ProGrad make some basic recommenations for graduate employers looking to recruit GenerationY

1. ProGrad: Managing GenY ProGrad Pty Ltd, Level 4, 171 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000 Tel: 02 8235 8300 Web: www.prograd.com.au

2. AGENDA Overview of Generation Y Assigning a mentor/buddy ProGradGraduate Survey

3. Overview of Generation Y Who is Gen Y? There is no consensus over the exact birth dates that define Gen Y, also known by some as echo boomers and millennials. But the broadest definition generally includes the more than 70 million Americans born 1977 to 2002. Generation X was born roughly 1965 to 1976. Narrower definitions put Gen Yers as those ages 16 to 27, born from 1978 to 1989. This narrower view is based on the thinking that as the pace of change in society accelerates, the time frame of a generation gets shorter. Effect on workforce Under the narrow definition, as they take their first jobs, Gen Y would be the fastest-growing segment of the workforce — growing from 14% of the workforce to 21% over the past four years to nearly 32 million workers.

4. What do GenY need? About Gen Y workers They have high expectations of self:They aim to work faster and better than other workers. They have high expectations of employers: They want fair and direct managers who are highly engaged in their professional development. They require ongoing learning:They seek out creative challenges and view colleagues as vast resources from whom to gain knowledge. They thrive on immediate responsibility:They want to make an important impact on Day 1. They are goal-oriented: They want small goals with tight deadlines so they can build up ownership of tasks.

5. ProGrad Recommendations – Managing GenY Recommendation #1 – Close Management Every young recruit requires strong management, and for all of our graduates we do recommend that they have a direct report on a day-to-day basis. There needs to be a “mentor” in place who is responsible for training the young recruit, offering advice to them, taking them out on meetings and acting as an arm of support during the first 12 months of their career. The mentor needs to offer encouragement and praise. Aside from the mentor, there should also be someone else within the structure providing day to day support for times when the mentor might not be available. This person is there simply to answer questions regarding internal systems/ processes etc. They may only need to offer support for the first 3-6 months. Each day, the new recruit will need to be set some goal to achieve.

6. ProGrad Recommendations – Managing GenY Recommendation #2 - The Ideal Office Environment It goes without saying that the office environment must be clean, professional and have an area in which a graduate can sit and work comfortably with few distractions. The office environment needs to be supportive and the desk layout would ideally ensure that the new recruit is sitting near to their direct report. Whiteboards and Flipcharts are recommended to monitor set goals on a daily/ weekly/ monthly basis.

7. ProGrad Recommendations – Managing GenY Recommendation #3 - Team Environment Top employers have a supportive team who all share a common goal and work well together. These teams have regular team meetings and open lines of communication. We see our greatest success in companies which have regular social events/ team building days as this instills a feeling of belonging and team camaraderie.

8. ProGrad Recommendations – Managing GenY Recommendation # 4 – Induction On Day 1, it is essential that your new sales recruit is provided with several documents: A detailed position description, outlining responsibilities (please see example #1) Key Performance Indicators for first 1-3 months. These KPIs should be activity based (please see example #2) The “Standards and Norms” of the company (for example, dress code, hours of work, activity levels etc) Career Progression available with a clear and defined structure Training timeline to ensure the new recruit is aware of your expectation

9. ProGrad Recommendations – Managing GenY Recommendation #5 – One-2-Ones At the end of their first month at the company, we strongly recommend an informal one-to-one with your new recruit. This informal discussion is an opportunity to discuss any initial challenges that they have experienced in the early stages of the role. Again, this is an opportunity to re-position their KPIs and highlight any conerns you might have as an employer. Please feel free to request a meeting with ProGrad at this point, to discuss the successes/ failures of your recruit to ensure maximum support is received. Recommendation #6 – Appraisals Quarterly appraisals are a good opportunity to highlight strong/ weak performance in a sales position. It is important to track the activity of your recruit and highlight their successes.

11. Demonstrated skills in the development of others

12. Must have “Nestle Blood”

13. A nurturing style

14. The time to dedicate to another resource

15. Solid work habits and a proven track recordWhat is in it for them as mentors/ buddies?

16. Findings from ProGrad Surveys ProGrad conducted a survey with 100 recent graduates to identify what they were looking for from a “Graduate Program”. The group consisted of 50 males and 50 females from a variety of Universities, and degree disciplines. Here are the findings: 45% of the graduates wanted a pre-determined graduate career path, however 55% wanted to create their own success in a business. 32% of graduates wanted to work within one specialised department for the duration of their program, whereas 68% of graduates wanted a program which exposed them to more than one department. 75% of graduates in the survey wanted a National Involvement and were happy to relocate for the graduate opportunity.

17. Findings from ProGrad Surveys What graduates are looking for from their Employer (in order of importance) Progression Training Recognition Variety in role Responsibility Job Title Travel Money

18. ProGrad Summary Generation Y more than anything will require structure. Clear and defined expectations are essential. A common mistake is to assume that this generation can self-manage. Their ambitious nature will try to convince you that they don’t require structure. Our experience says THEY DO! Identify Buddies/ Mentors within the organisation that can provide the TIME and STRUCTURE craved by these young people. A Buddy needs to dedicate time and resource on a weekly and monthly basis. Time is the most valuable offering to a graduate hire. Communicate with the graduates openly and honestly. Explain to them your expectations as an employer, and what you expect of them as employees. Yes, they are graduates, but this is still only a starting point. They have a lot to learn in the business and will be starting at the “grass-roots”. They don’t receive any special allowances because of their University degree.