Document text
Western Bank Customer Service Manager Shelly Britt, 29, supervises eight workers, all older than herself, including Ida Gutcher, left, and Mary Spani. She says customers sometimes are taken aback by a youthful manager, so she works to project confidence and capability. Slackers? Without goals? No way. These twentysomethings are... X ceptional Young find their place in Southern Oregon's business community By David Preszler Though the Rogue Valley may not be loaded with hip twentysomethings brashly taking over the business world, youth is being served. The valley's burgeoning high-tech industry is filled with young, smart entrepreneurs. And a pair of local politicians have made splashes at young ages by being elected to the state Legislature: 28-year-old Jason Atkinson and Rob Patridge, who turned 30 late last year. But younger workers are making their marks in the traditional business world as well. Steve Lytle was 23 years old when he took over day-to-day operations of Gold River Distributing seven years ago. Because his father founded the beer and wine distribution business, his rise to leadership wasn't surprising. But taking over at such a young age wasn't easy. "There were definitely some issues," says Lytle, 30. "There were a lot of relationships that had been built that had to be worked through, but now the relationships are completely natural." Lytle says the election of Atkinson and Patridge underscores Generation X's influence: "There are a lot of younger people that make things happen here." At 29, Shelly Britt supervises the customer service center at Western Bank, overseeing eight employees -- all older than she is. After several years "wandering" after high school, Britt was hired as a teller at U.S. Bank through a temp agency when she was 20. She spent four years there before joining Western. She says age hasn't been an issue with her subordinates, though it was for some customers when she was supervising bank branches earlier in her career. "When a customer is unhappy and they ask for the branch manager and the teller brings out a young-looking woman -- that's not who they want to see," Britt says. "You have to have a lot of knowledge and confidence to present yourself as `I have the knowledge and I know the answers, believe me.' " Kari Nolte, the 29-year-old manager at Washington Mutual's north Medford branch, knows the feeling. "Being younger, you do lack the years of experience, but it doesn't mean you lack the finesse or the professional knowledge," she says. "You just need to make sure you are presenting them." After graduating from college, Nolte spent a year working in financial planning and was frustrated by the way people doubted her abilities. "Being young, people were not confident that I could invest their money wisely," she says. She spent three years working for a lending company before being hired to manage the Washington Mutual branch at age 26. Like many professionals her age, Nolte bristles at the Generation X label. Raised by a single mother who made sure the bills were paid, she started working at 14 and hasn't stopped since. So, who are you calling a slacker? But as more young professionals enter the workforce, the GenX label has grown to include highly driven workers more likely to be sharp and aggressive than disenfranchised and lazy. And that's how Nolte sees herself. When she applied for the manager's job, she went full force. "I went into the interview, handed them my rap sheet and said, `Here's what I've done, here's what I can do for you,' " she says. "A lot of people have a hard time tooting their own horn. But if you've done something, show it off." When she got the job, she was the branch's youngest worker. But, although her style may differ from older workers, she says she's had few, if any, personnel issues. "It's not how old you are, it's how you are as a manager," she says. Thuy Phan, a 30-year-old mixing process engineer at Eastman Kodak's Health Imaging plant in White City, says most of the people she works with are young. "There are a large number of engineers in their 20s and early 30s," she says. After working in research on the East Coast and at the Hewlett-Packard plant in Corvallis, Phan joined what was then Imation because it offered challenging projects and a fast-paced workplace. "There are always things going on, there are always things you can apply yourself toward," she says. "That seems to be important here. They look at what you want to do." Rogue Valley companies that have played to younger workers' strengths have seen those workers bring new life to their businesses. "They contribute a huge amount in that they have high energy," says Anne Root, market manager for AT&T Wireless Services in Jackson County. "They are willing to push the boundaries, which is a real asset in my world." "It's the energy, it's the creative ideas, it's new perspective," says Bear Creek Corp. spokesman Bill Ihle. "Fresh eyes are just a great asset." Rather than being lazy, Generation Xers want it all, want it now, and will work hard to get it By MAGGIE JACKSON The Associated Press It was the first day of school for Macy's new assistant buyers. The twentysomething recruits had barely signed in when one bustled up to training chief Bernadette Commisa, asking: "How am I doing?" "That took me back! We had only just come in and taken attendance," Commisa recalls. "They see the world a little differently than we did." Bold, savvy, confident and often demanding, the 45 million youngsters dubbed Generation X are hard to miss in today's workplace, and the staider side of Corporate America is only just learning -- sometimes with eyebrows raised -- to cope with them. Companies from Macy's to Deloitte Consulting are revamping their training and recruiting programs, educating managers and streamlining communications to better understand and utilize this sometimes maligned generation. "All we were exposed to was the (images of the) earring in the nose, snowboards and baggy clothing," says Deborah Gatti, senior training specialist for Mervyn's department stores. "We've had to train our culture about the great things about these folks, and their shortcomings, and how we can support them." Sandra Bench, a 24-year-old Mervyn's manager in Okemos, Mich., is well aware of her generation's mixed reputation. "To me, Generation X defines an age group; to others, it defines a work ethic and many other things as well," she says. But wait. Good young workers always have questioned authority, asked lots of questions and rattled their elders' nerves. Is today's youth so different? It seems so. Just as baby boomers were shaped by Watergate and the Vietnam War, the generation that ranges from their 20s up to mid-30s has been influenced by this era of technology, television, daycare, divorce and downsizing. As a result of growing up in a fast-paced world, these young adults are said to be even more skeptical and impatient with the status quo than previous generations. Often reared as latchkey children, they're fiercely independent, yet needy -- working well alone but requiring liberal doses of feedback. Disgusted by their parents' workaholism, they defend their right to a full life outside of work. "The GenX age group does come to the workplace with different expectations and experiences," says Don Blanton, human resources director at Sandia National Laboratories, a Lockheed Martin subsidiary that has revised key management training programs in the last year to include lessons on what makes Generation X tick. Just take a look at the many companies this generation has started, in Silicon Valley and elsewhere. Their offices are freewheeling, egalitarian, fast-paced, surf's-up kind of places, where play is taken as seriously as work. It's no wonder that many conservative companies, run by aging baby boomers, have begun trying to adapt to this younger crowd. And adapt they must. A big reason that companies are bothering to bend to the new generation is they are literally "hot stuff." They get three, four or five offers in this tight job market, and many are confident to the point of arrogance. Further, they move on quickly. Americans hold an average of nearly nine different jobs by their 30s, according to the Labor Department. Today's grads are bold enough to ask a prospective employer uncomfortable questions such as, "`If I don't like what my boss says, can I go to the next level?' " says Debbie Herd, manager of college relations for J.C. Penney. "With the strong economy ... they can ask those questions that can push a company close to the edge of not liking them," says Herd, adding that young candidates have been so tough that J.C. Penney tossed its "fluff" brochures and now gives out hard-core information, even details on salaries, at job fairs and first meetings. Generation Xers also are making splashes in the workplace. Macy's East, a division of Federated Department Stores, had to change its training of managers and of new recruits to keep up. Buyers had problems keeping the new generation of executives "motivated, stimulated, challenged and growing in their new careers," recalls Lawrence Naishtut, until recently vice president of merchant development and recruitment. About 18 months ago, Macy's began sending top managers to a class on supervising employees that included lessons on Generation X. "Some of the older management needed to recognize that life has changed," said Naishtut. "Who cares whether (GenXers) are good or bad? The bottom line is that they are the future." At the same time, Macy's began training assistant buyers on what they could expect at work, since paying dues isn't considered a GenX strong suit. "They're wondering why they're not at the Georgio Armani show the minute they get placed," says Commisa, the merchant training director. Deloitte Consulting, whose average worker is 35 years old, responded to GenX demands for feedback by adding to its evaluation process a primer on how to succeed at the company, says human resources managing director Karen Morrell. GenXers crave such road maps to manage in a world where workers get downsized regardless of seniority and skills quickly grow obsolete, says Bruce Tulgan, a Generation X consultant. To satisfy their strong needs for independence and recognition, they also like to feel they're in the driver's seat. That's why Mervyn's revamped its recruit training from an ad hoc effort largely based on shadowing managers to a more formal program that includes self-paced written studies and active training. "They've got the remote control," says Gatti. "It's up to them to get through the program." Russ Hamilton, a 23-year-old Mervyn's manager in San Jose, Calif., thoroughly approves. "For me, to read about and then actually do it makes me more comfortable with it," he says. "It allows me to feel confident in that task or job." His generation is also comfortable drawing the line at too much work. They are driving companies to allow employees to make use of work-life programs that were little promoted or honestly supported. They clearly reject the baby boomers' workaholic ethic. Karen Morrell recalls one Deloitte consultant who, after two years with the company, asked for a year's paid sabbatical. He didn't get it, but she says she has to admire the Generation X boldness. "If they want something, they ask for it, ... (and) it's good business sense to listen," she says. "Their sense of balance and perspective and self-motivation is very good for our business." Today's Business Index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA