Small businesses are defined as a company with 100 employees or less and this small business sector employs over half of the country’s workforce.
The statement above is statistically accurate, so we can surmise that over half of all college graduates will be working for what is considered a small company.
The graduating classes from now until 2020 are of the generation known as Generation Y (Gen Y). They are coming out of college with fairly high expectations, to the point that many HR professionals and business owners hiring the Gen Y group indicate they have an ‘attitude of entitlement’.
These expectations include; living life in the moment, quick gratification, and technology that is quick and simple to use. Their lives are lived “on line” and through “Apps”.
Now, let’s put these two things together.
Small business may not be leading edge when it comes to embracing the newest technology; the new workforce for the next 10 years expects leveraging new technology in their work day.
Do you see the possibility for a disconnect anywhere?
Let’s explore the hiring process as it may pertain to a small business bringing on a new Gen Y employee.
They continue with manually onboarding the employee within an ERP system, touching more than one department, all hard copy and all within the back office. Doesn’t sound very Gen Y-ish, right? If the owner or supervisor believes Gen Y new employees have an entitlement bend, could it be a result of the company not meeting the employee’s expectations? Gen Y’ers have grown up in technology. They trust it and not using technology is abnormal to them.
Even if the company operates on an ERP system, they can still leverage “app” like functionality through business process automation, therefore, meeting the expectations of the next generation and creating a more productive workforce while at it. With business automation, a new hire can access the appropriate documents, fill them out on-line, and send to the appropriate resources within various departments. Missing documents become a thing of the past, and Gen Y resources are operating on a level they are accustomed to.
Would anyone really believe that recruiting and retaining top talent would have anything to do with the automation of the onboarding process? Yet, as a first impression, showing a resource that has grown up with wireless connectivity and instant usage applications that the company they just went to work for is a decade behind them; their appraisal of your company may not be too good.
I urge you to think about what other business processes currently in place within your ERP system could be moved into the 21st century. For example, how could leveraging mobile apps for your business give your company a market advantage? Only about 15% of employers modify their policies for Gen Y resources, yet Gen Y resources are the resource pool. Doesn’t it make sense to leverage technology that the resource pool is most comfortable with?
Integrity Data is ready to help you bridge that generation gap with business process automation. Contact us at u-linc@integrity-data.com for a free consultation to review how adding workflow can help you meet all the expectations of the new Generation Y workforce.