In Conclusion - Jeanne C. Meister

Published April 2008

Learning For the Google Generation

Jeanne C. Meister

The “Google generation” is an increasingly popular phrase that refers to a group of young people born after 1993 who have grown up in a world dominated by the Internet with little or no recollection of life before the Web. A number of other titles have attached themselves to this generation, such as digital natives, the Net generation and millennials.

Whatever you call it, the assumption is that this group is qualitatively different in its expectations, attitudes and perceptions about school, work and career development. Consider the following scenario as described in an article in March/April 2006 issue of Educause Review:

“Most students entering our colleges and universities today are younger than the computer, are more comfortable working on a keyboard than writing in a spiral notebook and are happier reading from a computer screen than from paper in hand. Constant connectivity — being in touch with friends and family, at all times and from any place — is what is of the utmost importance to these students.”

This generation appears to be a discrete segment, and companies are grappling with how to best attract, develop and retain them as they prepare for their looming entry into the workforce. As companies debate this, one of the first issues they will deal with is setting a policy regarding allowing access to social networking sites at work. There is some evidence suggesting the Google generation will demand access to social networking sites in the office. In fact, Professor Clive Holtham of Cass Business School notes that in California, some firms already are finding they cannot attract or retain staff because their IT infrastructure fails to meet the standards of younger workers.

So while the learning department examines how to incorporate social networking into the delivery mix, they should take note of some of the benefits other departments in the organization have experienced in embracing these new technologies.

Deloitte has come up with the innovative idea of hosting an employee film festival where employees submit creative videos, titled “What’s Your Deloitte?”, as a way of encouraging new hires to make short films that express their vision of the firm’s culture and values. Then, the best of these short films are posted to YouTube.

Deloitte has engaged in social media in a variety of other ways, with a special focus on using social networking in new-hire on-boarding and orientation. In fact, Deloitte, along with KPMG, is using Facebook to create new networks for recent hires. Some are in public view while others are hidden for privacy purposes. But both are experimenting with social media so new hires can network with peers around the globe.

Some aspects of social networking already have found their way onto the CEO’s agenda. Consider the growth in the number of CEOs and other high-level executives of publicly traded companies who have their own blogs:

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