The term Millenial inadvertently draws quite a lot of eyeballing. There is so much this young talent has to offer – from the latest technology drives to stimulating ideas, to their up-to-date skill set and not to mention, their style quotient – these peppy geeks are here to stay. As per Forbes, “In the next 10 years, the workforce will be comprised almost entirely of millennials, a generation that loves speedy communication, which means we can expect to see the cover letter disappear altogether[1].” These are highly qualified and digitally abreast generation, who think out-of-the-box, redraw the maps, involve quick thinking, employ smart tools along with having a global reach and a reckoning force.
But with each new advent, the young and budding entrepreneurs and the startups think that having senior and experienced professionals in their teams is nothing but mere redundancy. This is the very generation who think they are the smartest in the block and nothing wrong in that, but are they able to handle the stacks out of their experienced learning? Not yet. It is still an early stage for them. In reality, they are not able to handle the equips when push comes to shove. Keeping oneself acquainted with current evolving tech advancements is way different from handling the other strategic, fundamental, managerial and, organizational ropes.
The freshly minted organizations and startups are also the ones seeking for not more than 5 yr old experienced professionals to be a part of their B-Team. But will the lesser experienced staff be of as much help, guidance, and foresight as the ones who have been in the field for at least 15-20 years? These veterans have given their life and soul to their expertise and no wonder they possess hindsight in several key matters.
Another way to think and build on this scenario is that the senior professional will not impede the organization but will always add mastery and reliability to the craft. We are seeing so many newly sprung up firms disappearing from the market in very short spans. They barely settle in, just to lose out to the bigger whales in the sea.
2018 and 2019 saw countless firms hovering their recruitments around mostly Millenials. This generation has a lot to offer – from the tech-savviness to the latest and in-demand skillset along with the drive, the in-factor, and the grit to bring in new panoramas into the frame. Their ardent aspiration and enthusiasm do ruffle up feathers but the fact remains that they are young and still need to garner steadiness by long-term exposure and industrial learnings. “Millennials already are the largest segment in the workplace. Within the next two years, 50 percent of the U.S. workforce is expected to be made up of Millennials. It will be 75 percent by 2030, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics[2].”
While the senior professionals, having garnered quite a lot of experience, are now finding themselves lost, and losing hope to continue giving their best, it is a good reminder that they are well versed in best industry practices. For them, it is not yet the end of the road. Another few meaningful years of the strategic giveaways will only fully realize their true potential. Older talent is exceptionally prepared, has better self-knowledge and, is the deep breeding ground for the new talent. They should be always be factored in as a part of workforce biodiversity and for the simple fact that they have a know-all about their skill better than the younger lot.
For the twenty-something, who are in abundance of strength, vitality, passion and, enthusiasm, switching jobs comes easy till they find what drives their passions. They have only begun the learning process and collection of experience – just boarding the path to self-discovery. In contrast, the older lot with 20+ experienced, are more grounded, are not looking for the limelight and, certainly will not be frequent career hoppers. The abilities, potential and, areas of improvement keep the known generation self-aware and they function as perfect soundboards for mentorship and lesson learning give-aways. A mix of the two will always bring fresh innovations, ideas, and perspectives. As we are slowly transitioning towards an economy dominated by skills, the requirement to retain qualified staff shall always remain high and should be so too.
The industry has labeled the C-Level employees with a new term –Supertemps. Supertemps are not the young power-hungry attention seekers but the refined and seasoned top-level managers and professionals with formal education, trained at leading industry-recognized firms, and yet choosing to work with open-ended options such as consultancy and co-working once they have hit their prime. CoHire works around these very dynamics to balance the scales in the organizational workforce. Companies are increasingly trusting such tenured talent for their critical projects along with the Millenials they cannot cope without.
Hiring the mature and seasoned talent with the addition of the young tech-savvy lot in the new age industry dynamics is the new cutting edge of today.
[1] In the next 10 years, the workforce will be comprised almost entirely of millennials, a generation that loves speedy communication, which means we can expect to see the cover letter disappear altogether.
[2] https://dynamicsignal.com/2018/10/09/key-statistics-millennials-in-the-workplace/.
