DC Velocity - December 2015

30 DC VELOCITY DECEMBER 2015 www.dcvelocity.com thoughtleaders MIKE ROMANO

industry better, will make each of our businesses better in the long run, because people will appreciate and place a higher value on what we do. The industry in many sectors is commoditized and we need to elevate it beyond that, because when people go to buy something commoditized, they just look for the lowest price. We have too much value to provide and we do provide too much value to be treated that way. So, by working together, not as one organization, but as an industry, I think we can improve our position in the eyes of our customers and by doing that, individually improve each of our organizations. That is my biggest driver. The second driver is, of course, the satisfaction of giving back to something that has provided very well for me and my family and an industry that I am proud of and that I want to see elevated to a higher level.

QLet me go back to your work with young people. Do you see much of a difference between the current generation of young people coming into the workplace and people from a generation ago with respect to what they expect from work and what they’re looking for?

ASure. We have an internal education program that focuses on the four generations of workers currently in our work force and how managers need to understand each group’s needs and wants and characteristics and treat them differently. So part of it is an education program.

As for the up-and-coming workers, we definitely see a difference. For instance, they’re less focused on money than on quality of life. It’s important to them to have time for themselves, personal time, and a good work/life balance. It is also important to them to have a well-defined career path. Sometimes, they want to start moving down that path too quickly and we need to slow them down and make sure they understand that experience is part of it.

Now, on the other hand, they are much more independent. They are desirous of being empowered to do a job, and they work well independently. Their technical skill is at a much higher level than we could have counted on in prior generations. So we just need to know all the pluses as well as be aware of some of the differences in attitude. There are things that we are used to doing that they may not be willing to do, like working 12-hour days to get a job done. They would rather come up with a way to work smarter and get the job done in eight hours. So it’s a matter of just learning about them.

QGenerally, you are optimistic about the kids who are coming up? AAbsolutely. I think our only challenge is to provide a visible and sufficiently attractive career path to keep them longer term. That is probably the biggest obstacle because of their impatience, because they want to be managers tomorrow. We see that a lot.