How to Manage Teens and Twenty-Somethings

As I was leaving the grocery store the other day I spotted a sign over the time clock that read, "Tuck in before you punch in." My first reaction was to pity the poor store manager who has to deal with employees who don't know enough to tuck in their shirts before they go to work. Almost immediately though, I could hear one of my own first bosses (also a grocery-store manager) saying, "Kids today are going to hell in a hand basket." I chuckled to myself and left thinking, "The more things change, the more they stay the same."

Later, though, I started wondering about the challenges of managing employees in their teens and early twenties. I thought about my experiences working in high school and college. I thought about my own teen-aged children, about teens I had taught and teens my wife tells me about from her high school. I reviewed some articles on the subject, written by people who specialize in intergenerational differences. I'd like to share with you what I've been thinking and learning.

If you're like most managers today, you have your share of employees who are in their teens and early twenties. While the world might not be going to hell in a hand basket because of employees in this age group, there are some important differences between today's kids and kids from a generation or two ago. Knowing about these differences and acting on that knowledge could have a big impact on your business.

What They Are

Today's employees who are in their teens and early twenties share many characteristics. They grew up in a unique time (as we all did). They are:

• Busy children of busy parents. They have always had very busy, closely scheduled lives. This gives them a need for flexibility as well as an inborn desire for a life beyond work.
• Children of the digital age. They are much more comfortable with technology than earlier generations will ever be. They played Nintendo instead of Monopoly, so they are used to getting immediate (and sometimes powerful) feedback on their performance.
• Witnesses to the effects of downsizing and scandals. Most of today's newest employees have seen a parent or relative lose work to a downsizing effort. They have all witnessed scandals that shook our faith in a number of institutions. It's no surprise, then, that they tend to distrust large institutions and think less in terms of a career as a loyal servant to a corporation and more in terms of a job that will be followed by another job somewhere else.
• Products of collaborative learning. More than any generation before them, today's newest employees have had years of experience with working in collaborative groups. From kindergarten to their high school classes, these are people who learned, played, and achieved while in small groups.
• Inexperienced. By itself, this is not a new characteristic. But it is important. While some of your newest employees may have flipped a few burgers or sold ice cream cones, many have not. And those who have some work experience may not have worked with employees like yours, or with your types of customers.

Tips on Managing Them

First off, it's important to recognize that we are all products of our own age. Baby boomers have always wanted status and a career, values that were important in the immediate post-war period. Because today's newest employees were raised in a different time, they have some different values regarding work. To manage them well, you'll need to embrace those different values as your own.

1. Provide some flexibility. Especially in scheduling, look for ways to allow your teens and twenties to "have a life." This isn't to say that you should give them flexibility you don't offer other employees, but I am saying that if you insist on a rigid schedule all the time you're going to be doing more exit interviews than you would like.
2. Give plenty of feedback. Keep in mind how quickly you find out if a move in a computer game works or not. Your newest employees are used to hearing right now if they're doing something right or wrong. Look for ways to keep the feedback flowing.
3. Emphasize the opportunity to learn new skills and for professional development. Too many employers believe, especially when dealing with younger employees, that training is a waste of time and money because, "They'll just take the training and go to work for someone else." The truth is just the opposite. These newest employees tend to appreciate it when you give them a chance to learn and improve. They'll repay you with loyalty.
4. Put teamwork to work. Your newest employees like working with people they like and they enjoy working in teams. Give them projects to work on independently in small teams and you will be surprised at the output. Pleasantly surprised.
5. Train them well. Since many of your newest employees have never worked, or have not worked in environments like yours, a thorough orientation and good training are essential to their (and your) success. Make your expectations for dress, grooming, and behavior absolutely clear. Let them know what it looks like to do a good job. And then trust them to follow your lead.

I have one more very important tip for you below. For now, just remember that the future isn't producing any more generations of baby boomers and war veterans. Getting aggravated or judgmental over "the way kids are today" won't increase anything but your blood pressure.

And who needs that?

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