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NetGeneration Leadership Forum kicked off 12 June 2008

Together with seven international companies and HENRY ry (The Finnish Association for Human Resource Management) Pertec launched a co-operation Forum to research, to distribute information and to develop methods of good leadership with the NetGen. The co-founders of the Forum alongside Pertec are Affecto, Basware, Fortum, Elisa, HENRY, Nokia, Tietoenator and Pöyry.

The aim of the Forum is to find out about and analyse the values, work ethics, as well as expectations of the work place and leadership, of the so-called net generation (Generation Y, those born in the late 1970´s and early 1980´s). Alongside meetings and workshops, the objective is to carry out surveys and test possible best practices within the member companies. The Forum also aims to generate a wider discussion and to hold a more extensive seminar on the topic.

At the inaugural meeting on 12 June 2008, the Forum “mentor”, 24-year-old British entrepreneur Lucian Tarnowski (www.BraveNewWorkplaces.com) went through some research findings about the work ethics of the net generation and told about his own experiences. Her are some of Lucian’s tips to companies:

- Reward immediately, when there is reason to. Small, frequent rewards work better than annual bonuses.

- Don’t treat everyone the same. Recognise difference, difference adds to innovation. Recognise and reward top talent. Salary and esteem are no longer the based on position but rather on the contribution made.

- Take corporate social responsibility seriously (84 % of young people say it is important that an employer is socially responsible.)

- Remember that a job interview is a two-way process, the young are at the same time interviewing the employer on its corporate values.

- A good salary is interesting, but does not motivate. Offer meaningful work. This generation particularly values prospects to evolve – and fast.

It is a particularly challenging task to be able to tell the difference between things that really have to do with age and those that actually are permanent changes. Analysing the general behaviour and values of the NetGen has its place but it might be more useful to segment more accurately what kind of geographical differences can be found, what the future workplace looks like, what influence new ways of learning and communication and social media have, how to develop employer image, how to reach talent on a global scale, and how to reward and give feed back and recognition to the NetGen.