How to recruit and retain the Net generation

The new workforce is also used to taking advantage of the freedom that mobile technology provides them; in fact, freedom of choice "has become like oxygen" to them, Tapscott said.

Their desire for freedom and balance can be exploited for competitive gain in many ways, Tapscott said, citing flexible work hours and the incorporation of variety into individual workflows. Companies also may try virtual teaming, allowing Net generation workers to satisfy their need to socialize with peers worldwide by using collaboration technologies.

Other suggestions from Tapscott's research for successfully engaging Net Generation workers include the following:

• Providing a healthy amount of project work, which has the intensive time frames and cyclical nature they prefer.
• Catering to employees' taste for speed by setting up quick (perhaps five-minute) opportunities for them to present their new ideas to management.
• Encouraging management to develop informal relationships with workers, where criticism and congratulations are accepted and invited by both.

Companies should always remember that technologies like the Internet and search engines have enabled these workers to expand their knowledge -- to become veritable authorities on a wide variety of topics.

"It is the first time in history when children are an authority about something really important," Tapscott said. "I was an authority on model trains. These kids are authorities on the new models of work and collaboration."

Tapscott encourages managers to try for themselves some emerging Web 2.0 technologies, such as like social networks, wikis and blogs, that these workers will increasingly demand in the workplace.

But of course, the addition of these new technologies still must still fall within corporate IT parameters like security and governance, said David Berry, senior vice president and CIO at cosmetics company Coty Inc., who is working to balance the needs of younger workers with internal work policies.

"Social networks, for example, in a nonworkplace environment might be OK, but what about managing it when litigation steps in?" Berry said. "Most companies are not geared to handle this. It is hard enough to handle inappropriate use of the Internet in the workplace."

Coty has put into place instant messaging and online forums, and the company is gearing up to roll out a corporate portal with access to instant messaging, e-mail and corporate news, Berry said. However, he acknowledged that this is "sort of a Yahoo" approach to technology that may seem "stale" to the younger set. So the company is also integrating forums, wikis and RSS feeds into the mix.

Still, Berry noted, IT will have to play the "good guy/bad guy" role in managing the rollout of these technologies. "It is also our responsibility to train the younger people in the proper use of technologies, to respect policy and process, not only have fun with the new technologies," he said

And there is always the cost of the technology to consider, he added. "The younger folks haven't had to deal with ROI or capital investments, so we'll need to teach them how all this works as a complement to the ideas they might bring to the table."

Read more about careers in Computerworld's Careers Knowledge Center.