Crack. Solve the new generation management puzzle

Is it difficult to manage the new generation of employees? certainly! In the "New Generation Employee Management" survey conducted by "CEConline" last October, nearly 10% of the participants admitted that they would not hire the new generation if possible.

The survey results also show that in nearly 40% of the companies surveyed, the number of new-generation employees has accounted for more than 60% of the total employees. It can be seen that, regardless of whether others are willing or not, the new generation is entering the workplace with a sonorous pace, and some have even played a leading role in the enterprise, and no one can reverse this trend. In this survey, nearly 70% of the participants have realized this fact.

Although for many managers, managing this "unreliable" generation is tantamount to dancing with wolves. However, with the transformation from "Made in China" to "Created in China", with the shortage of high-end talents and the increasing shortage of migrant workers, the management of new generation employees is becoming the most important issue in current Chinese enterprise management.

Interactive topic: How does the "uncle" hold the "little fresh meat" in the workplace

Whoever cannot overcome this problem will lose tomorrow.

Where are the differences in management?

They are emotional, they are impatient, they lack the spirit of cooperation, they are extremely disloyal to the company... The results of the "new generation employee management" survey mentioned above, without exception, point to the new generation these characteristics of the generation.

The survey involved nearly 1,000 enterprise managers from various industries. In their eyes, whether it is work enthusiasm, discipline, psychological endurance, and teamwork spirit, the new generation of employees are lower than Non-Cenozoic (see Figure 1). In the survey, more than 70% of the participants believed that the turnover rate of new-generation employees was higher than that of other employees.

The numbers are pessimistic.

However, there is a fact that is often overlooked: the researchers of the new generation of employee management, whether they are experts, scholars or business managers, are basically non-new generation. Researchers rely on their own observations to label the new generation, but rarely listen to what the new generation has to say. This means that in the research on the new generation of employees, the new generation as the research subject is absent.

So, how do the new generation see themselves?

In this survey of CEConlines, 23% were born after 1985, that is, the new generation in people's mouths. The survey results show that the self-image of the new generation is 10 to 20 percentage points higher than that of others (see Figure 2).

From November last year to February this year, the CEConlines held a number of forums in Hangzhou, Shanghai, Wenzhou, Xiamen, Zhongshan, Dongguan and other places with the theme of "From the New Generation to the New Force". Nearly 200 business managers attended each forum.

The forum not only invites management experts, psychologists, and business managers to discuss the hot topic of new-generation employee management, but also invites new-generation employees to speak out. Here, we see a divergence in management.

At the Hangzhou Forum, Hu Jingjin, a new generation employee from Hangzhou Jiefa Materials Co., Ltd., expressed surprise at the survey results. She mentioned: "It is not suitable for the new generation to use 'unsteady'. I think I'm actually pretty solid, and there are many solid people in our team. If you go to our office at nine o'clock in the evening, you will see that most of your colleagues are still working overtime."

This also coincides with According to the survey results of "CEConline", although as high as 41% of the non-new generation think that the new generation has low work enthusiasm, for the new generation, this data is only 28%.

The difference lies not only in the level of data, but also in the driving force behind the figures.

Perhaps as the new generation above said: "We have just stepped into society, but we just don't know the direction of our efforts and development. When we have a goal we seek, we will The goal shows his inner impulse and the solidity just mentioned. What we need most is the approval and praise of the boss, in our opinion, this is more important than money."

What do the new generation want?

"Our generation is basically an only child, supported by parents, and there is no financial pressure, so many times, we are not so cautious when considering issues. , a lot of times it depends on the mood. If the work is very pleasant, I will stay in this company, otherwise I will leave immediately..."

Dai Yapei, a post-85 employee of Baiming International Trade (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. This statement depicts the typical mentality of the new generation of employees. For them whose material needs are not so urgent, salary is an unimportant reason to keep them. Now that the traditional material incentives are no longer so effective, managers will be puzzled by this question: what do the new generation want?

In the eyes of Ding Lingye, assistant general manager of Zhejiang Huazhijie Building Materials Co., Ltd., what the new generation needs is affirmation and recognition. In Huazhijie, daily work reports are carried out in the form of weekly reports. The management of the company will respond to each weekly report, and the questioners will be answered. Even employees who simply report will be encouraged or praised. "We use more humane language, rather than a relatively official tone, so that employees are very easy to accept, and they will feel 'I'm doing it, you know, you affirm me, let me know'." In Ding Lingye's view, it is easier to communicate with the new generation without the cold official face.

In the eyes of Beijing-Tianjin, a post-1985 employee, his boss, Guo Wancheng, General Manager of Hangzhou Jiefa Materials Co., Ltd. used to lose his temper. I have nowhere to be ashamed." But in the past two years, Guo Wancheng has gradually become more praiseworthy, "My boss often praises me, and some of his praises are not achieved. At this time, I feel guilty and feel that the boss praises me. But I haven't done it yet, so I will work harder." The post-85 employee seems to be very happy to accept this kind of incentive.

In the survey of "New Generation Employee Management", most of the participants agreed that the new generation employees are not only in terms of creativity, plasticity, self-confidence, as well as their familiarity with and application of new technologies such as the Internet, etc. are higher than other employees (see Figure 3).

These characteristics are also destined that the new generation cannot stick to the rules like the predecessors. Chen Jian, chairman of Baiming International Trade (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., has a clear understanding of this. He mentioned: For the new generation, we must look at it with Internet thinking. The essence of Internet thinking is equality first. The second is the sense of participation.

Lv Qi, Consulting Director of Hay Group, proposed at the Shanghai Forum that companies can adopt gamification management methods to adapt to the Internet thinking mode of the new generation of employees. For example, Shanda's employee management system is like an online game, using points system. "For performance management, many companies will use methods such as setting performance goals and signing performance contracts. In fact, many employees are not happy. We did a project in Beijing half a year ago and adopted a game-like decoding method, and everyone was very enthusiastic. Let’s work together.” In Lu Qi’s view, good management is to use wisdom to drive everyone to participate, rather than to propose a high-level plan for everyone to complete.

As a representative of manufacturing enterprises, Yu Chuanhua, general manager of Shanghai Zanrui Industrial Co., Ltd., has a slight objection to gamification management. In his opinion, "manufacturing is very rigorous, while games are divergent thinking. ", the two may not be compatible. Regarding this concern, Lu Qi's suggestion is: gamification can be implemented in a variety of ways, which requires enterprises to implement according to the actual situation.

Break out of the cycle of management

More than ten years ago, when the post-80s entered the workplace for the first time, countless people exclaimed "the wolf is coming". The characteristics of the post-80s generation that are different from those of the previous generation have made managers nervous, and it has also made "managing the post-80s generation" an enduring topic in the past decade.

The myth of the post-80s generation has not been broken, and the post-85s and post-90s have grown into the main force in the workplace. How to manage the post-80s? How to manage the post-90s? How to manage the post-00s? How to manage after 10? …Are managers going to be stuck in this hopeless cycle from generation to generation? That's right, if managers can't learn to "dance with wolves", the story of "the wolf is coming" will be repeated again and again.

At the Shanghai Forum, Lv Qi, the consulting director of Hay Group, analyzed the differences between different generations of employees. He mentioned that the post-70s generation will go around the southern wall when they see it, and the post-80s generation will not hit the southern wall and will not turn back. When the post-90s hit the south wall, not only did they not look back, but they also knocked the south wall out of the hole. They have no rules, no authority.

According to the relevant survey of Hay Group, among the six leadership styles of commanding, visionary, affinity, democracy, leading and coaching, Chinese managers are the best at and most commonly adopted. is command type.

Lv Qi pointed out: The command type emphasizes authority the most, and the new generation is the most anti-authority generation. For them, visionary management should be appropriately employed, with a clear vision and the participation of the new generation of employees. Just like Hu Jingjin, the representative of the new generation of employees at Hangzhou Station, said: Give us a direction, and we will run hard.

Each generation has its own perplexities and dreams, as well as the unique imprint of that era. Only managers who are as agile as water can they conform to the trend of the times. Regrettably, in the survey of CEConlines, 24% of the participants still believed that the management of the new generation of employees requires managers to strengthen their authority, and the option score of "managers should adapt to the psychology of the new generation of employees" The lowest, only 15%. There are also managers who said on the forum: I treat my employees as family members, and I am enthusiastic, but the employees leave if they want, without considering how much the company has paid for him, which is really sad.

At the Hangzhou Forum, Feng Yun, a management psychologist and CEO of China Xinrong Group, once borrowed a famous sentence from psychology to warn managers: I am the root of everything. Ding Lingye, assistant to the general manager of Hangzhou Huazhijie Plastic Building Materials Co., Ltd., also expressed his insights on the forum: Don't blame the employees first, ask yourself whether you have done your best.

"The world is yours and ours, but in the final analysis, it is yours." If managers can remember this sentence, the management of the new generation of employees may no longer be a problem.