DEvelopment and Retention of Gen Y Employees

Employee Relations
Development and retention of Generation Y employees: a conceptual framework

Mohammad Faraz Naim, Usha Lenka,
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Development
Development and retention of and retention
Generation Y employees: of Generation
Y employees
a conceptual framework
Mohammad Faraz Naim and Usha Lenka 433
Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee,
Received 9 September 2016
Roorkee, India Revised 5 May 2017
18 August 2017
Accepted 25 August 2017
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual framework of development, commitment, and
retention of Generation Y employees.
Design/methodology/approach – Based on a review of existing literature and using social exchange and
social constructivist approach, this study presents a conceptual framework with mentoring, strategic
leadership, social media, and knowledge sharing as its key constructs to retain Generation Y employees.
Findings – Mentoring, strategic leadership, social media, and knowledge sharing have a great potential to
foster competency development. Competency development is critical to evoke affective commitment of
Generation Y employees, which in turn results in intention to stay forth.
Research limitations/implications – The proposed conceptual framework should be empirically
validated in the future research.
Practical implications – Organisations should incorporate mentoring, strategic leadership, social media,
and knowledge sharing into their talent management strategy for Generation Y employees. Competency
development then in turn evokes commitment of Generation Y employees, leading to intention to stay forth.
The framework suggests an approach for generation-specific retention strategy.
Originality/value – This is one of the first studies to propose a holistic framework to retain Generation Y
employees. This paper adds a new dimension to the talent management literature by focusing on young
generation employees.
Keywords Generation Y, Gen Y, Retention, Intention to stay, Commitment, Mentoring,
Strategic leadership, Knowledge sharing, Social media
Paper type Conceptual paper
Introduction
Over the last few years, there is a paradigm shift in the workforce demographics with continued
influx of Generation Y employees (born between 1981 and 2000) (Lancaster and Stillman, 2010),
together with retirement of Baby Boomers. Based on generational cohort theory, a generation
includes members born in same time and experiencing the common formative events during their
developmental times, leading to a similar value system, perceptions, and attitudes
(Kupperschmidt, 2000). Generation Y members have experienced events such as emergence of
internet, economic liberalisation, popularity of social media, growth of environmental awareness,
and rise of terrorism. Most of Generation Y employees are born to parents with stable financial
background and groomed in a multicultural, technology-rich contextual environment.
The contextual environment has a profound influence in moulding their personality as
carefree, fun-loving, and risk-taking individuals. Their work values, ethics, and working style are
remarkably different from Generation X and Baby Boomers (Naim and Lenka, 2017). They are
ambitious, creative, and goal-oriented with a strong sense of self-worth and confidence in their
abilities (Twenge, 2010). They exhibit high levels of optimism, assertion, and self-esteem (Martin,
2005). This generation represents socially connected individuals, with technological literacy and
strong relationship orientation (Lowe et al., 2008). They prefer inclusive style of management and Employee Relations
want their supervisors to offer mentoring and decision-making power (Ng et al., 2010). Vol. 40 No. 2, 2018
pp. 433-455
Generation Y employees are reported to crave immediate feedback about their performance © Emerald Publishing Limited
0142-5455
and timely recognition of their contributions (Hurst and Good, 2009; Martin, 2005). In addition, DOI 10.1108/ER-09-2016-0172
ER one characteristic trait of Generation Y employees is the need for learning and development.
40,2 They value continuous learning opportunities offered by organisations to evaluate their
employment offers (Lub et al., 2012). Therefore, Generation Y employees want to continuously
upgrade their knowledge and competencies to stay marketable in talent market (Naim, 2014).
Consequently, they hop the jobs in search of better advancement opportunities. A recent study
by Deloitte found that nearly one-third Generation Y workers are planning to leave their
434 employer and look for new career opportunities.
Despite shift in workforce dynamics, there is no significant change in HRM practices,
which are less appealing to Generation Y employee, causing higher attrition rates
(Davidson et al., 2011). Enormous competition across the sectors and lucrative offers from
competitors have compounded the issue of retention. The incredible pressure to
outperform competitors provided with inadequate resources further reduces employee
engagement levels. Lack of engagement is a critical issue among employees of all

generation. However, Generation Y employees are most vulnerable as they are highly
ambitious and seek instant success in every endeavour (Hartman and McCambridge,
2011). When organisations are not able to match their expectation, they prefer quitting
jobs. Engagement and retention requires urgent industry attention as their representation
would be approximately 50 per cent by 2020 (Saxena and Jain, 2012). As Generation Y
employees have strong learning orientation, therefore organisations need an appropriate
developmental strategy to retain Generation Y employees.
The rationale for focusing on Generation Y employees is marked by their
ever-increasing representation in the workforce and the imminent retirement of Baby
Boomers. To an estimate, by 2020 India alone will host roughly 464 million Generation Y
employees, with an average workforce age reaching 29 years (Rajendram, 2013). This has
resulted in an immediate need to design talent management interventions, keeping in
mind Generation Y’s needs and preferences, to enhance their commitment and retention.
Employees with higher-order growth needs of self-esteem and self-actualisation harbour
an urge for learning and Generation Y employees are new to workplace and lack
work-experience. Hence, they are anxious to acquire work-related knowledge and
competencies. One of the ways to support their developmental needs is competency
development. With this objective, this conceptual paper focuses on competency
development and its effect on commitment and retention of incumbent Generation Y
talented employees. We analyse psychological profile of Generation Y members by
capturing their idiosyncratic work-related values and preferences in the context of talent
management. To sum up, the aim of this paper is to map a social-exchange-based
conceptual framework that includes enablers of competency development and its effect on
the attitudinal outcomes as a function of generational cohort.
We adopted a social-exchange perspective based on psychological contract theory to
explore the work values, attitude, and preferences of Generation Y employees. Social
Exchange theory states that all social relationships in the workplace are formed, sustained,
or severed based on exchange of mutual benefit (Emerson, 1976). In any relationship,
individual extend support and assistance to other individuals and anticipate a reciprocal
response. The conceptual framework explains that organisational initiatives to enhance
employee competencies are reciprocated with high levels of affective commitment and
intention to stay.
This paper responds to calls for further research on attracting and retaining Generation Y
employees and assessing the impact of talent management practices on employee outcomes
(Gelens et al., 2013). The major contribution of this paper is that we contribute to the
theoretical underpinning of TM research from a generational perspective. In so doing,
grounded on psychological contract theory, we incorporated mentoring, social media,
strategic leadership, and knowledge sharing as enablers of Generation Y’s competency
development, leading to affective commitment and finally, intention to stay forth. The paper is Development
structured as follows: the first section highlights the review of literature on Generation Y and retention
employees’ profile and other constructs; the second section presents the conceptual framework of Generation
along with propositions. It is followed by discussion and implications for practice, and future
scope of research. Y employees
Literature review 435

The extensive review of literature suggests that there is a dearth of research on talent
management of Generation Y employees. Most studied themes of Generation Y literature
include career perceptions (Ng et al., 2010; Rao and Vijaylakshmi, 2014), behavioural responses
(Holt et al., 2012; Kultalahti and Viitala, 2015; Park and Gursoy, 2012), characteristics and
work preferences (Autry and Berge, 2011; Malik and Khera, 2014; Parry and Urwin, 2011;
Twenge, 2010; Twenge et al., 2010). Numerous studies reveal that mentoring facilitates
development of Generation Y members and influences their retention (Holt et al., 2012;
Stahno and Yang, 2014; Weyland, 2011). Leadership is identified as an important factor from
the perspective of talent management (Cooke et al., 2014). Generation Y employees are
reported to seek clear directions from the managers about their expectations and display
eagerness to make significant contribution towards achievement of larger organisational
objectives (Martin, 2005). Strategic leadership creates an alignment between Generation Y’s
personal goals and overall strategy, in turn maximising the understanding of big picture and
awareness of their roles. This way, employees feel better connected to organisational
bottom-line and feel valued by making contributions towards achieving the larger
organisational goals. Strategic leadership is heedful to the discerning psychological traits of
Generation Y and reinforces learning culture within organisations to promote competency
development, in turn, creating an intention to stay forth (Hitt et al., 2010). Meanwhile, vision is
one of the attributes that Generation Y aspires in leadership (Graybill, 2014).
Given the technological proficiency of Generation Y, technological access is needed to
engage them (Autry and Berge, 2011; Weyland, 2011). In the related vein, social media is
identified as a crucial factor to influence employee developmental aspects and recommended
to engage and retain employees (Bolton et al., 2013). Knowledge sharing fosters competency
development of Generation Y employees. As they are new to the workplace, they may not be
aware of the organisation’s culture, traditions, and expectations. They need the support
from peers, superiors to understand organisational perspectives and socialise effectively.
In addition, Generation Y employees highly value open communication that encourages
free-flow of information to foster avenues of experiential learning for rapid development
(e.g. Gursoy et al., 2008; Martin, 2005). From this perspective, we expect that the knowledge
sharing process involves social interaction and transfer of organisational insights and
experiences resulting in expansion of competencies (Naim and Lenka, 2016a, b). Also,
knowledge sharing has been shown to impact employee turnover intentions ( Jacobs and
Roodt, 2011). The rationale of focusing on competency development is that learning and
development is identified as a critical component of talent management that influences
young employees’ motivation and retention (Holt et al., 2012). Affective commitment is
reported to be important in the present context of high workforce mobility, hence it is
necessary to develop an emotional attachment between employees and organisations to
retain young workforce (Cooke et al., 2014) (Table I).
Mentoring
Over the years, mentoring has been the subject of widespread academic interest; as such
different scholars have defined mentoring with their own conceptualisation. However, most
definitions are built on Kram’s (1985) seminal work on mentoring. Mentoring is a
developmental relationship between a more experienced employee called mentor and a less
ER
40,2
436
Table I.
employees
Review on
Generation Y
Study and origin Sample and study type Findings
Özçelik (2015), Descriptive, review based Effective implementation of internal branding strategies through the
Turkey contributions of HR policies to influence Millennials commitment and
engagement
Kultalahti and Qualitative design using empathy-based stories on Facebook Continuous learning and developing, challenging, and varied tasks; social
Viitala (2015), relations and the supervisor’s behaviour; flexibility and work-life balance are
Finland important factors. However, the findings indicate that the desire to develop
competences is more significant for Millennials
Guillot-Soulez and 592 graduates; quantitative cross-sectional design, survey Young graduates from Generation Y prefer job security and a relaxed work
Soulez (2014), method atmosphere, their preferences are heterogeneous
France
Malik and Khera Descriptive study design, review-based study Generation Y possesses unique work characteristics different from predecessors
(2014), India and are high maintenance which asks for more than just the benefit package
Stahno and Yang Descriptive study On-job trading, mentoring, developmental relationships and short training
(2014) sessions are identified for developing Generation Y leaders. While for
onboarding 4Cs approach should be adopted (Compliance, Clarification, Culture
and Connection)
Rao and Exploratory study with survey design 100 IT Generation Y Findings revealed heterogeneity of Generation Ys’ career aspirations and,
Vijaylakshmi employees therefore, suggest that the respondents are mostly aspired a pure challenge, life
(2014), India style and technical competence
Park and Gursoy 677 customer contact employees of hotel industry. Cross-sectional Generation Y is the most distinct segment. Generation Y has lower levels of work
(2012), USA design, survey method engagement as compared to elder generations
Holt et al. (2012), Qualitative design using semi structured interviews with 150 Challenge, personal growth and making a positive impact are top three driving
USA respondents factors that motivate Generation Y, while parents and significant others are
main people behind their motivation.
Moreover, face-to-face interactions and social media are main ways to connect
Autry and Berge Review and survey of 256 employees from Generation X, Digital technology is redefining communication patterns. Younger generations
(2011), USA Generation Y and Baby Boomers are at ease with technology in learning environment. Younger the generation,
more is his willingness to integrate technology into learning environment
Weyland (2011) Review based Strong value system, social responsiveness and fun culture. Continuous
learning, flexible work environment with technological access. Feedback,
recognition, responsibility should be provided by open management style to
engage Generation Y members
(continued )
Parry and Urwin Review based Mixed results are achieved as some studies point similarities while others
(2011), UK differences. Cohort a new term is given to refer a generation. Most studies are
cross-sectional in nature
Ng et al. (2010), 23,413 undergraduate students, Cross-sectional design, survey Generation Y seeks rapid career advancement, desire meaningful life outside the
Canada method workplace. Their expectations vary with gender
Twenge (2010), Review based Generation X and Generation Y members are found to score low on work
USA centrality, work ethics, and score higher in leisure values, extrinsic values, and
individualistic traits compared to Baby Boomers and Silent. While, no
generational differences are observed in altruistic values. Mixed results are
found in intrinsic and social values
Hershatter and Case-study based Findings illustrate Millennials work values such as technology proficiency, need
Epstein (2010), for supporting structure, feedback, career aspirations, meritocracy
USA
Twenge et al. Survey of 16,507 respondents, Longitudinal study design with Results indicate online presence of Generation Y has significant effect on opinion
(2010), USA time-lag data sharing; more an individual is active on different social media platforms more he
is inclined to share and seek opinions. Demographic differences and social
network service chosen have an effect on behaviours
Niemczyk and 290 Generation Y aviation professionals, Cross-sectional design, Results indicate the preference for greater personal freedom with less
Ulrich (2009) survey method managerial interventions. Further, they have a strong preference for a
supportive, inclusive and cohesive environment with elements of flexibility and
decision-making freedom
Munro (2009), 452 HR practitioners, qualitative design using focus group Mentoring facilitates development of Generation Y employees’ competencies.
Canada interviews and personal interviews Mentoring should be integrated with organisational strategy and Generation Y
personal values should be aligned with organisational goals for organisational
excellence
Cennamo and 504 multi-generational employees from multiple sectors, Cross- Baby Boomers score highly on extrinsic, status work values. Generation Y
Gardner (2008), sectional design, survey method focused on freedom related variables. Younger generations lack PO ift are less
New Zealand committed and more likely to leave. Significant generational differences were
found for individual work values involving status and freedom
Gursoy et al. (2008), Qualitative design using 10 focus group interviews of Hotel multi- There are significant differences among generations. Baby Boomers respect
USA, generational employees with Generation Y employees and authority while Gen X does not. Generation Y are team-oriented, optimistic and
managers prefer collective action
(continued )
Y employees
Development
and retention
437
of Generation
Table I.
ER
40,2
438
Table I.
Twenge and Review of empirical data from 1930s to 2008 involving 1.4 million Generation Y demonstrates higher self-esteem, narcissism, anxiety, and
Campbell (2008), College students depression, lower need for social approval, more external locus of control, and
USA women with more agentic traits
Dulin (2008) Mixed method approach Findings indicate that Millennials desire relationships with high touch,
preferring leaders who can act as mentors. Further, they are shown to crave
work-life balance, open communication, collaboration and teamwork
Lowe et al. (2008), Review based Transparent communication, teamwork, flexibility, technology access, feedback,
USA challenging work, mentoring, and positive relationship with manger are
necessary to retain Generation Y employees
Terjesen et al. 862 Generation Y undergraduates, Mixed-method design with Five important organisational attributes are identified, namely, career
(2007), UK survey and interviews advancement opportunities, developmental opportunities, care for employees,
friendly work culture and work variety, freedom to work on one’s own initiative
and scope for creativity in one’s work. Perception of these factors is strongly
linked to intentions to apply. The authors note the absence of attributes such as
benefits, job security and solitude from their top 20
Martin (2005), USA Qualitative research using personal interviews Strategies are proposed to improve relationship of mangers with Generation Y
workers. Offer mentoring, flexible work schedules, technological access,
constructive performance feedback
experienced employee called mentee or protégée whereby both benefit from the relationship Development
(Kram, 1985). Roberts (2000) defined mentoring as “a formalised process whereby a more and retention
knowledgeable and experienced person actuates a supportive role of overseeing and of Generation
encouraging reflection and learning within a less experienced and knowledgeable person, so as
to facilitate that person’s career and personal development” (p. 162). Career support function Y employees
includes making challenging assignments, promoting job-related behaviours, fostering career
development, enhancing their sense of competence by providing exposure, sponsorship, 439
visibility, and protection. Exposure, sponsorship, and visibility provide public support to the
mentee. Introducing mentees to key personnel of the organisation, mentor enhances their
network and recognition thereby increasing exposure and visibility. Also, mentor offers
protection to shield the mentee in situations of high risks of failure which might limit their
career progress. Challenging assignments support career development of mentees as they learn
new roles and responsibilities. Psychosocial support helps mentees to develop a sense of
belongingness, professional identity, and effectiveness. Mentor serves a source of social
support and offers friendship, acceptance, confirmation, counselling, and role modelling.
Acceptance and confirmation build a sense of positive self-regard among mentees. Counselling
support promotes positive self-views through self-exploration (Kram, 1985). Role-modelling
helps mentees to observe and learn from the actions of mentors.
Despite the widespread academic interest, there is currently an absence of a universally
accepted definition and majority of research emphasises on its positive outcomes.
However, the influence of confounding variables and underlying mechanism to attain
such outcomes is largely unknown. Literature broadly categorises these outcomes into
two categories – first, the positive mentee outcomes including career outcomes, such as
performance, compensation, and promotions (Kram, 1985; Scandura, 1992). Second, the
subjective career outcomes which are intrinsic or affective signs of career success such as
greater career satisfaction affective commitment, self-confidence, and career development;
higher organisational performance, and a lower intention to leave (Kirchmeyer, 2005;
Kram, 1985; Lankau and Scandura, 2002; Scandura, 1992), reduced stress, and positive
justice perceptions (Scandura, 1992).
Mentoring is a developmental initiative that appeals highly to Generation Y, as they
continuously crave personal and professional development, developmental support, and
feedback (Martin, 2005). Mentoring relationships guides, directs, and motivates them to
achieve superior performance (Weyland, 2011). Generation Y employees gain exposure to
influential members and imitate the behaviours of mentors to learn the effective ways of
achieving the desirable outcomes (Dow, 2014). This is consistent with social learning theory,
which asserts that individuals learn through observation (Bandura, 1977). The varied
knowledge acquired from mentors and other colleagues by the new hires is critical to their
socialisation and future success. On this backdrop, mentoring is an ideal intervention to
provide informational and emotional support to Generation Y, in turn, resulting in
reciprocation of positive attitudinal outcomes.
Strategic leadership
The last two decades have witnessed a considerable attention being paid to the concept of
strategic leadership. The contemporary firms are operating in a complex business
environment characterised by rapid globalisation, proliferation of technologies, growing
uncertainty, and dynamism (Ireland and Hitt, 1999). This calls for a particular astute
leadership style to cope with this ever-changing landscape (Hitt et al., 2010). In addition, rise
of knowledge economy with a significant focus on human capital to drive competitive
advantage and emergence of Generation Y makes the case of strategic leadership more
compelling in the present context (Vera and Crossan, 2004).
ER Strategic leadership is the study of executives who have overall responsibility of the firm
40,2 and how their decisions affect organisational outcomes (Daft, 2005). Specifically, strategic
leadership designates leadership at the top of the organisation, which encompasses strategic
and relational activities between leaders and their subordinates (Vera and Crossan, 2004).
It is a synergistic combination of visionary leadership that emphasises on investing in the
future, and managerial leadership that emphasises on preserving the status quo.
440 Strategic leadership consists of absorptive capacity, adaptive capacity, and managerial
wisdom (Boal and Hoojbeg, 2000). Absorptive capacity is awareness, learning, and practice
of acquiring new information. Adaptive capacity is the ability to change. Managerial
wisdom is being institutive, judgmental, and aware of environmental perception and social
relations. Strategic leadership concept is rooted on the Upper echelon theory, which argues
that top management teams, CEO, and others are responsible for deciding the vision and
future direction of the organisation (Hambrick and Mason, 1984). Individual experience,
personal values, cognitive style, and personality traits of the upper echelons strongly
influence organisations’ strategic decisions.
Strategic leaders have a global vision and pay attention to the organisation as a whole
and not a part of it. Shared values and a well-defined vision for the future give strategic
leadership a strong sense of purpose and direction, which guides strategy formulation and
implementation (Daft, 2005; Ireland and Hitt, 1999). Given the strategic importance of young
generation employees as the future leaders, communicating the vision creates alignment
between individual objectives and organisational strategy. Interestingly, vision is one of the
attributes that Generation Y aspire in leadership (Graybill, 2014). Strategic leaders are
focused towards talent management activities including attraction, development, and
retention of talent (Hitt et al., 2010).
Scholarly literature on strategic leadership has emphasised on its impact on firm
performance and effectiveness. In this vein, studies have focused on firm-level behaviours
such as organisational learning (Crossan and Hulland, 2002; Vera and Crossan, 2004),
middle managers’ attitudes and behaviours (Wang et al., 2011), and managerial practices
(Young et al., 2001). Recently, studies have examined the impact of strategic leadership on
innovation and entrepreneurship development (Simsek et al., 2015). However, there is a
dearth of literature on individual psychological outcomes of strategic leadership such as
employees’ attitudinal outcomes.
Social media. In the last few years, organisations worldwide have witnessed an
unprecedented proliferation of technology. The major thrust behind this technological
revolution is the rise of social media; basically the online communication channels that
facilitate creation and sharing of user-generated content and ways to interact with others.
Grounded on the foundations of Web 2.0 and user-generated content, social media enables
creation of a collaborative environment wherein, the user is both the consumer and creator
of the content (Universal McCann, 2008). Social media is a group of internet-based
applications that are built on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0 to
enable creation and exchange of user-generated content (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010). Some
popular social media tools include social networking sites (Facebook, LinkedIn, Myspace,
and Twitter), blogs, content sharing sites (YouTube, Flickr), discussion forums, internal
networking tools (Yammer) and others.
Scholarly literature on social media is scattered and theoretical in nature. Also, a lot is
based on practitioner-related literature from IBM, Gardner, and McKinsey. The most
studied themes emerging form academic and practitioner literature include impact of
social media use on employer branding for attracting new employees (Sivertzen et al.,
2013), creativity and innovation, organisation development (Roblek et al., 2013),
productivity and performance, and social capital (Dimicco and Millen, 2008). Numerous
studies report the effect of social media use on organisational processes such as
communications (Reitz, 2012; Vuori, 2012), information management, knowledge sharing, Development
and collaboration (Holtzblatt et al., 2013; Panahi et al., 2012). and retention
With the rapid influx of Generation Y employees into the workplace, organisations are of Generation
forced to embrace social media, which has radically transformed the way people
communicate, interact, share, and develop relationships with family, peers, and friends alike Y employees
(Reitz, 2012). The benefits of social media use are largely attributed to the affordance offered
by social media technology. Social media capabilities of free accessibility, pervasiveness, 441
persistence and flexibility make such tools to facilitate information exchange, collaboration
recognition programs, and communication (Vuori, 2012).
Generation Y employees have strong preference for use of social media at workplace and,
therefore, employed by organisations to socialise new recruits (Leidner et al., 2010).
Evidence form literature reveals that social media, particularly social networking sites and
blogs, are used extensively by college and university students from the USA, the UK, and
Malaysia for interacting and communicating with peer group, which in turn positively
impacts informal leering and socialisation (Hamat et al., 2012; Madge et al., 2009). Faour and
Heinze (2013) proposed a conceptual framework to integrate social media into organisational
recruitment function for specifically Generation Y employees. The framework asserts that
Generation Y employees have technology orientation and organisation should exploit social
media to create a magnetic employer brand, which in turn attract Generation Y prospects.
Bolton et al. (2013) proposed a useful framework integrating drivers and outcomes of social
media use by Generation Y employees. It highlights key themes form literature on social
media use and generational differences and suggests critical issues to be taken up in future
research including examining the effect of social media use on engagement and retention of
Generation Y employees. Hence, to respond to this call, this paper has utilised social media
to develop and retain Generation Y employees.
Knowledge sharing
Knowledge management is widely recognised as one of the most influential concepts in
organisational context. One of the reasons is the growing acknowledgement that knowledge
is a crucial strategic resource for competitive advantage. It exists in two forms: explicit and
tacit (Bock et al., 2005). Explicit knowledge is an objective, verbal, or written knowledge that
is transmittable, codified, and articulated, whereas implicit knowledge is the subjective
knowledge rooted in routine, cultures, and contexts within the organisation. Implicit
knowledge is non-verbalised and unarticulated.
Knowledge management is a broader concept that encompasses the acquisition, storage,
sharing, and application of valuable knowledge (Rowley, 2000). As such, the success of
knowledge management initiatives largely depends on knowledge sharing. Knowledge
sharing is an integral component of broad knowledge management discipline. As such, the
success of knowledge management initiatives largely depends on knowledge sharing.
However, knowledge sharing is an ill-defined concept, lacking any unifying
conceptualisation, as scholars have defined it in numerous ways. Hansen (2002) defined
knowledge sharing as a process of generating social interactions among organisational
members and units. Lin (2007) argued it is a process of communicating employees’
knowledge, thoughts, know-how, insights, and experiences among themselves. Further, it is
a broader concept focusing on social interaction, shared understanding, mutual information
exchange, and joint knowledge creation (Van den Hooff and Van Weenen, 2004).
The extant literature on knowledge sharing is mainly focuses on the enablers of
knowledge sharing, such as organisational culture, technological capabilities, and its direct
impact on economic indicators, such as individual performance, organisational performance,
productivity, product improvement, innovation, competitive advantage, and organisational
ER effectiveness (Gupta et al., 2000; Levine and Prietula, 2012; Lin, 2007; Yang, 2007). Further
40,2 studies lack the underlying mechanism that mediates the direct effects of knowledge
sharing on outcome variables. Also, literature has limited empirical basis and the majority of
the studies are exploratory in nature, which illustrates the lack of depth in contemporary
understanding on knowledge sharing. Importantly, knowledge sharing has not been much
studied in context of Generation Y employees except for few studies, which explores the
442 concept from multi-generational perspective ( Juriševič and Miheli, 2015). The present paper
addresses this gap by developing the proposed relationship between knowledge sharing
and competency development of employees of Generation Y, which results in affective
commitment, in turn translating to intention to stay forth (Figure 1).
Methodology
This study utilises literature review method as an appropriate means for summarising the
literature. Popular databases including Google Scholar, Scopus, and Business Complete and
Human Resources Abstracts from EBSCO were used to gather research articles. This paper
reviews literature on Generation Y employees’ work values, preferences, needs, and traits
rather than making comparisons between different generations (e.g. Lub et al., 2012;
Cennamo and Gardner, 2008) and focuses on providing a holistic picture of psychological
profile of Generation Y employees.
The review included a review of theoretical and empirical articles published as journal
articles, book chapters, government reports, practitioner surveys, conference proceedings,
and dissertations. Reference lists from recent articles were scanned to identify the
commonly cited articles. As the primary focus is to explore the psychological profile of
Generation Y, therefore articles that study Generation Y’s work values, preferences, needs,
and traits were selected. In the related vein, articles that focus on comparisons analysis of
different generations were also examined to understand the pattern of Generation Y profile.
In addition, articles emphasising on talent management in generational context were also
examined. The criteria for searching the literature include keywords individually and
collectively, such as “Millennials”, “Gen Y”, “Generation Y”, “generational differences”,
“multi-generational workforce”, and “generational work values, attitude, and personality”.
Mentoring P1
Affective commitment
Strategic leadership P2
Competency development
P6
P5
P3
Social media
P4
Intention to stay
Figure 1. Knowledge sharing

Conceptual framework
The selection of material for inclusion in our systematic review was based on the following Development
inclusion and exclusion criteria. We included studies that focused on Generation Y from and retention
human resource perspective and studies that are written in English language. We excluded of Generation
studies in languages other than English; studies focusing on marketing domain pertaining
to Generation Y consumers; studies where Generation Y was not of the main focus; and Y employees
studies focusing on populations other than Generation Y (except multi-generational studies
investigating different generations including Generation Y). 443
Most articles were fetched from reputed peer-reviewed management and psychology
journals such as Journal of Managerial Psychology, Development and Learning in Organisations:
An International Journal, Human Resource Management Review, Journal of Applied Psychology,
European Journal of Training and Development, Journal of Vocational Behavior, International
Journal of Hospitality Management, Academy of Management Journal, Industrial and
commercial Training, Industrial and Organisational Psychology, International Journal of

Hospitality Management, and The International Journal of Human Resource Management. This
is because all these journals have a focus on human resource management discipline. More
importantly, these journals have published many noteworthy articles that make a substantial
contribution to Generation Y literature. In addition, most of these journals are top-tier journals
in HRM domain, indexed in reputed databases and have impact factors.
Conceptual framework and propositions

Mentoring and competency development
Competencies refer to individual’s ability to utilise knowledge, skills, attitude, behaviours,
and aptitude to successfully perform a task. These are success factors that predict superior
performance (Lucia and Lepsinger, 1999). Competency development is an organisational
initiative to foster employees’ proficiency in handling job responsibilities to maintain or
enhance their career, learning, and functional expertise (Forrier et al., 2009).
The extant research indicates that mentoring relationships have an impact on
development of employees (Lankau and Scandura, 2002). The main goal of a mentoring is to
assist in employee development by building their competencies. Mentor guides the cognitive
development of mentees by building their knowledge, attitude, and competencies. This is
achieved by sharing organisational insights, facilitating expansion of mentee networks,
assisting in goal setting, and providing developmental feedback (Berezuik, 2010).
Mentoring is also viewed as a co-learning process wherein the mentor and mentee exchange
insights, thoughts, and information to create new individual and organisational-level
knowledge. Drawing from social learning approach, mentoring is a means for observational/
vicarious learning, wherein mentee learns by observing the mentor. Mentors share their
personal experiences, work, failures, business secrets, best practices, and their understanding
of organisational norms, values, and processes (Mullen, 1994). The interaction encourages
mentees to ask questions, and seek suggestions. The positive learning environment supports
organisation-wide learning and enhances employees’ competencies, such as, career skills,
functional skills, social skills, decision making, team development, leadership skills, initiative
taking, opportunity identification, and networking. Access to this knowledge provides mentees
the opportunity to develop more quickly. Knowledge sharing achieved through mentoring
further facilitates competency development. Vygotsky’s (1962) social constructivist approach
states that learning occurs through social interactions, which involves knowledge interflow
among organisational members, ultimately leading to learning behaviours and acquisition of
competencies. Moreover, mentoring builds a culture of learning and knowledge sharing.
It facilitates organising, creating, capturing, and distributing knowledge. Importantly,
they exhibit preference for supportive leaders and managers who can guide and act as
facilitators in their development (Lowe et al., 2008). Thus, mentoring highly appeals to
Generation Y employees as it satisfy their social, psychological, and cognitive needs. To sum,
ER mentoring has positive impact on knowledge sharing, learning, and development of young
40,2 employees mainly, Generation Y. This, in turn, fosters development of personal, professional,
and social competencies. Thus, we propose:
P1. Participation in a mentoring programme is positively associated with change in
competency for Generation Y employees.
444
Strategic leadership and competency development
The essence of strategic leadership has shown to be the management of resources, in
particular development of human capital. To achieve this, they facilitate the development
of employees by motivating them to continuously enrich their capabilities and offer them
opportunities to develop as talent (Ireland and Hitt, 1999). It focuses on building the
resource portfolio of the firm; encompassing acquisition and development of valuable

resources; and articulation of vision to reinforce organisational learning. Specifically, they
develop a culture that facilitates continuous learning, collaboration, opportunities for
information sharing, and leveraging internal expertise to foster learning and development
(Hitt et al., 2010).
Being visionary they could sense the market demands and hence have a holistic approach
of development, i.e., by focusing on their managerial and visionary aspects; they strive to
drive organisation to become continuous learning engines. To this end, they assist in
developing a learning culture in the organisation by supporting learning and knowledge
sharing. Moreover, the extant literature establishes a stung association of strategic leadership
with organisational learning. Strategic leaders embrace transformational and transactional
leadership behaviours to foster feed forward and feedback learning processes. Besides, they
foster organisational learning by enhancing absorptive capacity of firm, groups, and
individuals manifested as capacity to learn and responsiveness to changes. They provide the
infrastructure to foster organisation-wide teaching, knowledge creation, and sharing for
overall employee development (Vera and Crossan, 2004).
Furthermore, past literature reveals a positive effect of top management support
on organisational knowledge sharing (MacNeil, 2004). Therefore, support for
organisation-wide learning, development of knowledge sharing, and continuous
learning culture within organisation will foster the competency development of
Generation Y employees. As a result, Generation Y employees will have access to
developmental opportunities whereby they can expand their competency levels through
acquisition of knowledge from peers and superiors reinforced by knowledge sharing and
organisational learning culture within the organisation. In other words, employees
working under strategic leaders will exhibit a positive perception of competency
development. Thus, we propose:
P2. Strategic leadership style is positively associated with change in competency for
Generation Y employees.
Social media and competency development

The last decade has witnessed a tremendous proliferation of social media technology and its
impact on present multi-generational workplace. Owing to their idiosyncratic needs and
learning preferences Generation Y employees require innovative learning solutions. Having
been raised in an environment of rapid technological advancements, technology has shaped
the way this digital generation learns and process information (Prensky, 2001). They are
recognised as techno-savvy generation, who thrive in 24/7 real-time environment and expect
technology to be central to their learning process by allowing instant access to multiple
informational sources (Chelliah and Clarke, 2011). They value collaborative learning with
features of instantaneity and self-direction over personalised content (Oblinger, 2003; Development
Schofield and Honoré, 2009). and retention
There is compelling evidence in the literature that technology is an important component of Generation
in students’ academic lives (Al-rahmi et al., 2014; Junco et al., 2011). Thomas and Thomas
(2012) have explained the potential of social media for learning purposes. They pointed its Y employees
interactive, flexible, and asynchronous style to be effective in learning. There are studies
that found significant correlations between the use social media platforms like Twitter and 445
enterprise social networks and student engagement, participation, and semester grades of
university students, achieved through improved interaction between students and faculty
resulting in higher learning (Li et al., 2012).
Social media tools such as wiki, blogs, discussion forums, and networking sites endowed
with characteristics of interactivity and collaborative potential. This facilitates exchange of
ideas, insights, and information and development of ties through real-time communication
and collective knowledge creation and sharing, thereby fostering collaborative learning.
Further, social media makes learning democratic and more engaging with an element
of control over content and pace (Hoffman, 2009; Li et al., 2012). This translates into a
learner-centric approach wherein learners play a more active role in their own learning,
consistent with the new psychological contract of Generation Y employees.
This social media-enabled learning is in consistent with social constructivist theory of
learning (English and Yazdani, 1999). This theory states that learning occurs collaboratively
through social context and involves dialogue, enquiry, and knowledge interflow among
organisational members, ultimately leading to learning behaviours and acquisition of
competencies such as teamwork and communication (Naim and Lenka, 2016a). Therefore,
social media use will create learning opportunities, leading to acquisition of competency
levels of Generation Y employees. Thus we propose:
P3. The use of social media is positively associated with change in competency,
for Generation Y employee’s employees.
Knowledge sharing and competency development

Knowledge sharing is viewed as the dissemination of individual knowledge within an
organisation involving social interactions, information exchange, and knowledge creation
(Bock et al., 2005; Van den Hooff and Van Weenen, 2004). Knowledge sharing encompasses
willingness to communicate knowledge (“Knowledge donating”) and ability to acquire
knowledge from others (“knowledge collecting”) (Lin, 2007).
Knowledge sharing’s positive influence on organisational performance through
enhancement of employees’ skills is well documented in the literature. A qualitative study
conducted on 20 Chinese HR professionals reveals that knowledge sharing nurtures and
supports learning, and career advancement leading to competency development
(Wang-Cowham, 2011). Also, knowledge sharing has been found to bolster individual
competency enhancement, generation of new knowledge, organisational learning, and
innovation (Yang, 2007).
In order to nurture knowledge sharing in the organisation, it is critical to promote social
interactions among employees. Social interactions involve exchange of knowledge, skills,
and expertise, which, in turn, creates a learning environment, which reinforces
organisational learning. This is in agreement with prior literature which establish that
knowledge sharing has a positive influence on individual and organisational learning
(Yang, 2007). Importantly, Generation Y employees quickly embrace knowledge sharing to
gain organisational insights, experiences, and knowledge and share with peers in
anticipation that they will reciprocate. Thus, knowledge sharing has a profound effect on
competency development of Generation Y employees (Naim and Lenka, 2016a). In similar
ER vein, it can be proposed that employees’ competencies are more likely to develop in the
40,2 organisation with knowledge sharing culture. Therefore, we propose:
P4. Participation in knowledge sharing is positively associated with change in
competency, for Generation Y employee’s employees.
446 Competency development, affective commitment, and intention to stay

Affective commitment is an employee’s sense of emotional attachment, identification, and
involvement with the employing organisation (Meyer and Allen, 1991). Employees with a
strong sense of affective commitment intend to stay with the organisation. In other words, it
arises when the committed person has feelings for, identifies himself or herself with and
feels psychologically connected to peers, superiors working with him or her, and the
employer organisation.
The extant research has shown that the organisational initiatives to offer learning and
development opportunities are strong predictors of employee attraction and retention
(Cole, 1999). In particular, skill and capacity development for talent proved to be the most
significant factor for retention (Hay, 2002). Another study reveals a positive relationship
between leadership development and talent retention (D’Amato and Herzfeldt, 2008). If an
organisation offers developmental opportunities to enhance employee competencies, it
demonstrates its commitment towards them and, thus, has a profound influence on the
intention to stay of the employees (Chikumbi, 2012). This is critical for Generation Y
employees who exhibit a dominant growth need and a learning goal orientation; hence, they
are attracted to the developmental initiatives of employer organisation (Aryee et al., 1999).
Moreover, when an organisation exhibits care and concern for employees and offer avenues
for development, it satisfies their higher order needs of self-actualisation and creates an
emotional belongingness with the organisation. Once Generation Y employees recognise that
organisation is committed to their overall development, it results in their positive reciprocal
behavioural outcomes, namely, affective commitment and in turn intention to stay.
The competency developmental opportunities offered by the organisation evoke positive
attitudinal response of high affective commitment. Also, when employees exhibit high
affective commitment, they are emotionally attached with their organisation, and hence are
more likely to stay forth (Guchait and Cho, 2010). As such affective commitment relies on
positive emotional events rather than instrumental benefits, therefore affectively committed
employees are willing to continue the employment relationship, resulting into intention to
stay. In addition, organisational commitment is shown to be strong determinant of intention to
stay (Suliman and Al-Junaibi, 2010). In particular, affective commitment is considered the best
predictor of intention to stay (Ghosh et al., 2013). Joarder et al. (2011) found that affective
commitment mediates the proposed relationship between HR practices such as learning and
development and turnover intentions. In similar vein, we expect affective commitment to
mediate the relationship between competency development and intention to stay of
Generation Y employees. Thus, we propose:
P5. Change in competency is positively associated with Generation Y employees’
intention to stay.
P6. Affective commitment mediates the relationship between competency development
and intention to stay with the organisation.
Discussion and implications

The present hyper-competitive business environment marked by war for talent is forcing
organisations to continuously develop and retain their employees in order to stay sustainable
(Garofano and Salas, 2005). As such organisations are facing intense competition for the Development
limited pool of talent. It is always not possible to procure talent from outside; therefore, an and retention
organisation must cultivate its talent, i.e. develop employees’ firm-specific knowledge and of Generation
skills to meet present and future tasks (Downs, 2015). Moreover, it will add a crucial dimension
of talent development to the employer brand of the firm making it a “talent magnet”. In other Y employees
words, it will help in attracting and retaining the talent, which act as a significant competitive
advantage. Also, Generation Y employees are shown to be more prone to job switching, 447
making talent retention a significant challenge for organisations.
One of the catalysts behind this is the changing nature of psychological contract,
otherwise termed as new career wherein job security and life-time employment are replaced
by multitasking, flexibility and employability, and employees are solely responsible for their
development and career management (Nim and Lenka, 2017). As suggested by DelCampo
et al. (2011), Lub et al. (2012), and Twenge (2010), Generation Y cohort places emphasis on
continuous learning opportunities and career development, this may be indispensable to
retain Generation Y employees. Organisations’ emphasis on mentoring, strategic leadership,
knowledge sharing, and social media reflects long-term commitment to invest in Generation
Y’s development of talent. Importantly, it not only develops professional competencies but
also personal and social competencies, in turn creating an emotional attachment between
employees and the organisation. This, in turn, favours the development of relational
psychological contracts with talents (Festing and Schäfer, 2014). Therefore, we assume that
talent development achieved through competency development will fulfil psychological
contract higher for Generation Y employees compared to older workers (Accenture, 2010).
The fulfilment of psychological contract of an individual leads to higher attitudinal
(e.g. employee engagement, commitment) and/or behavioural outcomes (e.g. a higher
intention to stay) (Sonnenberg et al., 2011).
Consequently, organisations should be receptive to generational characteristics of
Generation Y employees and tailor their strategies accordingly, as one-size-fits-all approach
is losing its relevance and formulate generation-specific targeted approach to talent
management (Festing and Schäfer, 2014). Therefore organisations must emphasise on
competency development of Generation Y employees as a viable strategy to strengthen their
engagement, commitment, and retention. In light of it, the proposed conceptual framework
illustrates that organisations should follow strategic leadership style and integrates
mentoring and social media to foster competency development to Generation Y employees.
The perception of learning and competency development in Generation Y employees will
give them increased assurance of a more profitable future with the organisation. This, in
turn, will result into positive psychological responses including affective commitment
leading to intention to stay forth.
In addition to the appropriateness of the noted interventions to achieve the objectives of
this paper, these interventions are in alignment with the distinctive needs of Generation Y
employees. To this end, strategic leaders provide followers with knowledge of how their jobs
are linked to the organisation’s vision. In addition, strategic leaders promote autonomy,
creativity, experimentation, risk-taking, and intrapreneurship, which are specifically what
Generation Y employees crave in their job. Knowledge sharing is strongly linked to
competency development in Generation Y employees (Naim and Lenka, 2016a). Mentoring
appeals to Generation Y employees as it answers their developmental needs, and social
media further satisfy Generation Y employees’ affective needs (emotional support gained by
promoting collaboration), cognitive needs (by facilitating knowledge sharing, information
gathering, and learning from others), social needs (by strengthening social network,
communication), and personal interactive needs (by improving employee recognition).
In other words, the noted interventions will meet Generation Y’s expectations and lead to a
higher fulfilment of a relational psychological contract from the part of the organisation.
ER The present study has significant implications that extend to both industry and academia.
40,2 From an academic standpoint, this study contributes to the literature on strategic leadership,
knowledge sharing social media and mentoring and its linkage with Generation Y talent
development, commitment and retention. To the best of our knowledge, so far no academic
work is conducted to examine strategic leadership, social media and mentoring in context of
Generation Y employees’ intention to stay. In addition, another notable aspect is that
448 competency development of Generation Y employees is linked to affective commitment and
intention to stay. In other words, apart from positive impact of competency development on
organisational performance and effectiveness, it is shown to influence Generation Y
employees’ work behaviour. It is crucial for organisation’s top management specifically;
strategic leaders to commit to engaging and developing Generation Y employees to
successfully retain them. Mentoring and social media should be incorporated into
organisational strategy to drive development and retention of Generation Y employees.

Moreover, it is in fitment with the present academic and practitioner attention given to
Generation Y talent management discipline.
From a managerial standpoint, the study provides a holistic view of development,
commitment, and retention of Generation Y talent. The conceptual framework is still not
empirically validated; hence, it offers limited implications for practice. However, analysing,
understanding, and addressing the psychological profile of Generation Y employees can lead to
a more effective way of talent management (D’Amato and Herzfeldt, 2008). Managers gain
insights on Generation Y needs and motivators and improve their understanding on how
members of Generation Y cohort are different from more experienced employees, which facilitate
developing talent management practices. In addition, the conceptual framework provides useful
information to assist HR managers in fine-tuning their retention strategy by incorporating noted
interventions. The insights will encourage them in adopting mentoring, strategic leadership,
social media, and knowledge sharing to develop Generation Y competencies and create an
intention to stay forth. Therefore organisations should invest in competency development of
Generation Y employees not only to reap business benefits but also to boost engagement and
retention rates. To achieve contextual operationalisation of this framework, organisation must
be cognisant of national and regional culture. While for applicability and validity of the
framework, we postulate that it only applies to larger organisations that have the necessary
resources to invest in talent developmental enablers outlined above.
Although the emergence of Generation Y into the workforce may pose challenges for HR
managers; but if effectively engaged and developed will reap rich dividends for
organisations. In this vein, an organisation cannot sustain without answering the typical
needs of Generation Y employees. The competent workforce provides competitive
advantage to firms as they are difficult to imitate as stated by resource-based view of firms.
Further, engaged and competent workforce leads to improved satisfaction, performance and
retention rates, customer satisfaction, productivity, and profitability (Macey and Schneider,
2008). In addition to offering business benefits, the retention of competent and productive
workforce has economic implications for the country.
Limitations and future research perspective

This conceptual paper has some limitations that highlight avenues of future research. The
paper is grounded on a literature review and secondary data. The contemporary
organisations must emphasise on competency development of employees not only to
achieve performance but also to induce employees’ positive attitudinal outcomes. To this
end, conduct the empirical validation of the proposed conceptual framework. The proposed
framework should be tested on a sample of Generation Y employees, who possess
organisational experience. Based on their birth years between 1981 and 2000 as well as the
generational characteristics, Generation Y employees can be identified and directly
approached in organisations where they are employed. Mentoring, strategic leadership, Development
social media, and knowledge sharing are the enablers of competency development in the and retention
framework; however, future study may add to this stream by incorporating other enablers, of Generation
such as learning climate, learning organisation, etc. The framework is designed for
Generation Y cohort without considering the impact of national culture on Generation Y Y employees
traits and preferences. It will be prudent, therefore, to explore the competencies required to
be developed in country-specific Generation Y employees. In this vein, investigating 449
workplace needs and values of Generation Y from emerging economies will be a notable
contribution. Competency development is the central element of the framework; however,
various competency types such as generic, technical, functional or social competencies are
not differentiated. Therefore future studies should acknowledge the specific competencies
held valuable by Generation Y employees.
The framework may or may not be effective in context of other generational groups such
as Generation X or Baby Boomers. This can be evaluated in future work through a
comparative analysis using heterogeneous sample form different generations. Meanwhile, we
have to acknowledge that other measures, such as gender, rewards, trust, and organisational
structure, may have moderating effect on outcome variables (DelCampo et al., 2011).
Empirical evidence regarding generational profiling of Generation Y employees is still scarce
as a lot of studies are based on student populations. Hence, there is a need to study working
Generation Y population.
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Corresponding author
Mohammad Faraz Naim can be contacted at: mfaraznaim@yahoo.com
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engagement levels. Lack of engagement is a critical issue among employees of all

Literature review 435

Study and origin Sample and study type Findings

Figure 1. Knowledge sharing

commercial Training, Industrial and Organisational Psychology, International Journal of

Conceptual framework and propositions

resource portfolio of the firm; encompassing acquisition and development of valuable

Social media and competency development

Knowledge sharing and competency development

446 Competency development, affective commitment, and intention to stay

Discussion and implications

organisational strategy to drive development and retention of Generation Y employees.

Limitations and future research perspective

retention across generations: a study of European managers”, Journal of Managerial Psychology,

International Journal of Applied Aviation Studies, Vol. 9 No. 2, pp. 207-219.

Journal of Business and Psychology, Vol. 25 No. 2, pp. 201-210.

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