& CONSTRUCTION PROFESSIONALS
July 2016
BUILDINGTOGETHER
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CONNECTION: HERE WE GO AGAIN! I suppose it was about 1969, in my father’s construction company, when I heard for the first time, comments like, “These kids today don’t want to work!” Or, better yet, “These long hairs are lazy!” Throughout my (loooong) career, hiring people has been my job. In all those years I’ve heard one statement consistently, people of the previous generation exclaiming, “These kids today don’t want to work!” Yada yada yada! Well, I’ve got my own opinion on this subject! Here we are in 2016, being forced to deal with this next generation called the Millennials! Oh, my! Hide the children! Lock the doors! The Millennials are coming! Well, I’m not buying it! Of course, I don’t have all the data, knowledge and education to dispute the study results of some very smart academics. All I have to go on is my own experience with hiring, leading and mentoring young adults. I look at our list of employees here at E&V that fall into the Millennial age category and I just don’t see much of what those scholars are claiming! Impatient?! I’ve always employed young workers who were impatient to grow their career, make more money and have more “things!” I think that’s great! An old friend, with no college degree and only 3-4 years of experience in the maintenance department for a manufacturing company, told his boss during his annual review that
E&V hosted Dinner for Gilda's Club Members
he wanted his bosses job! Sound familiar? He actually did set in his boss’s chair within 5 years from making that bold claim! That was around 1975 and he’s done pretty well for himself! Not loyal? If the company treats an employee well, they will either stay, or take advantage of a great opportunity somewhere else that is not available to them here at E&V. Poor work ethic? REALLY! Tell that to some of our Millennials (then duck)! Categorizing an entire group of people is naive! Labeling Millennials as not loyal, impatient, having poor work ethic, being narcissistic and entitled, to name a few of the myths, can be dangerous! I truly believe that people who ascribe to this negative thinking will be less objective when hiring or promoting employees. I believe they will miss the chance to grow tomorrows leaders. Are Millennials different than this Baby Boomer? Are they different from Gen Xers? Of course they are! I choose to look at them for all the fantastic traits they possess! I look forward to watching them become tomorrow’s leaders, and last, I expect to hear them, 20 years from now, exclaim, “These kids today…!” Tony Roussey VP of Operations
Tradesmen Outing Had a great time at the tradesmen outing held at Blendon Pines! Thank you to everyone who participated. Looking forward to next year!
Professionalism - Kindness - Teamwork
E&V employees had a wonderful time preparing and serving a walking taco dinner buffet to Gilda's Club members! A special thank you for food donations, cooking skills and volunteering time to prepare and serve as well as the clean-up.
BUILDINGTOGETHER | July 2016
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