Recently, I’ve heard from owners of several thriving companies that there are far fewer young people who actually want to work than those in their 50’s.
One owner told me he was looking for new people to grow his team, where the average age is 50. But said that it was hard to find hardworking young people.
And he was not the first to say this.
“There are no young people who want to work hard!”
Is this true?
I know from experience that there are the same proportion of hardworking people among young people as in any other generation. So I got curious.
We looked at his job ad and it was too general.
There were no specific idea of who he was actually looking for. The following questions helped us:
- How do you imagine such a person?
- Have you ever had someone on your team who was ideal for the position? And what was right about them?
- What is the hardest part of the job and what is the most enjoyable?
- What result should this person achieve?
- What activities will lead to that result and how will they specifically help the company?
This shift in thinking paid off. We rewrote the ad and focused it precisely on an energetic, results oriented person.
It became immediately clear from the ad that –
- The business knew exactly who they needed and the results expected,
- There was a workload waiting along with new challenges,
- The new team member would be recognised very well for a job well done,
- Their performance would directly influence their pay.
And what was the result?
The client now has three young and hardworking people in the business, including one recent graduate.
Thanks to this experience, the owner now knows that –
- Having a clear idea of who he needs and wants, will significantly increase the chance of finding the right person,
- A good position specification is the basis for a well-written job advertisement,
- There are hardworking, productive, well-intentioned people among the younger generation.
Our Tip:
Don’t be swayed by unnecessary prejudices.
The ratio of hardworking people is the same regardless of the generation.
Have a clear idea of who you are looking for, what you want from them, and what you will give and enable them to do, in exchange for great performance.
How you attract, select and run your team is what dictates how your team performs, how happy or frustrated you are, and how much fun you and your team have achieving the outcomes.
Schedule your free Hiring Demo and we’ll be ready to help.