Perfect storm brewing within the workforce, says social media expert

VANCOUVER - Social media expert Tod Maffin says companies are about to face a mass exodus of employees due to a kind of perfect storm brewing within two key generations of employees.

"With the Baby Boomers set to retire en masse, companies are going to have to find ways to replace them with younger employees," says Maffin. "But that particular crop of employees - the 'Facebook Generation' - is as likely to walk out the back door as easily as they came in the front."

"The first wave of employers to experience that kind of laissez-faire attitude was the service-driven industries - such as fast food restaurants - who were literally having to close their facilities at times because they couldn't find and retain enough young workers to flip burgers and serve customers," said Maffin.

Maffin says these twenty-something employees present an entirely new set of challenges for employers - and that companies need to take an entirely new approach to managing their needs and retaining their services.

Here are Maffin's top five tips on how to do that:

Give Them Your Trust: Young people born between 1980 and 1990 were raised by Generation X parents who gave them unprecedented levels of trust. Misguided attempts at increasing productivity, like blocking Facebook and instant-messenger programs, scream "We don't trust you!" to this group of workers (it's like blocking telephone calls).

Focus on Team-Based Solutions: That's the way they were taught all through school - it was all about group projects, not individual reports. Engage them in group projects and let them play an active role in that process. Consider giving them a box of their own personalized business cards on day one.

Skip the Annual Review: Generation Y requires instant feedback - don't worry, they can take criticism, as long as it's justified, immediate, and gives them an opportunity to work on correcting bad habits or misguided efforts.

Nix the Coffee Breaks: Eliminate scheduled breaks entirely. Let them take breaks when they feel they need it. Given this level of trust, most generation-Y workers will return the favor in spades by devoting extra time at work, often unpaid.

Invest in Technology: Your technology must at least keep pace with what this generation uses at home. That doesn't necessarily mean the latest bleeding-edge turbo-machines, but a patched-up computer from the secretary pool won't cut it.