Investing in your employees is critical to your business. Bill Gates said “take away my top 20 employees and overnight Microsoft becomes a mediocre company.”  The cost of replacing staff far outweighs the benefit and cost of retaining your current loyal staff.  An employer who invests in recruiting the right people, developing and retaining the best employees will be rewarded time and time again. 

The two key points when recruiting employees is to think outside the square and hire employees that share your values.  The best way to also ensure that you have the right person is to select the person based on a set of skills, capability, culture fit, motivation and personality. 

So how do you ensure that you retain the best employees?  The following are the keys for effectively retaining your employees according to the NSW government small business website:

• create clear job descriptions and a regular performance and remuneration appraisal system
• explain the reporting structure and clearly communicate expectations
• invest in training and development
• provide a positive, supportive and creative working environment
• be approachable and reward staff with financial and other benefits
• provide a clear career path

It is important to have a good training plan for your business that covers a range of areas and demonstrates a focus on professional standards and commitment to your team and your clients. Businesses must also develop mentoring or cross training programs which will enable the sharing of skills at a one to one level and reduce the need for employees to move on to a competitor business to gain new experience.

Employees who receive regular training gain the following attributes:

• Good Team Spirit 
• Are Happier and Committed to the organisation
• Stable and Interested
• Efficient , Knowledgeable and Accurate

Employees need to remember that the environment that the employer works in will determine how productive, creative and happy they are. An open, friendly, supportive atmosphere is a must.  Overall this will create a sense of empowerment within the employee which will create a loyal and productive employee.

Generation Gen Y , Generation Next, iGeneration, the Millennials, the Peter Pan Generation and also negatively referred to as the  Me Generation and the Trophy Generation (meaning even if you came second you still get a prize generation).  Who is the Generation Y?

They are the ones born between years 1980 and 1994, they have survived they first Global Financial Crises with barely a scratch.  According to an article by the Age “They are far better educated and more globally aware and technologically savvy than any generation before them, and they are about to turn 30 this year. The oldest members of this privileged generation are poised to grab the management reins and revolutionise the workplace to suit themselves”.

In Australia, they number a fifth of the population but its not all good news for Generation Y.  Employers rank this generation as the ones that need the most maintenance as employees.  They are overindulged, disloyal, not prepared to work long hours to achieve their ambitions and do not like criticism.  Generation Y believes in work-life balance and really what is wrong with that.  Why work when you don’t have to.  Generation Y is amongst the happiest Generation as they believe that life is meant to be enjoyed.   

However Generation Yers will face great economic challenges mostly involving supporting financially the retiring baby boomers.  Economist Dr Nicholas Gruen ”A lot of baby boomers will go on the pension, whereas the gen Yers will all have saved 9 per cent or more of their salaries for 30 or 40 years before they hit retirement,” he says.  Other challenges that Generation Yers will face in the next 10 years will be face increased costs of living for energy, university debts and lifestyle bills (mobile and internet).

All generations face challenges and whose to say that the Generation Yers will not rise to meet the challenges as they are more educated and are more adaptable to change.  What should be the concern is the Generation Yers talent for spending and not thinking of the consequences.   This is probably a result of baby boomers allowing children to live at home until adulthood without the benefit of teaching them to be responsible.  When Generation Yers starts thinking about the future instead of the “I want it now” mentally they will probably be our most successful generation.