Mind the Gap: Creating Policies That Bridge the Generation Ann Stafford Vice President, Client Services Brookfield Global Relocation Services 2014 CERC Conference
Mind the Gap: Creating Policies That Bridge the Generation Page 2 When my twins were 7 years old, I remember taking them to a diner. It was one of those 50s style restaurants, decorated with Elvis Presley memorabilia and walls plastered with vinyl record albums. Sitting at a booth, my twins turned their heads to view the décor and said in united awe, those are the biggest CDs I ve ever seen!, where did they get black CDs mommy? I laughed thinking they were joking. And then it dawned on me that they would never have seen a vinyl record album. To them, the albums were giant CDs. Fast forward 7 years and my now 14 year old twins don t even have a CD player on their laptop. They watch everything online. Their collection of DVD movies collects dust while they watch stream videos, tv shows and movies over the internet. I can t even imagine what 7 years from now will look like. Mail replaced by fax machines replaced by email replaced by instant messaging; Bank tellers replaced by Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) replaced by online banking; Film cameras replaced by digital cameras replaced by mobile pictures posted on Facebook and Instagrams This level of hyperconnectivity and immediacy of, and access to, information will become that much more prevalent as time ticks along. The world has changed and continues to change in the realm of communication and technology. Corporations need to be ready to respond to the changing times. And the group with the greatest influence on directing that change? Millennials, also known as Generation Y. Defining the Generations Millennials are those born between 1977 and 1997. In 2010, they made up approximately 20% of the workforce. By 2020, this group will represent greater than 50% of the working population. 1 The generation just before the Millennials, Generation X, those born between 1965 and 1976, are influencers as well of change, but to a smaller degree. This group grew up as technology was just starting to emerge at home and at work. The other two generations found currently in the workforce are Traditionalists, those born before 1946, and Baby Boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964. Traditionalists are a generation raised during times of war and generally puts aside individual needs and instead focuses on an organization s common goal. Baby Boomers, are those individuals born between 1946 and 1964. They are hardworking, competitive and motivated by position and professional accomplishments. 1 The 2020 Workplace, Meister & Willyerd, 2010.
Mind the Gap: Creating Policies That Bridge the Generation Page 3 Table 1: Generational Traits [Source: 2020 Workplace, Meister & Willyerd] While the traits of each of the generations are different, so too are the ways in which these generations expect their employers to communicate. A recent article in The New York Times called Young, Social and Paperless cited a study conducted by Hewlett-Packard s (HP) corporate travel department that found that HP s Millennial Generation business travelers expect different forms of communication shorter and more frequent. The challenge now is to find ways to deliver messages that would normally be relayed in a travel policy or online video. The messages explaining policy need to be delivered fast in bite-size pieces of information about how following the company s travel policy benefits its bottom line. So what does this have to do with relocations? In the mobility context, Millennials represent about 13% of international assignees 2 but, just as the overall workplace demographic shows that this group will be the dominant group in 2020, so too in international assignments. According to a study done by PricewaterhouseCoopers, greater than 80% of Millennials surveyed want to work outside their home country during their careers. 3 This finding is supported by findings in a recent Brookfield GRS Global Trends Survey which shows that Millennials have become the largest international assignments segment (38%). 4 2 Brookfield Global Trends Survey 2013 3 PwC study, Talent Mobility 2020: The Next Generation of International Assignments 4 Brookfield GRS Global Trends Survey 2013
Mind the Gap: Creating Policies That Bridge the Generation Page 4 This growing population of Millennial assignees have specific demands and requirements. Everything from how relocation policies are shared (traditionalists like printed vs Millennials who want info online and available when they need it) to how relocations are offered (traditionalists are rewarded with an assignment in their career vs Millennials who expect an assignment as part of their career development with an employer). Millennials are more mobile and expect mobility. According to a Price Waterhouse Cooper (PWC) study, Talent Mobility 2020: The Next Generation of International Assignments, showing that 80% of more than 4,000 Millennials surveyed want to work outside of their home country during their careers. Table 2: % of Millennial employees who agreed to work outside their home country during the course of their career [Source: PWC International Mobility Database sample 900 corporations] 100 80 80% 93% 92% 90% 89% 89% 88% 86% 85% 85% 85% 85% 84% 84% 82% 81% 80% 77% 74% 70% 69% 69% 65% 62% 60 40 So with a growing workforce who is eager and hungry for international work assignments, and want faster, more accessible, fun and available information, how are companies changing their approach to relocation? Brookfield GRS asked if there was a focus on Millennial Generation of employees in participating organizations. This was a general question and not specific to mobility. Results were roughly split down the middle. Just over half of participants (56%) are not aware of any focus in their companies on the Millennial Generation; however, almost half of survey participants (44%) have some, if not significant, levels of corporate focus on this demographic. (See Figure 1) Figure 1. Is there a focus on the Millennial Generation of employees in your organization that you are aware of? 44% 56% No (10) Yes (8)
Mind the Gap: Creating Policies That Bridge the Generation Page 5 The above is consistent with a 2012 Brookfield GRS Pulse Survey, where survey respondents indicated that policy flexibility was the most important for Millennial employees but found that 94% of employers had no plans to change policy and 81% had no plans to change policy. However, survey participants did indicate that they were looking for more technology driven support. Often it is a corporate culture that drives the communication methods of an organization's HR policies and practices, including mobility. For this reason, Brookfield GRS asked participants to first comment on their organization's current use of, and then their mobility program's current use of, technology driven support. In line with their corporate practices, almost one third of participants (31%) stated that their mobility programs have adopted or are considering adopting more technology driven support approaches. (See Figure 2) The examples of ways in which companies reported they are using technology driven support included: Figure 2. Has your company's mobility program adopted more technology driven support and solutions in recent years? 19% 12% 69% No (11) Considering in near future (3) Yes (2) "iphone "Facebook" "Intranet" "Blogs" "Social networking groups" "All corporate communications are sent as a blog or vlog" "More and more development on mobile apps" "We implemented a company-wide remote worker policy; to achieve this, all employees use Microsoft Lync for phone and instant message. As long as we have our computers, we can work from practically anywhere." Examples mentioned of approaches being used by mobility teams: "A more robust mobility website" "Online resources" "e-newsletters" "Blogs" "Salesforce Chatter" Brookfield GRS (our relocation services partner) uses texts to communicate with assignees when requested to do so " "We are thinking about setting up a social networking site for assignees"
Mind the Gap: Creating Policies That Bridge the Generation Page 6 Conclusion Whether you work in a company that has already embraced a Millennial Generation influenced strategy or one that is just beginning to consider the concept, it is a strong enough trend to consider what the impact will be within the mobility industry and within your own mobility group. Assignee demographics and business needs are two of the variables that most influence mobility program and policy strategies. Recruiting and retaining Millennial Generation talent, a generation that seems to be more open to relocation and has a strong desire to communicate in real time, will certainly drive the next evolution of mobility if it hasn't already started to do so. Brookfield Global Relocation Services (Brookfield GRS) is the leading full-service outsourcing partner of end-to-end employee relocation, assignment management and mobility consulting services for organizations worldwide. www.brookfieldgrs.com