The communication styles and job expectations of Generation Y - those born between 1980 and 2000 - are totally different from those of previous generations, and prospective employers who want to attract school leavers and graduates now entering the workforce need to shift their thinking or risk losing talented candidates, according to Mark Gray, head of specialist HR recruitment and technology company Graylink.

One of the pillars of good branding lies in making sure that the people inside the company understand and buy into its values, believe in its products, and add value to them.

Graeme addison looks at the state of HR in South Africa today.

See Mark's article published in the Business day on 25 February 2008, please click the  image file below for download.

The media landscape and work environment has changed so much over the last decade that a new approach is required for HR staff to source and recruit talented candidates.

Human resource managers take heed - the future is not what it used to be. The search for talented employees continues to become tougher and nothing companies have done in the past will suffice. Recruiting and retaining staff of the future requires imagination, commitment and cutting-edge action. Doing nothing is not an option, nor is mildly incremental improvement.

With a younger new group of job seekers, often known as the Millenials or Generation Y, now entering the job market, human resources (HR) managers will have to adopt new approaches to recruit and retain the staff of the future, according to Mark Gray, head of specialist HR technology and marketing firm Graylink. Not only does the new generation of employees have a different view of the world, but they also do things very differently, and this will reshape the work environment, Gray says. The impact will be exacerbated by the fact that an ageing population worldwide means that companies will lose large numbers of experienced workers within the next few years. He cites the findings of RHR International, a US executive and organisational development firm, which reported that over half of the American companies they surveyed expect to lose 50% of their senior managers by 2010.