New Article by ThinkingAhead Partner Kay Linder Warns Organizations to Pay Attention to their Gen Xers – or Else
(PRWEB) May 18, 2016 -- Kay Linder, who leads the healthcare, IT and analytics practice at executive search firm ThinkingAhead, has published a timely new article that warns executives and managers not to risk neglecting, alienating and ultimately losing what is likely their organization’s most important human capital cohort: Gen Xers.
Linder’s article, which is entitled “It's Not All About Millennials: Why Organizations Must Pay Attention to Gen Xers – or Else!" and published in LinkedIn, highlights that the recent focus on incoming Millennials and outgoing Boomers has left many Gen Xers out in the cold; and in many cases, compelling them to head out the door.
“The pressure being put on these loyal stalwarts by leadership to coach and cultivate Millennials is so extreme and unrelenting, that it’s causing the unthinkable: Gen Xers are turning off, tuning out and taking off,” writes Linder, who in addition to being a partner at ThinkingAhead, has been a member of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society since 1998. “Many of them are burning out and taking extended leave, burning out and not taking extended leave (which can be worse), or handing in their resignation -- often preferring unemployment, or a downgrade in salary, security and role”.
However, despite the severity of this problem -- one worsened by the fact that Gen Xers are difficult to recruit given their ever-dwindling representation in the workforce -- Linder advises that, no matter what their human resources landscape looks like, it’s not to late for organizations to take action and stem the tide. To achieve that outcome, she advises executives, managers and other decision-makers to answer five key questions:
1. Do we have enough information about Gen Xers -- not just in terms of what they do, but with respect to what they need to be successful and satisfied?
2. How are we training, equipping and supporting independently-minded Gen Xers to mentor group-oriented Millennials?
3. How are we providing Gen Xers with the flexibility they need to manage all of their personal and professional obligations?
4. Is the compensation we’re providing Gen Xers in alignment with the elevated “bridge to the future” role we’re asking them to perform?
5. Do we have enough opportunities for promotion so that high-performance Millennials can be moved up in a way that compliments rather than competes with Gen Xers?
“While asking these questions only takes up a few words, answering them is, naturally, a more involved process,” concludes Linder. “Yet as we have seen without exception, organizations that make the effort are soon rewarded with a much stronger, more stabilized and engaged workforce”.
As noted, the full text of “It's Not All About Millennials: Why Organizations Must Pay Attention to Gen Xers – or Else!" is available on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/its-all-millennials-why-organizations-must-pay-attention-kay-linder?trk=prof-post.
For additional information, interview requests and media inquiries, contact Kay Linder at [email protected].
About ThinkingAhead
ThinkingAhead recruits high caliber candidates for a global list of client companies, ranging in size from the INC 500 to Fortune 100, while operating on a contingency, engaged and retained fee basis in the following specialties: Commercial Banking and Commercial Finance, Energy Industry, Healthcare IT, Informatics & Analytics, Information Technology & Gaming, Nonprofit, and Pharmaceutical and Medical Device. Unique in the marketplace, ThinkingAhead is an employee owned company with approximately 50 award winning consultants, widely recognized as Subject Matter Experts in their respective specialties. Learn more at http://thinkingahead.com.
Kay Linder, Thinking Ahead Executive Search, http://www.thinkingahead.com, +1 252.453.3399, [email protected]
Share this article