b'Michael. (felt) afidHu11ti11gto11 onnie McG/othlinJtm right) Cheryl,Sdrad RMark, an an, They strive to live alife and will often tum down opportunitiesMichael Huntington has already noticed this at AAA Roofing. "We\'re blended to work longer hours and make more money ifinfringes on theirreally lacking ayoungerto draw from to eventually step itpool ofworkers personal time. They are motivated by having strong relationships in theup and take on managerial duties," he said. sense of workplace, flexibility, and apurpose with their work, said Dr.McGlothlin has also observed the trend at Empire Roofing. "There Grodnitzky. "You must leverage relationship and cause. Money is lessare not a lot of young people who want to work in the roofing industry important. For Generation Y, money is anot aIfbecause it\'s a lot of hard work," she said. While many are quick to label threshold,scorecard. they need to sacrifice money for alifestyle, they will."Millennials as "lazy" because of their lack of interest in hard labor balanced Management Tipsjobs, Dr. Grodnitzky points out that many members of Generation Ymore comfortable working with technology than with What does all this mean for roofing companies and managing youngerare simply workers? Dr. Grodnitzky has several suggestions.their hands. After all, they grew up in an environment immersed in technology. "Their cell phone breaks; they go out and get aone," Be outcome-based. "Baby Boomers need to get used to measuringnew outcomes (rather than hours worked), so they can offer flexibility," heDr. Grodnitzky said. "Previous generations were used to fixing the family car or atoy." said. He proposes establishing performance metrics that are meaningfulbroken and outcome-based. Or, experiment with self-managed teams in order toiscomputer In general, iteasier for Millennials to restore athat crashes or eradicate avirus than to unclog aor rewire challenge workers with more responsibility and to allow them to createcomputerdrain alight switch. Some categorize members of Generation Y their own schedules based on the tasks that need to be accomplished.faultyas Focus on work-life balance. Managers take an interest in theunwilling to work hard, but Dr. Grodnitzky believes that Millennials, much like the generations before them,simply aof the personal lives of younger employees andto establish a relationshipareproduct workenvironment in which they were raised. With them, the challenge that goes beyond the job site. Millennials are the first generation thatis learning to work with their hands, much like Baby Boomers and considers the workplace as ato meet friends. placeGenerationmembers need to learn technology. Find purpose. Roofing contractors should emphasize the intrinsicX meaning of the task at hand-namely, putting a roof over people\'sThe big issue for roofing contractors in the coming years will be heads and allowing them to build the life they want underneath it.employees. how to attract Generation YMichael Huntington said he\'s "[Millennials] simply will not staythey\'re not engaged,"said.aware of the dwindling number of young workers coming in and said whereheAAA Roofing is trying to entice younger workers with strong benefits Challenges Ahead,.and incentive programs. McGlothlin said Empire Roofing sends Because of the labor-intensive nature of the roofing business, restrictedrepresentatives to local high schools to present programs aimed at flexibility, and the limited ability to implement new technology, Hunting recruiting younger workers who are not planning to go to college. ton and McGlothlin are worried about recruiting bright, young employees"The possibilities are endless ifwant to come in and learn the you in the coming yearsand rightfully so. Dr. Grodnitzky said 2010 censusindustry," McGlothlin said. "Ifwork hard there\'s aof money to youlot results show that Millennials are more inclined to pursue careers centeredbe made in roofing." on computers and new technology than labor-intensive jobs such asRegardless of the recruiting method, Dr. Grodnitzky stresses that the construction or manufacturing.key to retaining younger employees is to build relationships with them and keep them engaged so they feel that their job has meaning.Midwest Roofer- www.mrca.org15'