What Generation Y Workers Will Want in Technology

As technology vendors and enterprises study ‘Generation y’ and its alleged appetite for advanced technology, Ovum advises them not to trip over themselves scrambling to provide the latest and greatest tech toys to this next generation of workers. Much of Gen Y (those born between 1980 and 1995) is already in the workforce, and we believe that many of the technologies being aimed at this group are in fact generation-independent. Accordingly, we recommend that CIOs evaluate technologies on their merits and do not lose sleep over what Gen Y will or won’t demand.

 

 

As the technology industry looks for new, post-recession growth opportunities, attention has focused on Gen Y and the impact it may have on technology consumption and utilization. Gen Y came of age at a time when technology – the Internet, laptops, mobile phones – became pervasive; to them, these developments are routine, not revolutionary. In theory, as these technology-fluent employees and customers enter the workforce they won’t be satisfied by anything less than cutting-edge technology. Both vendors and enterprises are trying to anticipate their needs and demands.

 

Telstra (News - Alert) recently studied Gen Y in the Australian financial services industry and concluded that cutting-edge technology is important to Gen Y and is a key factor in attracting and retaining the most talented among them. Another vendor, CSC, apparently holds similar views and recently rolled out a range of Gen-Y-geared initiatives, including its C3 (News - Alert) collaboration tool, to employees in Australia.

 

Ovum agrees that it’s important to study Gen Y’s attitudes toward technology. And indeed, Australia is a good bellwether for other Western economies such as Europe and the US because of its high level of technology adoption, relatively strong education standards and similar impacts from the global financial crisis. Still, vendors and enterprises alike must be careful of the lessons they draw and how they apply them.

 

 

Before the recession hit, Australia was experiencing an economic boom that led to skills shortages in many industries and enterprises. Many organizations realized that attracting and retaining talented employees was a key to innovation and revenue growth. The downturn has dramatically altered the equation; shortages are – at least temporarily – a thing of the past, and recent graduates seem happy to find a job at all. Even so, many employers fear that economic recovery might make talent scarce once again.

 

Some organizations feel they must provide latest-model laptops to attract and retain Gen Y. Others are considering giving new employees cash to buy whatever laptop they choose. Some have also felt pressure to court Gen Y by providing technological tools for collaboration, social networking, remote access and mobile communication.

 

Ovum believes that despite Gen Y’s purported fondness for technology, in most cases it will play a relatively small role in recruiting and retention. We believe these technologies are really generation-independent and should be evaluated on their merits, for all staff, as part of broader enterprise strategies in which Gen Y is just one element. Factors such as remuneration, career progression, opportunities to work overseas, office location, training and education support, and general work/life balance are overarching issues, not just for Gen Y but for all staff, and will have a far greater impact on employer attractiveness.

 

 

A significant portion of Gen Y is already in the work force, and there has been no reluctance to accept jobs and no mass exodus from jobs due to not having the ‘right’ technology. The average tenure of Gen Y employees may be shorter than that of older ones, but employer-provided technologies are probably less to blame than the desire to find enjoyable, meaningful work.

 

In other words, there are many issues besides technology that influence the work lives and preferences of Gen Y employees. Consequently, Ovum advises caution in investing in technologies for their sake, as so far their attitudes haven’t proved much different to those of older workers. Gen Y may be keen on advanced technology, but this doesn’t seem to be a deciding factor in where they work or how long they stay.