Do these scenarios sound familiar to you? You hired a new employee who never showed up to work. Or you have an employee who consistently shows up late. Or possibly you have an employee who has been working at your restaurant for several months and one day fails to show up to work at all. But the following Monday the truant employee returns, still expecting to have a job.

Claire Raines, an organizational consultant in Denver and co-author of TWENTYSOMETHING: Managing and Motivating Today's New Work Force, cites such scenarios as common complaints expressed by her hospitality clients. The bad news: Every time a business loses an employee, the high cost of recruiting, hiring and training a replacement eats into the profit margin. America's primary labor supply for the next decade — people currently in their teens and 20s — represents the smallest population group in U.S. history, and the shallowest pool of entry-level workers in modern times. There simply are not enough of them to go around, especially in the service industry.

Generation-X employees make up approximately 56 percent of the foodservice work force, according to the National Restaurant Association's Foodservice Employee Profile — 1994, which means most restaurateurs probably employ twentysomethings in their operations. The good news: These young people may be some of the hardest working, most loyal, most technoliterate employees you have ever hired — if you learn how to bring out the best in them.

X marks the generation

Who are we talking about when we say "Generation X"? This generation is known by a variety of labels: twentysomethings, baby-busters (since they are one of the smallest demographic generations), post-boomers, the 13th generation or Thirteeners (the 13th generation since the ratification of the Constitution), and slackers (referring to their alleged lack of a work ethic).

Depending on who you ask, Generation X includes people born between 1965 and 1985, or those born between 1960 and 1980 — nobody is quite sure where to draw the demographic boundaries. But it is commonly agreed that people in this generation were shaped by significant social trends and cultural events that occurred during their first 20 years. Raines posits that an economic roller-coaster during the 1970s, outdated and overcrowded schools, the downfall of national heroes, the Challenger disaster and workaholic parents all contributed to the psychological temperament of this generation.

According to Raines, two trends unequivocally molded this generation into the self-reliant, pragmatic individuals that they are: the phenomenon of latchkey children and sky-high divorce rates. These experiences imbued Generation X with an entirely different set of goals and values than their baby-boomer managers.

Generation Xers appear reluctant to commit — whether it's to a career or marriage; they strive for balance between their professional lives and their personal lives; they have eschewed the materialism that came to define the baby-boomers; and they are masters of change and technology. They expect to have fun on the job, be included in corporate decision-making, and be given the opportunity to learn new skills and tackle new challenges.

"Generation-X employees want balance and flexibility," says Raines. "They also want to do meaningful work, continue to learn and grow, and be able to make a contribution. That means taking your employees seriously and listening to their ideas." "We've seen what has happened to our parents. We watched them dedicate their lives to corporations and then be blindsided by downsizing," says Dallas-based consultant Bradley Richardson, author of JobSmarts for TwentySomethings. "There is a new social contract between employer and employee that works like this: 'I know I'm not going to be here forever. You have the right to let me go whenever you want, I have the right to go whenever I want. In exchange for that, I, as the employee, expect to have an environment where I can develop skills that will advance my career and be treated like an intelligent individual. For my part, I will be a dedicated employee and I will give 110 percent while I am here.' I think the employers who approach jobs from that school of thought will gain twentysomething loyalty early on."

Thinking like twentysomethings

Why is it important for employers to understand what makes these Generation Xers tick? For Karen Tracy, senior management development specialist for Dublin, Ohio-based Wendy's International, Inc., the answer to that question is simple. "Managing Generation X in our industry — the service industry — is critical, because they make up a large segment of our work force and our available pool of workers," she says. "At Wendy's, they make up approximately 73 percent of our company-owned [restaurants'] work force, so we can't discount them." Further complicating the issue is the fact that today's workers can go next door and get another job. "We need them more than they need us," Tracy adds.

The twentysomething hiring challenges that confront chains like Wendy's also plague independent operators like Greg Davenport, owner of Davenport's Family Restaurant in Cumberland, Rhode Island. Nearly 33 percent of his 42 employees are Generation Xers.

"One of the biggest problems I have is finding the right employees to make the establishment successful," he says. Davenport laments what he perceives as a diminished work ethic and decreased job dedication in some of his twentysomething employees.

Raines asserts that this generation will be the primary supply of new labor for the next 10 years. And most important, she says, they are an endangered species in the service industries. Retailers, hotels, restaurants and resorts are suffering from the effects of two-thirds of a million fewer new workers per year since the mid-'80s. Effective management of Generation-X workers is "the only way you're going to be able to make your business survive, let alone thrive," says Raines.

"There is a real shortage of front-line workers in the service industry; therefore, we have to keep the ones we have. It's really expensive to be recruiting, hiring and training new people constantly. Your products and services are being delivered by your front line — and if they don't care, they aren't going to do a good job. It's the right thing to do and it's the nice thing to do; but if you want to stay in business, it's the only thing to do."

Although baby-busters can be frustrating employees, they do bring certain advantages to the workplace. One is their comfort with technology, which is a huge asset as restaurateurs increasingly depend on computers to schedule employees, manage seats, plan menus and analyze nutrition, track inventory and purchases, and update finance and accounting records. "Your system may be a new technology to them, but young employees are able to grasp the technology much more quickly, which means a much shorter learning curve," says Bradley Richardson.

Raines adds that twentysomethings are endowed with an uncanny ability to learn new tasks and accept new challenges. She feels this flexibility will be an important asset as the workplace continues to evolve. "Employers will need people who can change on a dime," says Raines. "I consider this generation of people to be real change-masters."

Xer speak

Managing employees effectively begins with understanding their values, their expectations and their goals. Achieving that understanding requires foodservice operators and managers to set aside their own system of values and expectations, and to avoid the inclination to impose that system on Generation-X employees. This is a road, however, that can be paved with frustration for both management and employees, and it often leads to one generation complaining about the other.

Raines admits that baby-boomer managers tend to have many complaints about their Generation-X employees, but the most common complaint focuses on a perceived lack of a work ethic. "I probably hear that complaint more than anything else," she says. "I feel I really have to help people understand that it's not a matter of no work ethic, it's a matter of a different work ethic."

It's this approach to work that permits twenty-somethings to achieve the quality of life that their parents lacked, and to carve out time for developing relationships with family and friends and pursuing outside interests — two generational characteristics that take precedence over careers.

Wendy's Karen Tracy says that this need to guard personal time can lead to scheduling conflicts. "Some of the difficulties managers may experience with Generation-X employees may stem from differences over the hours worked. A typical scenario is, 'I don't want to work those hours, but you've got me on the schedule,'" she says.

Raines contends that such a situation can lead to lateness and absenteeism — two other common complaints leveled against Generation-X workers — if the manager remains unyielding.

Related to the way Generation Xers view their work as merely a means to an end is the way they work, which is also sometimes baffling to operators and managers. Quite simply, twentysomethings want to have fun on the job. In fact, Raines says that managers report that fun seems to be these young workers' first priority. "Fun has joined the ranks of corporate benefits in its level of importance," Raines writes in her book. "The notion that work should be fun is disturbing to many main-line managers. Those people in their 30s and 40s were reared in homes in which their World War II — veteran fathers dutifully trudged off to work each day to do jobs they may or may not have liked. The concept of fun at work was only a coincidental occurrence. Not so for the twentysomething crowd. They have been nursed by a national media that is among the best in the world. They've never truly been weaned from that electronic surrogate which fed them a diet of fun throughout their growing-up years."

Tracy confirms that expectations about how the work gets done can be a point of contention between employees and managers. "They may be very productive workers; however, the manager has one expectation about how the work should get done, and his Generation-X workers are getting the work done, they're just getting it done while enjoying it," she says.

Although managers complain about the lack of work ethic in today's twentysomething workers, statistics don't support that view. In The Public Perspective, a Roper Center review of public opinion and polling, Everett Carll Ladd writes, "Is the work ethic eroding as new generations appear on the scene? If it is, one can't tell it from the surveys. These data don't show the work ethic stronger among older groups than among the young."

The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research in Storrs, Connecticut, found that 87 percent of twentysomethings were satisfied with their job demands, 87 percent felt a strong sense of loyalty to their employers and 69 percent believed that people advance by their own hard work. But for a manager struggling to get his mostly twentysomething crew to show up consistently and on time, that may be hard to believe.

Another bewildering characteristic that employees from this generation exhibit is their refusal to bow to authority. "Younger workers will not respect you just because you're the boss," says Raines. "They want to know why they're being asked to do things. They question authority, and they have a disregard for hierarchies."

Tracy explains that it is essential to make them understand the why behind what you're requesting them to do, even if it's wearing a uniform. "An employee who doesn't understand that concerns for safety and appearance make wearing a uniform necessary may rebel against wearing it at all." A savvy manager can defuse that situation by explaining to the employee why the uniform is required, or even organizing employee focus groups to discuss alternative uniforms that still meet safety and appearance standards but are more comfortable to wear.

What do these twentysomethings want?

You may be at the end of your rope trying to get your baby-buster employees to comply with your operation's policies, but realize that the old-style management technique of "my way or the highway" is not effective with this generation — they will opt for the highway.

To stabilize his work force, Greg Davenport implemented several strategies at Davenport's Family Restaurant, the most significant being a new 30-hour training program that incorporates videotapes and simplified manuals. "We're taking more time to train our employees so they have the skills to do the jobs we're asking them to do," he says.

Davenport says he has also learned the importance of designing flexible schedules, listening to employee feedback, rewarding employees for exceptional work and promoting qualified employees. It is worth making the effort to understand his baby-buster employees, Davenport says, because he's "looking for long-term employees, not ones that will be out the door in three months."

Tracy says that "it's critical that we look at how we gain commitment from these people, so that they want to stay and they feel good about working and where they're working." Whether the problem is lateness, absenteeism or reluctance to wear a uniform, what does work is talking to your twentysomething employees. "Start by talking to your employees, involving them in the decision-making process, and let them know that you're willing to listen to their ideas," she says. "Listening is an extremely powerful management tool."

And listen is exactly what Wendy's did. Tracy helped to organize focus groups of Wendy's employees that included everyone from general managers to crew members throughout the country and asked them what they wanted from their jobs and their employer. The result was "FAMILY Principles," which address the specific needs of Generation-X employees but also make everyone feel a part of the Wendy's family.

Tracy explains the principles behind the program. The "F" in FAMILY stands for fun. "Generation X wants to have fun while their work gets done," says Tracy. "A" stands for applaud your people. "Recognize or reward people for a job well done. A simple thank you goes a long way." "M" stands for model. "We're telling our managers to walk their talk." "I" stands for involve. "Involve your people in the decision-making process. Ask for and use their ideas whenever possible, and when you can't use them explain why." "L" stands for lead. "Lead and develop your people. Whether you continuously train or cross-train your employees, work with them to develop those transferable skills."

And finally, "Y" stands for yield. "Be flexible. Accommodate people's requests when possible, particularly with scheduling." Although Tracy admits that these principles are not newfangled, she says that when applied consistently they demonstrate a commitment to the employees' well-being, and that creates an environment where workers thrive. "I think these principles are a really good place to start to effectively manage, motivate and retain today's employees," she says. "But this should be just one of the strategies you use in your company. While it is a good foundation for a management philosophy, it's not the golden nugget." v

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