Today’s guest post is from Eric Leist, a Public Relations major in Boston University’s class of 2010.  Eric blogs over at Meghan Biro’s firm Talent Culture and on his own blog, EricLeist.com

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You’ll never figure out what’s wrong with me. Am I lazy? Arrogant? Rude? I’m an enigma. A puzzle waiting to be solved. I have wired veins; technology is my DNA. I pay for pre-ripped jeans. And yes, I do expect to wear them to work.

I’m Gen-Y. Hear me roar.

Like it or not, my generation is charging into the workforce. Yep, all 70 million of us. We’re a talented herd, too. HR directors will play Ringling Brothers trying to tame us, hire us, and retain us. Most will fail.

The Gen-Y stampede of talent cannot be stopped and refined. It must be harnessed.

So for all you HR directors out there struggling with the wild Gen-Y animals, here are five characteristics we look for in the workplace. Know them. Embrace them. Love them. You’ll need to in order to attract and retain the top talent in my generation.

1) We want to wear jeans. But it’s not about the denim. It’s about the casual atmosphere. We want coworkers we can hang out with. We like relaxed environments. We’re not afraid to log long hours. We’ll get our work done before the deadline, and the results will be stellar. So what difference does it make what we wear when we work? If you don’t let us wear pajamas, at least let us wear jeans.

2) We want flexibility. Forget these formulaic job descriptions. You won’t be able to force our skill sets into roles defined by previous generations. You’re better off creating roles around our skill sets. Give us the freedom to work from home, and we’ll prove we deserve it. Gen-Y-ers don’t mind checking in on their BlackBerry over the weekend if they have the option of working remotely.

3) We want the latest and greatest gadgets. Our generation was the first to grow up with computer classes. Cell phones and texting were everything in high school. We get frustrated when we know better, faster, sleeker technology is out there and we don’t have it. The most defining value of Gen-Y is the desire to be tech-savvy.

4) We want mentors. Our grandparents held long-standing relationships with employers. We don’t. People work for people; not brands. We want to work for people who take a genuine interest in our careers. We seek out the opinions of our peers and our superiors, and we’re equally as willing to give advice.

5) We want to contribute, and we want to be paid for it. The Internet wove incredible information access into our upbringing. We competed fiercely against our peers for college admission. We’re deeply in debt after slaving over coffee machines and data entry programs at unpaid internships. Yes, we expect to be paid handsomely, but we’re eager to earn the cash and the respect that comes with it.

If we can’t find these things, we’re not afraid to start our own businesses. We’ll sculpt our own corporate cultures to fit our needs.

Eric Leist is a senior at Boston University and currently interns with TalentCulture. He has previously interned with the New York Giants, Mills & Company and 451 Marketing. When not studying Public Relations and Business, he’s an anchor and producer at BUTV10′s InsideBoston and VP of BU’s Public Relations Student Society. Eric also coaches a competitive public speaking team in Newton, MA and spends his extra time experimenting in the kitchen.

Photo Credit: Deanwissing

Harnessing the Gen-Y Beast is a post from: HR Think Tank

Even in a down economy, employee retention is a key management issue.  Despite rising unemployment, some employees have critical skills and intellectual capital that make them very attractive to your competition.  These employees, likely amongst your top performers, will look for continuous reinforcement that your company is right for them, and that they should stay.  If you don’t identify, recognize, and reward top performers, the inevitable WILL happen:  Your best employees will be working for your competition.

It’s no secret that this is a complex topic.  Employee retention sits somewhere at the intersection between stimulating and challenging work and recognition and rewards. What I do know is that intrinsic rewards are a huge factor.  In 2002 I participated in an extensive analysis of the results from a longitudinal study on Air Force retention across two types of motivators: extrinsic, intrinsic (for a full analysis, altruistic and social motivators could also be considered). The study found that intrinsic motivators – such as personal development, intellectually stimulating work, and the ability to produce feelings of accomplishment – outweighed extrinsic motivators like level of pay and yearly pay increases.  With that being said, I’ll leave the real heavy lifting around incentive, recognition, and reward strategies to guys like Paul Herbert but I’d like to talk about one critical piece of employee retention that should not be overlooked: Company Culture.

One key to retaining top talent is to establish a meaningful relationship between the employee and the company.  It comes down to creating an environment that breeds bidirectional loyalty.  What does this mean for you as a company?  In a world of thinner margins and tighter budgets as long as compensation is within a reasonable range, you can retain employees by focusing on your corporate culture.  Good, transparent “what you see is what you get” leadership and a strong focus on hiring and protecting the door can go a long way in developing loyal employees.

The importance of team chemistry cannot be emphasized enough.  I can speak from experience – In 2006 when I was making the decision to leave the Air Force, the one thing that kept nagging at me was the feeling like I was letting my coworkers down.  I felt an intense loyalty and closeness to the people I served with, and despite traveling 180-200 days a year, and being paid about 25-30% less than my market value, I didn’t want to leave.  Lucky for me, I eventually landed at SEI.  Recruited by another colleague who I have immense respect for, I’m working for a company that really get’s this right.  SEI has an intense focus on recruiting the right people, and then reinforces a strong business model with an engaged leadership team.  Recently, leadership reinforced their proactive approach by unveiling a well planned 5-year succession plan, which in itself was architected with a focus on ensuring the long-term viability of our unique corporate culture.

So when considering retention, focus on what matters and what you can readily influence – your corporate culture.  Hire the right people, protect the integrity of your organizations culture, and don’t sacrifice long term team chemistry for short term revenue gains.  Be loyal to your employees, and give them a reason to be loyal back.

(Photo Credit: http://www.aurora-tds.co.uk)

Retention Issues? Focus on Culture First is a post from: HR Think Tank

I love sports.  I also love discussion that shows the parallels and commonalities between sports and business (one of the reasons I love reading @kris_dunn’s HR Capitalist).  I also tend to be one of those guys who thinks that leadership is the linchpin in the success of any organization – you can put a bunch of all-stars on any team and still have monumental failure without sound leadership (see 2004 “Dream Team” results).

Enter Cincinnati football head coach Brian Kelly

I really want to like this guy.  For one, he’s a Boston guy and for those of you that know me, you know that I am fiercely loyal to Boston and the people here.  I simply love the city.  Kelly is also a proven winner – 41-2 at Grand Valley State in his last three seasons (118-35-2 overall).  He went on to coach a weak Central Michigan team to winning 19-16 record over three seasons, and then led the Cincinnati for four solid years, peaking this year with a #3 BCS ranking and a game against Florida in the Sugar Bowl.  A game, of course, that will be played without their head coach…

My point – Not every winner is a leader.  Leaders inspire.  Leaders value loyalty.  Leaders FINISH.

Mr. Kelly, what happened to talking to your team?  Kelly told the press “I’m going to be up front and honest with them…” in post-game news conferences, yet his team was told in a meeting room three hours after news broke – they were upset, and I would be too – Kelly sold out.  Kelly left Central Michigan to play without a coach in their bowl game in 2006, and he left Cincinnati this year.  Brian Kelly might be a winner, but Brian Kelly is not a leader.

This happens in business all the time.  CEOs jump ship to become CEOs of bigger companies with fatter wallets before the job is done; Employees at all levels leave companies all the time for hundreds of different reasons.  I’m not suggesting that people don’t have a development path or that people don’t capitalize on great opportunities.  What I am suggesting is that you continually ask yourself if you are finishing a job…are you truly leading your team? Are you communicating openly with people that count on you?  Companies value finishers – people that move the chains and close out projects.  Your new company or your new boss will respect that, and so will your peers and employees.  Leave early – and you might just lose your team, damage your network, or seriously hamper future recruiting efforts for your organization.  You may leave a winner, but you won’t leave as a leader.

What do you guys think – justified business move?  Poor leadership?  Would love to hear your thoughts.

Leadership 101: Leaders Finish is a post from: HR Think Tank