Hiring the millennial generation

I keep reading about business having to hire consultants to help understand the new crop of workers. Seems to me the attitude of the new workers is really a reaction to the attitude of the companies.

Over the last 20 years I’ve watched companies shift their view of workers from a resource to a cost. Part of that shift has caused companies to use more and more temporary help agencies and contractors to fill job openings.

Since companies view workers as easily replaceable, the workers have accepted that view of themselves. With the advent of sites like Monster.com connecting workers withe jobs, workers view them selves as a commodity for sale to the highest bidder AND with lots of bidders. While this may not be true for all jobs, it certainly is for high tech.

Sending the jobs off-shore is accelerating this view. The simple truth is companies (or at least their employees) understand what is happening, and how to fix it. The companies are still in denial and are trying to get different results without changing what they are doing.

Benjamin Franklin said “Insanity is doing the same thing the same way and expecting different results”.