Getting more from Generation X

The economy's slow but steady improvement is good news. But employers may find a cloud lurking behind the sunny forecast: they are at risk of losing some of their most valuable talent – and they may not even realise it.

These aren't the usual suspects. Instead of the 50-something baby boomers and the millennials in their late 20s and early 30s, I'm talking about Generation X, demography's long-neglected middle child.

Numbering just 46 million in the United States, Gen X is small compared to the 78 million boomers and 70 million millennials. Yet proportionate to their size, Generation X may be the cohort with the most clout.

Now in their late 30s and 40s, Xers make up the bench strength for management. They’re the knowledge experts that corporations will rely on to gain competitive advantage in the coming decades. Approaching or already in the prime of their lives and careers, Gen Xers are poised for leadership.

Yet their career progress has been blocked by boomers who are postponing retirement and threatened by impatient millennials eager to leapfrog them. Gen Xers are frustrated – and, having played it safe during the years of economic uncertainty, are now facing what may be their last chance to grab the golden ring.

A 2011 survey from the Center for Talent Innovation showed that 37 per cent of Gen Xers have “one foot out the door” and were looking to leave their current employers within three years.

The US Labor Department’s August Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, popularly known as the “quit rate” because it measures the number of people voluntarily leaving their jobs, is the highest it has been since June 2008.

What can employers do to retain their talented Gen Xers? Here are four options:

GIVE XERS THE CHANCE TO BE IN CHARGE CTI research found that nearly three-quarters of Gen Xers prefer to work independently. Among those who like being their own boss, over 80 per cent say the reason is that they value having control over their work. According to a generational report from the Society of Human Resource Management, Xers “work well in situations where conditions are not well defined, or are constantly changing”.

Placing Xers in charge of high-visibility projects is a way to spotlight their abilities.

SHOW THEM THE ROUTE TO THE TOP Mentoring and sponsorship programmes that match mid-level managers with senior-level executives not only provide opportunities to enrich Xers’ career experiences, they also help pave the path to top leadership positions.

ENCOURAGE ENTREPRENEURIAL INSTINCTS Following in the footsteps of generation-mates like Dell computer founder

Michael Dell

, chief Googlers

Larry Page

and

Sergey Brin

, and

Sara Blakely

, who created the multimillion-dollar Spanx empire, nearly 39 per cent of Gen X men and 28 per cent of Gen X women aspire to be entrepreneurs.

Why not let them test their wings with a company-sponsored venture, rather than risk having them fly the coop?

OFFER FLEXIBILITY Extreme jobs – characterised by work weeks of 60-plus hours, tight deadlines and 24/7 availability – are the norm for Gen X, with nearly a third of Xers making more than $75,000 (€59,000) a year slogging through schedules that never stop.

Flexible work arrangements, including reduced schedules, are checked off as “very important” for 66 per cent of Gen X women and, significantly, 55 per cent of Gen X men.

Employers can retain restless Xers by responding directly to their concerns: offering them a chance to test their leadership potential through work-sponsored entrepreneurial opportunities, a safety valve to alleviate the pressures of their extreme lives, and a way to celebrate the varied passions and commitments that make this talented cohort so valuable. – Copyright Harvard Business Review 2014 Sylvia Ann Hewlett is the founder and chief executive of the Center for Talent Innovation, and the author of 11 books, including Executive Presence.