Diversity in Action - Equal Employment Opportunities Trust

10 Diversity in Action | Autumn.11 Diversity in Action | Autumn.11 11Want to ensure you keep your young staff? Channel their energyand appetite for learning by offering clear expectations andgood career-path training, says Briscoe Group’s Rohan Bignell.Briscoe Group believes its approachto training and career developmenthas helped it boost employeeretention in a particularly youthfulsector – more than half of Briscoe’semployees are under 25.“The reality is if we investin young people and give themthose clear expectations, opportunitiesto learn and coaching, we willretain them in the long run andsave money on recruitment,” saysRohan Bignell, Briscoe Group’sNational People and PerformanceManager.“Because of their energy andtheir hunger to learn, we believe it’sa great investment to train them.We are often asked how we canafford to train our people, to whichwe always respond we believe wecan’t afford not to.”Numerous studies suggestthat training and development andopportunities for advancement areamong the key influencers of youngpeople’s engagement at work. Andengagement is all-important – alocal study has shown that whilethe under-20s are initially stronglyengaged with their jobs, going theextra mile to help their employersucceed, this soon declines; peoplein their mid to late 20s have thelowest levels of engagement of anyage group.Briscoe Group, which employsabout 2000 people in Rebel Sport,Briscoes Homeware and Living andGiving, has long offered industrytraining qualifications throughthe Retail Institute. But in 2008“The reality is if we invest in young peopleand give them those clear expectations,opportunities to learn and coaching, wewill retain them in the long run and savemoney on recruitment.”Rohan Bignell, Briscoe Group’s National People and Performance Manager.Paths to the future: the keyto keeping young staffthe two organisations developed acustomised on-the-job, nationallyrecognised training programmecalled the Customer Service Awardto build staff skills and show thema career path in retail, a field thatin New Zealand is often seen asa stopgap rather than a long-termoccupation. Employees can earn 22NZQA unit standards in areas suchas relevant retail legislation, sellingskills and communication, and so far230 employees have completed it.Says Rohan: “That’s an 85 per centcompletion rate and extremelyhigh by industry standards.”Work-life balance and flexibilityis also a key driver of engagementamong young people with busysocial lives, says Rohan. “We tryto work with that where we can;our rostering system has flexibilityand staff can, with their manager’spermission, self-roster and changetheir roster.” That requires quite atime investment by managers, heagrees, “but for our youth it seemsto be working – and we only do thatfor top performers.”So far, the Briscoe approach hasseen turnover among permanentstaff drop from 45 per cent in2006 to 35 per cent, says Rohan,representing substantial savingsgiven that it costs around $4,000 toSo far, the Briscoe approach hasseen turnover among permanentstaff drop from 45 per cent in2006 to 35 per cent, says Rohan,representing substantial savingsgiven that it costs around $4,000to recruit and train a new hire.Attributes and attitudesGeneration X (born about1965–1981) grew up in times ofeconomic and social upheaval,and was the first cohort toexperience high rates ofparental divorce. At work, theyare often seen as sceptical,self-focused, and keen to findbetter work-life balance thantheir parents did. They are oftendescribed as preferring steadyand balanced workplacesand avoid long working hours.Generation Y (about 1982–2003)are described as tech-savvydigital natives, with technologyshaping them into individualisticpeople who multi-task.Research suggests that they likea strong degree of mentoringand guidance to point themin the right direction, and areaware of their value in the jobsmarket. Their loyalty to any oneemployer can be limited, andthey aim for stimulating, funwork environments.recruit and train a new hire.So what personal qualitiesdo young people want fromtheir bosses? “Integrity,” saysKevin Sharpe, Human ResourcesManager for NZ Ski, another bigemployer of young people with16- to 25-year-olds comprisingaround 20 per cent of staff at theheight of the snow season.“Young staff haven’t alwaysdeveloped communication skills,so you really need to be quite clearabout what it is you want fromthem; you can’t backtrack andchange your mind,” says Kevin.“You need to be clear about yourexpectations and not move thegoalposts.”Young professionals may beolder and more highly skilled thanmany of those working in retailor tourism but for them simplyworking for a high-profile companyisn’t always enough. Increasingly,they ask: What’s in it for me?Recognising that sea change,professional services firm Deloitterevamped its graduate recruitmentcampaigns. It now promotes theDeloitte staff experience, whichincludes a comprehensive inductionprogramme, formal recognitionfor good work, employee benefitssuch as flexible hours and developmentopportunities. An importantelement of the campaign is youngstaffers talking about what they getfrom life at Deloitte.It’s an approach that has workedwell, says Duncan Brown, Head ofPeople and Performance: youngemployees’ engagement is up andattrition down.Work-life balanceand flexibility isalso a key driver ofengagement amongyoung people withbusy social lives