As your top-tier personnel ages, it is natural to look to younger people for replacements. However, there is growing concern among business owners that the next generations – specifically Millennials and Generation Z – are not ready for the responsibility.
Are younger people less responsible?
No. In fact, younger generations have had a significant desire to take the reins and acquire more responsibility for some time. Workplaces are even now conforming to the millennial influence by reviewing their technology and other policies. This has caused no small amount of tension.
Yet, while Millennials once drove many innovative practices, that has changed in recent years. Now, more and more people under 40 find “traditional” jobs unsatisfying upon reaching long-held goals in their careers. Overtime and inflexible schedules have been replaced by attributes that foster a healthy work-life balance.
Potential leaders do not see the benefit.
The problem, it seems, is that Millennial and Gen Z has had many obstacles in the way of their careers as they came into the workforce. These challenges led to many disadvantages, and they are now a discouraged labor pool.
Discouragement in the ranks means that there is now a shortage of candidates for new senior positions and even successors to CEOs. Without the diversity of choice, the leaders of tomorrow may not necessarily have the skills or ability to run the companies of tomorrow.
What can owners do today?
With the current working environment and the continuing difficulties of the pandemic, it is not easy to conceive of new ways to attract workers. More and more, companies find themselves in a race to discover new ways to build their workforces, but those workforces are getting thinner by the day.
This is a troubling future, to be sure. However, your company is surely not in danger. You can craft comprehensive, advantageous employment policies that attract high-level talent and protect your company with proper legal guidance.