Edition 191: Thursday April 5th, 2007.

The Farmingshow Straggle Muster

Agriculture and Generation Y

Peter Sheahan (you'll find his website here) is a leading expert in workforce trends and generational change. He spoke with Jamie Mackay at the recent Agriculture Industry Training Organisation Conference. A full transcript of their chat follows:

JM: Can you put various age groups into boxes for our readers?

PS: Roughly the baby boomers are born between the 1946 and 1962 and Xs are then from 1963 to 1977, and then we have Ys from 1978 to 1994. But like I said to the guys at the ITO Conference, you've got to be a little bit careful with these kinds of segments. There are 950 000 Gen Ys (78-94) in NZ and they certainly not all the same, that will be like reading your horoscope in the newspaper and actually believing in what you read.

The Generation model is a horizontal segmenting but there also is a mindset that goes with it. I've met plenty - I'm a Gen Y, but I'm a wannabe Baby Boomer too, I'm married, got couple kids, got the mortgage but we're looking at trends, we're not just looking at single isolated cases, assuming everyone matches that same isolated case.

JM: Agriculture and the Generation Y - why should we be interested in Generation Y?

PS: For one, they already represent just under a quarter of New Zealand's work force, and over the next 10 years, providing we get some of the ones back that have left they will move towards 35-40% of the workforce, so every industry not just agriculture are going to want to attract this generation. The challenge we have, in the current market place is because of supply and demand, there is a reduction in the supply of labour at the same time as the economy is growing, and demanding more labour, there is a real shortage and it's putting the candidate in the box seat. So for the first time a lot of the farmers, a lot of the educators and a lot of suppliers to the agriculture industry are finding themselves having to sell the quality of their employment experience to the employee, as apposed to the employee selling their skills to the employer.

JM: Surely it's only a matter of time until the boot is on the other foot, we get a recession and suddenly the employer has the power.

PS: Historically that's absolutely the case. There's no doubt that a slowing in economic growth would ease some of the challenges that we're seeing in NZ right now. However NZ is considered according to the board to have the second most rapidly aging population in the OECD, which in English means that the contraction and available talent, contracting labour will fall faster than that contraction in demand, so in the next 5 - 10 years we no doubt will have some kind of economic correction but it won't quite flip the situation the same way it has in the past.

JM: For farm owners who are employing and trying to motivate Generation Ys, how do they get them out of bed? Do they need to crack a whip or do they not respond to the whip?

PS: Well they're not going to respond to the whip, because if that makes someone uncomfortable which essentially is about creating pain, you're talking to a generation that one, has a whole lot of other options but two, also is willing to explore those other options if they don't get what they want.

I think there are a couple of things farmers and people in the agribusiness sector can do. One is they should stop trying to promise something great in another 10 - 15 years. Maybe it's promising them equity or "one day this could be all yours," will attract a few young people but for the rest of them it's just too hard a slog and too long of wait. They should be looking at how they can give more lesser rewards more regularly rather than bigger rewards less regularly.

JM: Are Generation Y the spoilt generation? And surely they are just after instant gratification, is that unrealistic?

PS: We've conditioned them to be looking for instant gratification, they think DVD not VCR, you look at motor vehicles today you don't even have to get the key out of your pocket - the car automatically detects you walking up to it. Consumerist society has moved us in that direction, so rather than making a judgement whether that's good or bad, I'd rather say well look let's just deal with what we've got and work around it. I mean this kind of change is like a wave, you're either riding it or you get pummelled by it or you're going to stand on the beach and watch. No other alternatives really.

JM: Will Generation Y eventually grow up and turn into boring old middle aged farts?

PS: The rights of passage will definitely change there is no doubt about it. The really interesting thing however is the rights of passage that the Gen Y are likely to go through will be different to rights of passage that say your Baby Boomer and Gen X New Zealanders have gone through. So for you baby boomers your average right of passage was to get married, get a mortgage by mid 20s and you're over the barrel and you better work your way to the top. For the Xs in New Zealand there right of passage was probably a tough recession, some broken marriages and some broken relationships, maybe a stint off shore and then they come back, and they had to deal with those kinds of issues, the recession of course goes into that too.

The Ys - less of them are getting married, less of them buying property, one for affordability and two for some other reasons that we properly won't get into here. They're doing the overseas thing but they are staying overseas rather than coming back, they're going to have a different set of experiences. But they're certainly going to change their attitude as they go through that experience, that's just human nature.

JM: If Generation Ys are born from 1978 to 1994, what is the next generation? Generation Z?

PS: It shouldn't be, although some commentators are suggesting that's going to be their name. The concept, label of a generation, is supposed to be in some way reflective of the generation. So the Baby Boomers were the boomers because there was a boom in babies - go figure right. The Xs were Gen X because X means hard to define and a little bit anti the institution, the concept of an x rather than the letter.

It was 1994 in Adage magazine in the US where they first labelled Gen Y, the letter y. The reason I think it's probably stuck is because generation w.h.y. Why do I have to go to work? Why can't I leave after two years? Why do I have to work on Saturdays? So, I'd be more inclined to call 'Z' the net generation, or as they being called in Japan, the thumb generation because of there use of text messages, SMS and video games.

JM: Pete Sheahan we could chat to you all day, very interesting, enjoyed very much your presentation this morning. You've got a fantastic book out called 'Understanding Generation Y.' I recommend it to anyone, especially middle aged parents like myself.

Peter Sheahan has established a globally recognised brand as a leading expert in workforce trends and generational change. In the space of three years he has built a multi-million dollar consulting practice attracting clients such as Coca-Cola, L'Oreal and Ernst & Young. Find out more about Peter by clicking here.

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