How to Onboard Generation Y

There has been no lack of frustration in the workplace when it comes to onboarding young workers.

Managers find themselves irked that some of these new employees seem to think nothing of showing up late for work, texting friends during meetings or “dropping in” on the CEO to chat about upcoming vacation plans.

Alexia Vernon has heard many of the stories, and as a member of the Millenial generation herself understands how some young professionals can take such wrong turns in the workplace.

But she believes much of the pain of bringing young workers up to speed could be alleviated if managers understood the role they needed to play in successfully training and developing this generation.

She has written a new book, “90 Days, 90 Ways: Onboard Young Professionals to Peak Performance” (ASTD, $29.95), that seeks to educate employers about how to best deal with young employees so that it cuts down on manager frustration and improves worker success.

Among her suggestions for managers:

1. Be aware. The Society for Human Resource Development finds that 44% of managers of young workers report that some workplace intergenerational conflict exists in their organizations.  Vernon says that while many companies are recognizing that changes need to be made as more young workers enter the workplace, more managers still need to craft (read more here)