Sarah Sladek is an author and consultant regarding the Millenials. Here is some info about her new book. I love the title. I read her first book. It was very informative.
Book teaches Boomers how to recruit and retain X, Y employees
Working nine to five isn’t the only way they make a living. They would rather start a business than climb a corporate ladder. Salary is not their primary motivator. And they certainly aren’t going to work forty years at the same company for a gold watch at the retirement party.
Generations X and Y are changing the way our world works because what’s worked in the past isn’t working for them. In many ways, they are like rock stars: high performance, high maintenance, and in high demand.
This is the insight offered by author Sarah L. Sladek in her latest book,Rock Stars Incorporated: Hiring the High Performance, High Maintenance Hotshots Half Your Age. The book dispels the myths about the slacker, self-centered generations and provides valuable insight on how to manage, motivate, and market to these rising stars.
Sladek uses examples of famous rockers in her book as metaphors for what’s happening in the world of work. An Xer herself, she explains that like most rockers, Generations X and Y have been largely misunderstood and heavily criticized.
“We’re often labeled as high-maintenance troublemakers—whether being demeaned as anti-authority non-conformists, self-centered slackers, ego-centric know-it-alls, or generations of pierced and tattooed weirdos,” Sladek says.
Nevertheless, Xers and Ys are the highest performing generations of all time. “These intelligent, worldly, technology-savvy, multi-taskers have talent to offer, but we won’t waste our time working for a company that doesn’t provide us with ample opportunity, freedom, and respect.”
On average, young professionals spend 20 months on a job, making it difficult for companies to succession plan or establish a reliable workforce. Sladek’s book was written with the intention of helping Baby Boomer management attract, train, and retain Xers and Ys and lead their companies to success.
Focusing on new recruiting and retention strategies for a new generation, Rock Stars Incorporated features valuable tips and tools, including:
Best practices in hiring, managing, and marketing to Xers and Ys;
A formula to calculate your company’s talent gap, turnover rate, and employee tenure;
Strategies for succession planning, career pathing, and talent management; and
Numerous examples of innovative and successful X-Y work environments;
While Rock Stars Incorporated is presented as an entertaining, easy-to-read book of advice, the message eludes to serious ramifications for employers and economies. With talent shortages threatening the vitality of companies and industries worldwide, every company out there will want, and need, to recruit and retain young talent.
Sladek makes a strong case for understanding and responding to the generational shift that’s taking place. Her book explains the companies that keep Xers and Ys engaged, motivated, and productive, will realize distinct competitive advantages and prosper. In contrast, those companies that refuse change and ignore the generational shift will face considerable challenges.
“With the massive exodus of Boomers upon us, it has become increasingly obvious that the only succession plan a business has is its employees. It’s time to start focusing on the next generation of leaders and employees,” Sladek says.
“The arrival of Generations X and Y to the workforce has created a wave of unprecedented change and social impact. But the companies that are proactive in the battle for talent and focus their energies on recruiting and retaining Xers and Ys will win the favor of the latest and greatest talent and prosper in the years to come.”
Rock Stars Incorporated is available for purchase at www.limelightgenerations.com.
About the Author
Sarah L. Sladek is the president and CEO of Limelight Generations, a generational marketing company based in Minneapolis. Her first book, The New Recruit: What Your Association Needs to Know About X, Y, & Z, was one of the first books to address the generation gap in membership associations. She has published numerous articles and traveled extensively giving presentations and workshops on the topic of younger generations.
