Generation Y and Performance Management

I came across an interesting blog this week – YourHRGuy.com. According to his bio, Lance Haun is a 26 year old Human Resources Generalist practicing in the field for the past five years. His professional interests include recruitment, team building, training and development, employee relations and “restraining himself from beating the crap out of bad managers and employees.” In his blog, Lance talks a lot about what being a Gen Y-er means from an employment perspective – including issues related to work/life balance, job hopping, and bad supervisors.

This challenge of generational management is something we’re seeing more and more as we talk to HR practitioners across North America. Take PointRoll, for example…

PointRoll specializes in interactive online advertising, powering more than 60% of all rich media campaigns online. And it’s growing; in just over a year it has grown from 100 employees to 260. The average age of a PointRoll employee is 32, with recent college graduates becoming the fastest growing portion of the company’s staffing increase. “We wanted to implement an employee performance and talent management program that would match the progressive nature and technology savvy of our organization,” said Brian Spence, Director of Human Resources, PointRoll. He goes on to say that for many who are part of the Millennial generation, their position at PointRoll marks their first career job, and having clear feedback on their performance as well as specific goals to work towards, is key to job satisfaction.

The company selected an online employee performance and talent management solution. Key features are the performance journal, which allow managers and employees to record important performance milestones and providing a basis for ongoing feedback; as well as 360 degree feedback capability, to ensure employees are able to have peer, direct report and managerial input into any review process.

PointRoll employees have responded very positively to the new performance review process. Says Spence, “Our solution helps to close the communication gap. Because it’s so automated, the system helps us to focus on our people, despite the high level of activity that’s going on here. It helps keep our investment in our people at the forefront even when we’re swamped with projects.”

What are your experiences in the battle between the generations in your organization? What are you doing in your role in HR to recognize and cater to the differences between them?