eSharings - March 2006

Insights, hints, tips, and resources for service and support professionals, given in the spirit of sharing information.

In this Issue:

-- Sharing - Developing Young Leaders

-- Government Customer Support Conference and Expo (GCS 2006)

-- Explore Your Options: Mentor a Young Leader

-- Help Desk Conference and Expo (HDP 2006)

-- Resources: Millennials in the workplace, as students, and as the next leaders

-- Subscription Information

SHARING (top)

Developing young leaders, the "Gen Y's" also known as "The Millennials", of our population is crucial as more Baby Boomers enter retirement over the next 10-15 years.  Though the Baby Boomers feel they will be working into their 70's, it is still imperative that we begin to develop the next generation now, the Gen Y's - the generation referred to as the "Millennials - the Next Great Generation."

One of my favorite topics has been the study of psychology and the exploration of the difference of behaviors.  For the past few years, my speeches have included considerations about individuals in specific age groups.  When Sue Haugen from our local user group in Seattle suggested a speech on developing young leaders, I was all over it.

In April, at the Northwest Call Center Professionals meeting at Starbucks' headquarters, I will be delivering a presentation titled "Developing Young Leaders."  But it won't be done alone.  There will be six Millennials ranging from the ages of sixteen to twenty-four on stage with me.  They will be sharing their values, motivators, and desires to become the next leaders in corporate America in front of an audience of managers who run call centers and help desks.

It is a rare occasion to hear the perspectives of the Millennials and get a better understanding of what can be done to contribute to the success of these typically bright and ambitious individuals.

I have had the privilege for the past eight months to be the mentor of an incredible person who turned twenty during this time.  I have never worked with someone with such great enthusiasm, who demonstrated incredible hunger for knowledge and demanded constructive feedback regularly to be sure she was always improving. 

The experience of mentoring such an ambitious individuals was not only gratifying but educational at the same time.  I just hope more people will be given, or take, the same opportunity to mentor and develop a young leader.  Those of us who are Baby Boomers, may think we will work into our seventies, but we need to start developing these young leaders now, before it is too late to pass on our wealth of knowledge to these motivated individuals.

If you have a story to share about working with an aspiring Millennial, please email me at Solutions4u@hthts.com.  Be sure to visit the websites included in the resource section below for numerous educational resources.

Sincerely,

Ivy Meadors

CEO
High Tech High Touch Solutions
 

P.S. If you work in the public sector, please plan to join us at the 5th Annual Government Customer Support Conference in Arlington, VA.  Our speakers have prepared very educational sessions  to share with you.   You will get loads of information, handouts, hints, tips and resources that will apply to your immediate needs.  Also our exclusive Mastermind sessions will be offered with over 25-30 topics to choose from. Will you join us?

Government customer support conference and expo (top)

The 5th Annual Government Customer Support (GCS) Conference and Expo 2006
June 14-15, 2006
Sheraton Crystal City in Arlington, VA
www.governmentconference.com

The Government Customer Support Conference and Expo is the only one of its kind in the United States. It is focused exclusively on the needs of local and federal call/contact centers, help desks, and service portals.

Program details: Posted at www.governmentconference.com.

Sponsors: Interested sponsors can email us directly at GCS@hthts.com.  There are a limited number of these exclusive sponsorship opportunities available.

Be part of the experience: Attend GCS 2006 and hear how to advance your government contact centers, help desks, and service portals.  Join us to learn ways to serve your customers in the most reasonable, cost effective manner and thus deliver the most valuable service results.

Explore Your Options  (top)

Mentor a Young Leader

Have you considered being a mentor to a Millennial? The personal reward from being a mentor of a Millennial will likely exceed your expectations.  As the article on the website "Generations at Work" (http://www.generationsatwork.com/articles/millenials.htm) says:

 "They’re the hottest commodity on the job market since Rosie the Riveter. They’re sociable, optimistic, talented, well-educated, collaborative, open-minded, influential, and achievement-oriented. They’ve always felt sought after, needed, indispensable. They are arriving in the workplace with higher expectations than any generation before them—and they’re so well connected that, if an employer doesn’t match those expectations, they can tell thousands of their cohorts with one click of the mouse. They’re the Millennial Generation. Born between 1980 and 2000, they’re a generation nearly as large as the Baby Boom, and they’re charged with potential. They’re variously called the Internet Generation, Echo Boomers, the Boomlet, Nexters, Generation Y, the Nintendo Generation, the Digital Generation, and, in Canada, the Sunshine Generation. But several thousand of them sent suggestions about what they want to be called to Peter Jennings at abcnews.com, and “Millennials” was the clear winner."

I love where they make the statement found on this same website: "You be the leader. This generation has grown up with structure and supervision, with parents who were role models. The “You be the parent” TV commercials are right on. Millennials are looking for leaders with honesty and integrity. It’s not that they don’t want to be leaders themselves, they’d just like some great role models first. "

We must be good role models and lead this young generation to success, developing these young leaders who will soon be the primary population in our corporations.

help desk professionals conference and expo (top)

The 8th Annual Help Desk Professionals (HDP) Conference and Expo 2006
September 25-27, 2006
The Hyatt on the riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas
www.helpdeskconference.com

SAVE THE DATE!!

RESOURCES  (top)

Learn how we can work with you to turn your organization into a world-class service and support center.   Visit our website for a variety of resources. 

Visit us now. www.hthts.com

Be sure to sign up for our newsletters!

Generation Y  - Definition according to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Y)

SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION (top)

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