Head room for GenY

Rohit Bhasin, executive director at PwC, recalls a young man who liked to wear his hair long to the workplace. He thought trimming would rob him of his identity at social gatherings. He was advised: trim your hair, but don a wig at social dos.

This was revealed at a seminar titled, 'New Generation At Work: Y Should You Care', hosted by the Department of Management Studies, IIT Delhi.

A new generation with different mindsets now dominates offices. At M&M, 55 per cent of employees are GenY (those below 35); at Mahindra Finance it is 85 per cent. Managing them is high on the agenda of HR managers.

That's because there's a perception that GenY lacks business etiquette and may not comply with accepted dress codes. On the career front, "they want clarity of objectives, prefer to be less hierarchial and look for instant recognition," says Rajeev Dubey, President (HR and corporate services), Mahindra group.

Adds Ashok Rout, Chief Operating Officer of Bombay Stock Exchange: "They are multi-taskers, have a focus on the bigger picture, and have a collaborative mindset," apart from high analytical power.

How are companies managing them? M&M is trying reverse mentoring, where 25-year-olds are asked to mentor older employees. They are given overseas exposure, put on cross-functional teams and brainstorm on strategic issues. EXIM Bank allows employees with grievances to approach even the chairman"" provided the HR department is unable to help.

"We have an open and flat organisational structure," says T C Venkat Subramanian, Chairman and Managing Director of the bank.