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Employing the next generation

17-Nov-2011

A study commissioned by Cisco, interviewed 2800 young professionals aged between 20-30 years old in 14 countries.  The purpose was to understand the needs of future employees and their technology requirements.  

Here is our summary of the key findings from the study:

Salary alone is not enough.

In order to attract the A-Player knowledge workers of the future, their desire to use the internet more freely in the workplace is becoming strong enough to influence their choice of employer, sometimes more than salary does.

Social media.

They especially want the freedom to access social media at work. If they are banned from accessing social media, they are less likely to accept a job offer - or if they did join a company with such a policy, they would find a way to circumvent the company policy.

Personal devices.

The days of one device for work are over.  77% of employees have multiple devices, such as a laptops smartphones, tablets, and they want the ability to use all of their personal devices for work.  Not only do they want the flexibility to use a device of their own choosing - if they receive a company-issued device, they believe it should be allowed for personal and business use because of the blurring of work and personal communications in their daily lives.

Working remotely.

As the line between personal and work time becomes more blurred, employees are looking for opportunities to work remotely, and to have greater flexibility in their work hours.  They want to be able to connect to their company network from their home computers and personal mobile devices at any time, from any location.  In the near future they also expect to be able to connect to work from new user interfaces such as car navigation screens, seatback screens on airplanes, and from their home televisions.

Flexible schedules.

For young professionals, the desire to work remotely with a flexible schedule is becoming viewed as a right, not a privilege.  70% believe it is unnecessary for them to be in the office regularly.  The findings indicate that the expectations of the next-generation workforce is increasingly emphasizing work flexibility, mobility, and non-traditional work styles.         

How prepared is your business to attract and cater for this next generation of knowledge workers?

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