“Our younger employees are sort of stuck. Their (boomer) bosses aren't retiring, so there's less upward mobility. And the job market is slow, so the normal circulation of new people and ideas has stopped. It's creating a stagnant work environment, and we're trying to figure out how to keep our younger employees challenged.” — Chief Information Officer of a Global 500 Company

This CIO perfectly expresses what many younger workers are feeling: corporate environments where the “baby boomer bulge” — coupled with fewer job prospects — is pinching them out of promotions, vaporizing learning opportunities, and limiting challenging stretch assignments.

Are your next gen workers feeling stuck, stalled or stifled? More importantly, are you in touch? Prepared? Responding?

A Resume Tsunami

Throughout 2009, Deloitte Development LLC conducted a four-part longitudinal survey “to gauge how top executives and talent mangers across the global economy are reshaping their workplaces as they confront the most challenging operating environment in generations.”

Deloitte concluded: “With a more optimistic outlook on their horizon (executives) now have new concerns that a ‘resume tsunami' may be building, ready to hit once the economy turns and their employees begin to consider new opportunities.”[1]

If a resume tsunami is building, LinkedIn may be the early detection system. In October 2009, LinkedIn registered its 50 millionth user, spanning 200 countries and territories worldwide.[2] LinkedIn is the preferred way for the digitally-literate to circulate resumes and build professional networks. Monster, move over. LinkedIn is in the house.

The first wave of the resume tsunami will include those who have highly desirable skills, and are able and emboldened to move. In many cases, they will be your younger, mobile workers. Cities are working hard to attract them, and companies must, too.

In its November 2009 report “A Tale of Ten Cities: Attracting and Retaining Talent,” the International Regions Benchmarking Consortium concluded: “In the developed world, people who move voluntarily to a new and distant community tend to have three key characteristics: they're young (ages 25-34), single, and college educated.”[3] What's more, developed countries must poach these young, educated workers from other cities, because birth rates are declining.

In other words, the folks you're most likely to lose in the coming recovery are your organization's future leaders and producers. And they're in demand. They are often easiest to train; they value learning, have few acquired bad habits, and are eager to please you and prove themselves. In addition — and this is a new distinction after the residential housing bubble — they are able to leave. They are not rooted by mortgages, and don't have spouse/child considerations.

How should readers of Global Corporate Xpansion respond?

First, tune in. Ensure your own workplace culture delivers something beyond a paycheck to all generations. Then, if you are going to expand, choose cities that the talent you need are happy to call “home.” Let's talk about each.

Tune In

Since 1998, my firm has studied the lives of next gen talent, focused on two questions: Where do they choose to live?; and, Where do they stay happily employed?

At work, what we've found is a not so much a “generation gap,” as an “executive gap.” There's a significant difference between what executives think the next gen wants, and what the next gen actually wants.

As an illustration, consider the Deloitte report cited above. The table below compares one of their key findings to one of our own:

Deloitte's Surveyed Executives Say:

40,000 Next Gen Workers Say

Gen X and Y would respond most favorably to additional compensation, followed by additional bonuses or financial incentives.

We are most motivated by a flexible work environment where we can have a good career, and still have a life outside of work. In addition, we crave development opportunities.

Executive focus on monetary rewards is neither unique to Deloitte's research nor to the current economic situation. After 12 years studying the workplace (through two downturns and one expansion), executives seem to consistently stress money's power to retain employees, while non-executive employees favor other rewards, regardless of age or generation.

In their report, “Recession Turns a Graying Office Grayer,” released in September, the Pew Research Center discovered the most popular reasons adults over 65 say they work:

1. To feel useful/productive (68 percent)

2. To live independently (59 percent)

3. To give myself something to do (57 percent)

4. To be with other people (56 percent)[4]

To retain valued employees — especially during an economic tsunami — you must tune into their values, rather than rely on what executives think employees want. As one compensation executive says, “Pay is not a retainer. It's a maintainer.”

Tips:

•   Realize that Boomers (aged 48-65), Gen Xers (aged 27-47) and Millennials (employees age 26 and under) work for different reasons.

•   Younger employees favor development opportunities and life-work balance over pay.

•   Older employees prioritize the importance of feeling connected to their work.

•   Talk to your critical talent, and ask, “Beyond compensation, what would you like more of, to feel more fulfilled in your career here?”

Choose Cities That Have Or Can Attract Your Talent

You probably know people who have participated in online dating through Web sites like Match.com or eHarmony. These sites require users to complete a profile, (which is said) to increase their odds of being matched with a person who's compatible for them.

In his white paper, “City Success: Theories of Urban Prosperity,”[5] Joel Cortright impresses upon civic leaders the importance of knowing what kind of city they want to become, so they can attract and keep the right kind of employers.

Kind of like dating.

A similar case can be made for expansion projects and the people leading them: knowing what kind of talent you need for the expansion to succeed can help you ferret out the best regional options. See Cortright's framework as a basis:

If the success of your expansion relies on:

Consider a:

Example

Cheap labor.

“Business Climate City” - inexpensive, low taxes, abundant land and few regulations.

Cities in Mexico and China. Note: this was the prominent expansion model until recently.

Relocating corporate headquarters and C-suite executives.

“Headquarters City” that has a concentration of professional and business services, e.g., lawyers, accountants, consultancies, and the amenities (e.g., airport hubs) that busy executives value.

London. Note that corporate relocations are even more rare than other kinds of expansion.

New/additional distribution network for products or goods.

“Technology & Transport City” with excellent ports, airports, railroads and highways.

Dublin

Government investments or subsidies.

“Government City”

Washington, D.C.

Proximity to specific capital or talent.

“Cluster City” that has an agglomeration of players in your capital or talent target.

Hollywood

In addition, if your expansion efforts in the United States or Canada require young, educated talent, rankings like our “Next Cities” list can help you identify cities that have the assets and amenities the next generation values.

In Canada, the best cities for next-gen knowledge workers are:

1. Victoria, British Columbia

2. Ottawa, Ontario

3. Vancouver, British Columbia

4. Kingston, Ontario

5. Halifax, Nova Scotia

6. Toronto, Ontario

7. Calgary, Alberta

8. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

9. London, Ontario

10. Edmonton, Alberta

In the United States, cities are divided into three population categories:

Mighty Micros — Next Cities with Populations of 100,000-200,000

1.  Fort Collins, Colo.

2.  Charleston, S.C.

3.  Eugene, Ore.

4.  Cedar Rapids, Iowa

5.  Springfield, Ill.

6.  Cary, N.C.

7.  Ann Arbor, Mich.

8.  Sioux Falls, S.D.

9.  Pueblo, Colo.

10.  Gainesville, Fla.

Midsized Magnets — Next Cities with Populations of 200,000-500,000

1.  Madison, Wis.

2.  Minneapolis

3.  Colorado Springs, Colo.

4.  Atlanta

5.  St. Paul, Minn.

6.  Omaha, Neb.

7.  Cincinnati

8.  Boise, Idaho

9.  Durham, N.C.

10.  New Orleans

Super Cities — Next Cities with Populations over 500,000

1.  San Francisco

2.  Seattle

3.  Boston

4.  Washington, D.C.

5.  Denver

6.  Austin, Texas

7.  Baltimore

8.  Portland

9.  New York City

10.  Columbus, Ohio

Whether with your team or with your expansion efforts, you must tune into what your talent wants, and is telling you. If you can respond to their values at work — and in cities — you'll be a talent magnet.

Rebecca Ryan is the founder of Next Generation Consulting, which helps companies and cities retain their under-40 knowledge workers. Ryan has spoken at Business Retention and Expansion International, International Economic Development Council, and for manufacturing companies including Cessna Aircraft Corp. Ryan is the author of Live First, Work Second: Getting Inside the Minds of the Next Generation. She can be reached by e-mailing rr@nextgenerationconsulting.com or calling 888-922-9596, ext. 702.

End Notes

[1] http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_US/us/Services/additional-services/Talent-Human-Capital-HR/article/3a6a8b95b7972210VgnVCM100000ba42f00aRCRD.htm

2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LinkedIn

3 Tale of Ten Cities: http://www.internationalregions.org/Full-TalentReport.pdf

4 http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1330/american-work-force-is-graying

5 http://www.ceosforcities.org/work/city_success