Technology and the latest generation of worker

There are many applications for human capital management, but how do we entice and motivate young workers? Thanks to Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and old-school texting, the current generation of worker shows up with a severe case of technology-induced ADD.  Some recent (and not scientific) discussions during HCM case study interviews found that this everyone-is-special generation is more demanding of technology in three broad areas: rapid delivery of information, relevant information, and mobile access to information. It’s obvious that old-school foosball tables, brightly colored open-plan offices, and Excel training classes aren’t going to impress these workers. What will drive them are social applications such as Chatter, business intelligence applications like Kalido, and mobile access – which conveniently is part of just about every technology vendors’ strategy. So the good news is that this special generation isn’t so special and the steps most organizations are taking today are in line with the demands of the current crop of workers. That said, actually getting them to do something productive with this wealth of connectivity and information is another issue.