Market researcher Jason Dorsey speaks to Loudoun entrepreneurs at Hal and Berni Hanson Regional Park during the Department of Economic Development’s Small Business Summit April 30.
Keynote speaker and market researcher Jason Dorsey asks audience members questions during the Department of Economic Development’s Small Business Summit April 30.
Market researcher Jason Dorsey speaks to Loudoun entrepreneurs at Hal and Berni Hanson Regional Park during the Department of Economic Development’s Small Business Summit April 30.
Millennials are the fastest growing generation to become entrepreneurs, market researcher Jason Dorsey told a room of Loudoun’s business owners Tuesday morning during the Department of Economic Development’s Small Business Summit.
The event is the second of its kind, with a focus this year on helping businesses optimize their workforce. Dorsey attended as the summit’s keynote speaker, giving business leaders a chance to hear why all four of the generations in the workforce today are important.
“I’m what’s called a behavioral researcher,” he told the audience. “What I care deeply about is not what people do. What I care deeply about is why do people do it? … [It’s a] major distinction. As an entrepreneur, you have to focus on behaviors. Behaviors drive outcomes.”
Dorsey said it is crucial to understand the “why” behind the unique behaviors of each generation.
“Why are people not applying? Why are they not staying with us? Why are they not showing up to work with us the first time as a customer? Why are they choosing not to come back? There’s way more gold if that’s what you’re looking for,” he said.
He urged participants to better understand behaviors—the reasons that are keeping people from doing something—rather than just focusing on the traditional business school teachings of doing more better and faster.
However, Dorsey also warned business owners not to fall into the trap of putting each person into a generational box, adding that the number one factor that shapes each generation is parenting, followed by technology and geography.
A 25-year-old born in the Midwest raised by 60-year-old parents will be very different than a 25-year-old born in New York City raised by 45-year-old parents even though they would both classify as Gen Zers.
“If we use them as clues, they give us the ability to do three things, and this is the magic. They help us to faster connect, build trust, and drive influence,” Dorsey said.
The four generations filling the workforce today are Gen Zers, aged 12 to 28; Millennials, aged 29 to 47; Gen Xers, aged 48 to 59; and Baby Boomers aged 60 to 78.
“One of the things that’s fascinating—it’s not true in all businesses, but it’s true in most—is that most people have three or four different generations that they’re having to lead, and that’s tough,” he said. “What’s even harder is in many, many businesses you’re serving five generations.”
According to the research done by his company, The Center for Generational Kinetics, each group generally has unique characteristics that are crucial for small business owners to understand if they want to hire and retain good talent at their companies.
Gen Zers are the fastest growing generation in the workforce, are the most diverse, are looking for stability, care about benefits, do not believe they will be able to retire, have a longer tenure at jobs than Millennials, and 70% of them believe in universal basic income, Dorsey said.
Keynote speaker and market researcher Jason Dorsey asks audience members questions during the Department of Economic Development’s Small Business Summit April 30.
Millennials, in addition to being the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs, are going through a new life stage Dorsey refers to as “delayed adulthood” and are tech dependent.
Dorsey said the majority of Millennials still want what most people consider as adult responsibilities, such as marriage, families, settling into a career and owning a home. They are just getting there later than earlier generations.
Gen Xers are naturally skeptical, are the most loyal age group, and are pulled in three different directions—work, children and caring for their aging parents.
Baby Boomers have the most work and life experience, control the majority of the country’s wealth, believe in policies and procedures, vote the most, and have the strongest regulatory relationships.
For practical application, Dorsey encouraged the audience to remember and apply a few lessons.
When hiring, companies should realize that most applicants are applying for jobs on their phone and only read the first two sentences of any job listing, he said. Those listings need to have three pieces of information in the first two sentences—salary range, benefits and schedule flexibility.
“We’ve tested a bunch of models … and what we found is the natural response is people want Fridays off,” Dorsey said. “… Most companies cannot give Fridays off. So, if it’s not an option, you have to find a solution. What we found is many companies can create the same amount of enthusiasm if you instead find ways to let employees fly by one hour, meaning they can choose to show up an hour later or show up an hour earlier.”
He also encouraged employers to contact prospective employees after their initial hiring but before their first day because “ghosting” by new employees on the first day is a frequent problem faced by businesses.
He also encouraged business owners to have a LinkedIn account and post two or three personal facts and a good quality photo to connect with viewers. Lastly, he told employers to provide 15 seconds of feedback to their employees once a week.
“If you look at all the generations together, what would you uncover is every single generation is equally important,” Dorsey said. “There’s no one generation that’s more valuable than the others. The better we understand each of them, the more value they can bring, but the key is this—we have to give people space to be who they are.”
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