What comes to mind when you think of the Net Generation? Do you think of lazy, selfish, spoiled brats? Or creative, tech savvy go-getters?!@!
Your first thoughts may expose a prejudice against this new generation. And in a corporation where your boomers are on the precipice of retirement and your prospective leaders are Net Geners, this prejudice will ultimately inhibit your success.
Based on the findings from a $4 million research project involving thousands of interviews, Don Tapscott wrote Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World. He found that despite their eccentricities, organizations have to embrace this new generation or face employee shortages. Companies that “selectively and effectively embrace Net Gen norms perform better than those that don’t,” according to his book.
These “Net Gen norms” include customization, collaboration and innovation. The learning organization plays a role in customizing development, promoting collaboration and opening the doors to innovation.
What has your organization done embrace these norms and develop a Net Gen friendly environment?
Tapscott also believes that the “old HR model” of “recruit, train, supervise and retain” is no longer applicable. Instead it should be “initiate, engage, collaborate and evolve.”
Do you think the HR model needs to change? If so, what’s learning’s role in that evolution?
