From high maintenance to high productivity

Purpose To offer managers insights into Generation Y and practical suggestions on how to turn this high maintenance workforce into a high productivity workforce. Design/methodology/approach This research is based on RainmakerThinking Inc.’s ongoing workplace interviews with hundreds of Generation Yers and managers. Findings Like their Gen X siblings, the most talented members of Generation Yers are independent, entrepreneurial thinkers who relish responsibility, demand immediate feedback, and expect a sense of accomplishment hourly. They thrive on challenging work and creative expression, love freedom and flexibility, and hate micromanagement. Guided by managers who are willing to confront their challenges and meet their expectations, they have the potential to become the highest performers in history. They have 14 expectations of managers that can create the type of professional relationships they want to build. Research limitations/implications Generation Y is just beginning to gain pull in the workplace as full‐time workers. Ongoing research is needed to see how our initial conceptions of them as high school and university students plays out as they mature in their professional lives. Practical implications This paper not only offers managers insights into this highly diverse, contradictory generation, but suggests best practices they can implement to communicate with and motivate this emerging workforce. Originality/value As organizations compete to attract and retain the best new talent, this paper offers managers a strategic advantage: a practical guide to the characteristics, needs and expectations of Generation Y.