted in synchronizing data between hand calculations and various
computer tools,
n ConcepSys is an integrated front-end design system.
n Unlike the complex design suites from Aspen, Intergraph, and
Bentley,
n ConcepSys combines flow diagrams, 3D layout, and equipment data
in one easy to use interface so you can evaluate more options faster
time during early design.
o Checkout demo of ConcepSys at:
http://www.engineeredprojects.com/