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Plan for the next generation
March 28, 2024
By Rupal Sankalia
As Q1-2024 draws to a close, Spring signals many changes in work and life. With my morning coffee in hand, I see parents put their kids on the local school bus right outside my window. That Yellow Bluebird school bus looks the same, but everything else has changed since I was in grade school. This new generation of school kids will experience even more changes throughout their education than ever before. These kids will graduate into new unpredictable possibilities increasing at an exponential rate. Any parent now has probably considered the endless possibilities with coffee in hand. In the workplace, your organization is already likely experiencing the growing pains of how to invite college prospects, help them through the hiring process and provide new hire orientation. Management must prepare to evolve and engage, continuously. How often do these questions come up in your Ethics and Compliance team meetings? a. Did we reach them? Get their attention? b. Did we communicate the mission, vision, purpose and values of the organization? c. How do we know if they know what that means? d. Would they do the right thing if they came across a professional dilemma? Unless your organization keeps pace with change and technology, your team may struggle to feel relevant, find measurements to support KPIs, or speak the same generational language without sounding like you’re “trying too hard.”
Vibe check
The Class of 2024 is graduating in the coming months. High school graduates entering college will soon engage with their cohorts on-campus, in-person and still with caution after health advisories have receded. They are changed by the term “social distancing.” The new college graduates will be the first class entering the workforce post-pandemic. The workplace is still learning to find the right balance between on-site, remote and hybrid work models, and these new graduates are joining the fray. How? Technology. While technology has not been introduced equally in societies, technology has always been the game changer, and now, it is name of the game.
The combination of news, social media, telecommunications and virtual presence requires organizations to engage seamlessly across all technology platforms. This next generation is cautious about their next steps and where they place their confidence and support. They see the headlines and they are making decisions with what they experience in real-time. The Daily Princetonian's Opinion Columnist Anais Mobarak provides her views on the entering the workforce in her December 2023 article: Judging the career choices of others isn’t in the service of humanity either.
It would seem that on-campus dialogue is feeling the stress of ethical career choices layered in life decisions along with personal values and societal expectations. As a student about to make their first career decisions, it must be overwhelming to read notifications as news breaks on the organizations they had long aspired to join, and then, try to discern what next move is the "correct" one. They cannot afford to look away and scroll mindlessly to disengage; and neither can business.
From here on and afterwards, generations will have access to information, have multiple platforms to express their views and will be savvier about using technology. Organizations will have to be mindful of how to engage with them. Information once held behind a curtain or closed doors now filters out, digitally. Words and actions need to match because with one social media post, the capital markets move and fortunes change within minutes.
Spilling Ink
Technology and its uses are constantly debated. The introduction and creeping use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has launched more dialogue and viewpoints ratcheting towards an existential crisis. Here, I ask you to view technology through the lens of specific responsible use to be helpful and provide efficiency.
Hypothesis: The Class of 2024 and the generations coming up have never been without the aid of modern gadgets and technology. They are more versed and confident in typing their feelings and thoughts on keyboards than any generation before them. They are considering the implications of their decisions and willing to share them with the world. They mobilize, recruit, convince, share and celebrate together, even if it may be from a distance. So, how do we use their comfort zone in training them for the workplace?
Known facts or elements: The Code of Conduct is the best reference source to communicate an organizations standard of professional behavior. If we were to distill it down to the five most important concepts for new graduates, we may come close to consensus on this list:
- Regulatory Compliance
- Confidentiality and Data Privacy
- Conflicts of Interest
- Ethical Professional Behavior
- Risk Management
An organization should leverage the ease and aptitude of new graduates using social media and technology to educate them on these subjects. Experiment and engage with Apps: Many large organizations already use interactive, online modules, virtual workshops and webinars with online discussion forums. And, there are other possibilities that are crossing on the horizon, such as:
- Micro-learning through social media engagement/channels: developing bite-size content with strategic compliance messaging, infographics, video tutorials related to ethics and compliance topics.
- Combine Gamification and Training: develop gamified scenarios that simulate real-world ethical dilemmas; use leaderboards, badges and challenges. This can create team building in the process.
- Virtual Reality Simulations providing decision-making practice in a safe-learning environment.
Reaching the next generation must include evolving approaches to effectively train on existing standards and expectations. Organizations may already have existing content that can help their new hires, and now they just need the right platforms and messaging to connect the new workforce. Consequently, this may help bridge the gap with the complexities of work and life, beyond the classroom.
The next era
An organization can update and revise their Codes, standards and training at any time. The key is engaging with the workforce to make a meaningful impact. Developing innovative trainings while leveraging cutting-edge social media and IT platforms to deliver engaging and interactive learning experiences can help instill strong ethics and compliance principles. How are you planning to meet the next generation? How is your organization willing to modernize and build for the future? Is it time to refresh and rethink the next generation of trainings? Let me help you. Rupalia, Inc. is a minority, woman-owned business providing advisory and consulting services in the Ethics, Compliance and Governance industry. To learn more and partner together, visit Rupalia.com.
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