Gen Y – perceptions and reality

The sessions at last week’s EBSLG conference that perhaps provoked the most discussion concerned the research that had been undertaken by two Ashridge researchers, Sue Honore and Carina Schofield, into how the young people of today will want to learn, work and ultimately manage and the impact this will have on our organisations.

The session started with an unwelcome reminder that I invariably just keep missing the cut on questionnaires at the moment. Lots of people have different takes on where each Gen starts, but in this research I came out as Early Generation X.  (Baby Boomers: 1946-63/Early Gen X: 1963-73/Late Gen X: 1973-82/Gen Y: 1982-2002). Only one member of the audience was discovered to be Gen Y (and she was quite rightly harangued for the remainder of the conference for being too damn young!)  After establishing which Gen we all were we were asked to choose from a list of options as to what words we each individually felt most and least summed up Gen Y. My ”most’ votes went for: Short Attention Span, Risk-Taking and Technical Wizards, whereas my ‘least’ votes went for: Hard Working, Deep Thinkers and Friendly with all ages. There was broad agreement amongst the audience as to the ‘mosts and ‘leasts’.

We were subsequently presented with results compiled after a series of focus groups, interviews and online surveys.  Key findings were that other Gens perceived Gen Y as ‘Self-confident’ but they themselves did not. ‘Ambition’ was a different story with Gen Y being more ambitious than they were perceived to be. ‘Attitude to Technology’ results showed that Gen Y were only marginally more embracing of technology than other Gens (and Baby Boomers were just as embracing as late Gen X). As for ‘Young in Attitude’, Gen Y saw themselves as the least and Baby Boomers the most, with a growing trend inbetween. It seems we all see ourselves asyounger in attitude the older we get!

Overall the research identified a number of ‘remedial areas’ in the Gen Y  make-up, as follows:

• Emotional Intelligence
• Written English
• Maths
• Creativity
• Face-to-face people skills
• Information validation
• Teamwork
• Deep-thinking
• Financial management

Any surprises there for you? Not many for me I have to say. There followed some debate as to whether Gen Y were really that different to Gen X and Baby Boomers when they were younger. Honore and Schofield insisted that Gen Y were different and that their research (of which we only really had a glimpse) proved this conclusively.

A specific finding that perhaps is the most significant for us librarians is that Gen Y are perceived to be technical wizards (e.g. searching/use of data/web activity) but in fact are no better than any other Gen, however, they DON”T know that.  And when you bring the  aforemnetioned lack of interest in information validation into the frame we have a problem on our hands…

Finally, we were presented with some info on how Gen Y prefer to learn. Again few surprises but good to get this reaffirmed (in order):

• Hands-on
• Interactive/Collaborative
• Simulations/case-studies/experiential
• Technology-based

This presentation only scratched the surface of their full research findings which are due to be published in a downloadable PDF in a few weeks time at this URL: http://www.ashridge.org.uk/GenYResearch

This report will of course be worth comparing with the BL and JISC study: Information Behaviour of the Researcher of the Future which concentrated on Gen Z (defined as born between 2000-present day), which in short concluded that Gen Z:

• over rely on search engines
• lack critical and analytical skills
• scan rather than read material
• have overestimated ICT skills

N.B. The BL and JISC are currently working on a  follow-up Gen Y report as well.

Does anyone have any good news for us librarians? No? OK then.

Andy

Ungrateful, if deeply realistic, sod

Today I found myself complaining about having to attend a training session having only just got back from a three-day conference. Then I suddenly caught myself and mused on what an ungrateful sod I was. At the Judge Business School, all managers are given the opportunity to attend a year-long management development programme covering all aspects of management, team development and other relevant HR issues. My previous experience had been quite different – you had to chase after training and it certainly wasn’t offered as a matter of course institution-wide. In fact the very idea of this happening at my previous place of employment amuses me no end.

One of the best parts of the Judge training programme apart from the detailed examination of each topic in hand is the opportunity to get to know and catch up with the other managers across the business school – something we wouldn’t have the time or perhaps the inclination to do otherwise. Also I find I can’t help but use it as an opportunity to hopefully subvert a few expectations as to what it means to be a business librarian today, especially in this current climate of rapid technological change.

Today’s session was on assertiveness and threw up some inevitable lightbulb moments because I guess your communication skills can always be improved:

1. Occasionally I still fit the child role in transactional analysis terms (I suspect due to too many years in a deputy role during which I inevitably sought approval and acceptance as I didn’t have the final say)
2. Some more verbal techniques for assertive communication: broken record (importance of repetition and restatement); probing (asking questions rather than stating your case); and, best of all, not always asking how people feel about something (you may mean well but it can invite more problems than it solves).
3. Something which sounds obvious in the cold light of day: simply the fact that you shouldn’t always expect an immediately positive outcome when seeking buy-in for a change of procedure or practive, instead you can gradually work on seeking acceptance. You may only get part of the way there initially – but that’s fine.
4. Finally, I was stunned by the difference of opinion in the group when ticking against a list of items from which we were asked to choose  what we thought were the rights of a manager. I was in the minority by not seeing commanding respect and getting the work done as a given. I only see these as attainable if you fulfil your duties as a good competent manager, not as an automatic (and expected) right of any manager. For me this seems to depend on whether you are idealistic or realistic in your approach. I’m a committed idealist and am driven to unreasonable fury by those people who bang on about how someone should be behaving or how things should be working. Got no time for that!

Thanks to those of you who are following my blogging journey so far. Tomorrow unless something else crops up I’ll return to reviewing the sessions at the EBSLG conference, starting with a fascinating insight into what makes Generation Y tick…

Andy

Exploring tomorrow today

Last week I attended another challenging session at the EBSLG conference at Ashridge , presented by Christine Reid, a member of faculty at the University of Strathclyde as well as its Learning Resource Manager.

Christine presented an incredibly detailed overview of the issues and trends outside the library (and business school) world which will inevitably impact upon what we as librarians will do in the future. She was upfront about the fact that she didn’t pretend to have the answers and was keen to provoke discussion instead.

Highlights:

• The fact that as humans we are conditioned to think that tomorrow will be the same, however, we actually need to expect the unexpected. Christine referred to Bertrand Russell’s turkey: “A turkey is fed evey day. Every single feeding firms up the bird’s belief thta it is the general rule of life to be fed every day by friendly members of the human race. On the afternoon before Christmas Day, however, the turkey is surprised by not being fed. Instead if itself now becomes the food for the Christmas activities.” We as librarians must not suddenly become the equivalent of Christmas dinner!
• Keynes notion that: “The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas, an in escpaing from old ones.
• Facts about today’s youth: younger than the Internet; never known a mobile-less world; have friends around the world; and one electronic device for everything. 9 out of 10 teenagers have a PC, a mobile phone and a games console. These ‘digital natives’: just do it; like to feel in control; have a short attention span, and are comfortable with media multi-tasking. When they enter higher education they’ll want diferent services to those currently being offered and when they enter the world of work they’ll want the workplace to adapt to them not the other way round.
• Computing power is still doubling every 18 months (Moore’s Law). Technology is key to the development of our library services, but will it ensnare us or free us?
• Significance of the growth of social media. We can now all be publishers, movie makers, artists and storytellers. And we can all influence what happens e.g. return of the Wispa bar. Also directly helping companies to make money – Threadless. The media revolution focuses on the individual – ‘You’ (Time Magazines’ ‘Person of the Year’ in 2006)
• Education is changing – now embracing different types of learning: blended; personalised; participative and activity-based; collaborative; problem-based; and not just in the classroom.
• Business Education/Business School issues: budgets; globalization; partnerships; corporate universities; publish or perish; research assessment; rankings and accreditation; eLearning – the fact that emerging technologies are transforming teaching and learning.
• Relevance of our services is absolutely key.

Closing Thoughts:

• Are we prepared for technological change?
• How much are our future visions based upon invalid assumptions?
• How open are we to having our worldview challenged?
• Are we ready to tackle the challenges and opportunities?

Christine’s session was backed up with some very detailed stats on current trends ensuring that the audience  felt the momentum of the changes she described more keenly. This also helped to make the session specific rather than generic as is so often the case.

After the session I found myself particualrly questioning how open I really am to having my worldview challenged and also how many libraries and librarians in the UK (especially in the business school sector) may become that Christmas Turkey over the next few years.

I like to think that the service I head up is relevant and embracing of change, but will that be enough for us?  Do faculty truly recognise the value of the many services we offer? If it came to the crunch would they rally round and support the cost of the service?

Andy