Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/701202
STARRINKS.COM JULY.AUGUST.2016 / 23 workers are usually not willing to work or accept nominal wages, so we can't afford to get them on our staff roster. So, we end up hiring, essentially, "kids." So what's the big deal? Sounds great, right? We're going to hire energetic, ambitious and eager-to-learn young people to join our team! That's great thinking, and in some cases that is what you're going to get. But hiring younger staff does come with its pros and cons. Challenges First, let's analyze what we're getting ourselves into when we hire high school or college students. Here are some things we need to consider: • Most of these applicants will be temporary, short-term workers looking for money to pay for current expenses including car, rent, tuition, etc. • Many are encouraged (or pressured) by parents to get a job. If they are minors, you may need to deal with the parents if conflicts arise. • Generally, they're inexperienced workers. This is often their first employment opportunity. They may be coming to you with a lack of "institutional" experience, requiring more time needed to train and supervise. • Speaking of training, we invest significant time and money in training them with the possibility of only having them for the short-term. • As most of them will be students, you may end up with conflicting priorities including homework, extracurricular activities, personal involvements or another job may get in the way. • There may be "generational conflict" such as poor communication skills (i.e. dependency on texting), sense of entitlement, and other characteristics of this new generation that most of us didn't grow up with. Opportunities There are also some opportunities when hiring young workers that we can take advantage of which can make it a win-win situation: • They're often willing to work for lower, sometimes minimum wages, with fewer benefits in order to gain work experience. • They can be highly motivated if they are earning money to pay for something that is important to them. • They don't have bad work habits. They start with a clean slate—and you get to train them the way you want them.