Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found athttp://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rirr20

Download by: [Anelis Plus Consortium 2015] Date: 15 January 2016, At: 03:37

The International Review of Retail, Distribution andConsumer Research

ISSN: 0959-3969 (Print) 1466-4402 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rirr20

Selling retailing to Generation Y graduates:recruitment challenges and opportunities

Adelina M. Broadbridge , Gillian A. Maxwell & Susan M. Ogden

To cite this article: Adelina M. Broadbridge , Gillian A. Maxwell & Susan M. Ogden (2009)Selling retailing to Generation Y graduates: recruitment challenges and opportunities, TheInternational Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, 19:4, 405-420, DOI:10.1080/09593960903331394

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09593960903331394

Published online: 11 Nov 2009.

Submit your article to this journal

Article views: 634

View related articles

Citing articles: 5 View citing articles

Selling retailing to Generation Y graduates: recruitment challenges and

opportunities

Adelina M. Broadbridgea*, Gillian A. Maxwellb and Susan M. Ogdenc

aDepartment of Marketing, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK; bDivision of PeopleManagement and Leadership, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK; cDivision of

Strategy, Innovation & Enterprise, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK

(Received January 2009; final version received August 2009)

This article broadens our understanding of the key factors held important byGeneration Y graduates at the beginning of their career and in the longer term.Using the results of a questionnaire with 340 undergraduate business schoolrespondents across two universities, students’ experiences of, and attitudestowards, retail employment while a student are explored. The article moves on toconsider the employment factors considered by these Generation Y students to bemost important immediately after graduation and then in their longer termcareer. The findings demonstrate the value systems held by Generation Y andrecommendations are made to retailers on how to better attract potentialgraduates to the sector.

Keywords: Generation Y; students; graduate employment; retail; UK

Introduction

The last two decades have seen an increase in student numbers as UK highereducation has moved from an elite to a mass system. This mass expansion of highereducation and recruitment of business school graduates for jobs previously held bynon-graduates make graduates an important part of the workforce (King 2003), withcertain industries being more or less attractive to them. This poses particulardifficulties for those industries that are perceived to be less attractive, and employersin these sectors have arguably more difficulty in their recruitment processes to attractgood calibre graduate applicants. The retail industry has traditionally been perceivedas a least choice industry after graduation (Swinyard 1981; Swinyard, Langrehr, andSmith 1991). This can pose problems to retail companies attempting to attract goodcandidates from the graduate pool, particularly as there also exists a ‘pecking order’by the graduate students themselves of preferred companies and sectors to work for(Broadbridge 2003a). Today’s graduate pool comprises Generation Y students (thatis, those born between 1977 and 1994) and prior research has shown that thisgeneration has varying characteristics and values from earlier generations (such asGeneration X and the Baby Boomers). This makes them an important group tostudy and understand in more detail so that recommendations can be made toemployers on how to best attract and retain their graduate employees.

*Corresponding author. Email: a.m.broadbridge@stir.ac.uk

The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research

Vol. 19, No. 4, September 2009, 405–420

ISSN 0959-3969 print/ISSN 1466-4402 online

� 2009 Taylor & Francis

DOI: 10.1080/09593960903331394

http://www.informaworld.com

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Ane

lis P

lus

Con

sort

ium

201

5] a

t 03:

37 1

5 Ja

nuar

y 20

16

The article builds on the authors’ prior research in the area (see for example,Broadbridge, Maxwell, and Ogden 2006, 2007; Barron et al. 2007), and forms part ofa wider research project that examined the employment experiences and careerexpectations of students from two UK universities. This article specifically relates toopinions about the retail sector; its purpose being to deepen our understanding of thekey factors important for recruiting and retaining Generation Y graduates inretailing. Our research examines those students who have prior experiences ofworking in the retail industry, examining their attitudes towards their retailemployment while a student, and identifying the reasons why this sectoralemployment experience is positive or negative. The article moves on to considerthe organisational and personal attributes students rank as most important to them:(a) during the first stage of their career; and (b) for their longer term career. It thenconsiders how attractive or unattractive the retail sector would be to them aftergraduation. Conclusions are drawn outlining the attractiveness of the retail industryas a graduate career together with the attributes held most important to GenerationY. The implications that these may have on retail employers’ recruitment andretention plans are considered. To set this in context, the next section examines someof the prior literature relating to both Generation Y characteristics and to studentperceptions towards retailing as a graduate career.

Prior research

Characteristics of Generation Y

Surprisingly little academic research has been written about the characteristics ofGeneration Y and how these differ from previous generations. This led us to examinewhat had been written about Generation Y and to pull together a typology of theiridentifying characteristics (Broadbridge, Maxwell, and Ogden 2007). Using previousarticles (see for example, Morton 2002; Martin 2005; Eisner 2005; Kerslake 2005;Foreman 2006; Harris 2006; Broadbridge, Maxwell, and Ogden 2006; Rothberg2007) we drew a picture of some of the distinguishing characteristics of GenerationY, which we grouped into four main headings: ‘employment terms and conditions’,‘management approach and culture’, ‘personal career development’, and ‘personalvalues’ (see Figure 1).

A summary of the characteristics of Generation Y shows that they are confident;self-reliant, and thrive on challenging work. They expect to enjoy their work and aredetermined to succeed. They have a drive for career success and linear promotion,wanting to meet their own personal goals, develop themselves and take personalresponsibility for their own career. To this end they will seek training opportunitiesand professional development. As graduates they want to use the knowledge theyhave gained in their degree and would like to be fast tracked, or seek higher entrylevels to an organisation than non-graduates. They have high expectations of theiremployers: they want to work in a good working environment and desire their bossesto be supportive, open and positive. They are comfortable working alone, cravingopportunity, responsibility, and empowerment. They hate being micromanaged yetexpect immediate feedback and desire instant gratification.

Particularly distinct of Generation Y over previous generations is their desire fora more balanced lifestyle (although they are willing to sacrifice work–life balance inthe short term if this supports their career); both men and women value work andhome life, wanting to work to live (rather than live to work). This extends to a need

406 A.M. Broadbridge et al.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Ane

lis P

lus

Con

sort

ium

201

5] a

t 03:

37 1

5 Ja

nuar

y 20

16

for flexibility in their employment. Furthermore, Generation Y is socially conscious,valuing diversity, equality and tolerance (they are more racially and ethically diversethan previous generations); they favour an inclusive style of management; wanting a

Figure 1. Typology of Generation Y expectations and values.Source: Broadbridge, Maxwell, and Ogden (2006).

The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research 407

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Ane

lis P

lus

Con

sort

ium

201

5] a

t 03:

37 1

5 Ja

nuar

y 20

16

fair compensation and wanting to work within a positive company culture. Theystrive to make a difference and like creative expression. They are also said to thriveon/embrace change and uncertainty. They network in a different way to previousgenerations favouring social network sites like Facebook and MySpace, and they areheavily influenced by their family, peers and the media. They have not been identifiedas a generation that wants job security in the traditional sense but they want a goodbenefits package and to be rewarded for performance; however, they will leave a jobfor something better, while some desire to have their own business.

Graduate recruitment and retention

The graduate recruitment process begins with the organisation communicating valuesand images through publicity and advertising. Potential graduate applicants thenevaluate their understanding of the organisation and make a decision whether or not toapply (Herriot 1984). Organisational attributes have been found to be a key factor inapplicant attraction (Rynes 1991). Within the retail sector, there is another importantmeans of communicating company values and images to potential graduate recruits –work experience. There has been evidence that prior employment in the retail sector canhave a great influence over students’ intention to work in the sector after graduation(Broadbridge 2003a, 2003b). In 2008, 81% of all under 25s who are in full-timeeducation are also engaged in some form of employment (Economic and LabourMarket Review 2008). Most student employment is concentrated in the serviceindustries, and typically in retailing, catering, hotels and bars (Barke et al. 2000).Retailing is a particularly attractive student occupation because of its hours of trading;it offers good opportunities to combine employment and study effectively, and as asector it employs a high proportion of the student population. However, studentemployment tends to be marginal (Lucas and Ralston 1997). Their experience of thiskind of employment might have damaging effects on students’ intentions to work in thesame industry after graduation. Prior research (Broadbridge 2003a, 2003b) has shownthat many students associate a graduate career in retailing with attributes such as‘uninteresting’, ‘unappealing’, ‘poor working hours’, ‘poor salary’ and ‘limitedadvancement’; many were unaware about what a career in retailing actually entailed.

Career aspirations consist of a cluster of needs, motives and behaviours thatreflect the strength of an individual’s intention to be active in a particular career field(Mayrhofer et al. 2005); expectations, needs and values of individuals correspond tojob-related circumstances. Woodruffle (2006) uses three categories of importantengagement drivers: reward package, employability and satisfaction. Greaterunderstanding of the expectations, needs and values of Generation Y studentsmay help organisations to provide a meaningful experience for their studentemployees who may progress into graduate employees.

Student perceptions towards retailing as a career option

Despite the professionalisation of the retail sector over the last few decades, togetherwith an increase in the number of educational programmes devoted to the retailindustry at undergraduate, postgraduate and post-experience levels, retailing hassuffered negative connotations with its image as a graduate career. Broadbridge(2003b) found that many students had a distorted view of the retail industry and theopportunities it can provide to graduates. Overall, retailing was not regarded by the

408 A.M. Broadbridge et al.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Ane

lis P

lus

Con

sort

ium

201

5] a

t 03:

37 1

5 Ja

nuar

y 20

16

students to be an attractive career option and she concluded that the appeal ofretailing as a career option had not changed significantly since the work of Swinyard(1981) and Swinyard, Langrehr, and Smith (1991). The most frequently citedattributes associated with a career in retailing (consumer oriented, people oriented,poor salary, limited advancement, poor working hours) found by Broadbridge(2003b) did not compare favourably to those associated with their preferred career(interesting, opportunities for advancement, challenging, rewarding, satisfying).

Many perceptions of a career in retailing can be attributed to previousemployment experiences. Retail Merchandiser (2003) found that students withpositive experiences in retail jobs felt positively towards a retail profession.Broadbridge (2003b) found those with retail work experience were three timesmore likely as those without retail work experience to assert they would not want afuture career in the industry, although head office jobs were perceived as moreattractive than store management positions (Broadbridge 2003a). It appears that thequality of student exposure to retail life can largely influence their intentions ofregarding the sector as a longer term career prospect.

The perception of a career in retailing may also be attributed to poorcommunications between the retail industry and prospective graduate employees(Broadbridge 2003b). It would appear that retailers are missing an opportunity atpresent to convey to the students they employ on a part-time basis the benefits of alonger term career in the industry. This underlines the importance of exploring existingstudents’ experiences of retail work so that we can gain an understanding of how theyperceive its attractiveness/unattractiveness as a graduate career. It also underlines thevalue of understanding the employment factors that Generation Y students perceive tobe most important to them when they first enter the job market after graduation (aswell as their longer term values). Eisner (2005) stated that the managerial implicationsof Generation Y’s entry to the workplace are complex. To compete for future talentedgraduates, retail companies need also to be aware of the characteristics of GenerationY and engage actively with them so that they meet their needs effectively.

Having outlined some background to Generation Y and challenges associatedwith attracting graduates to the retail sector the article proceeds to explore thefollowing research questions:

. What lessons can retailers learn from students’ prior employment experienceswithin retailing to aid their graduate recruitment process and adapt to theneeds of Generation Y?

. What consequences do the observed employment characteristics and careeraspirations of Generation Y business school students have for retail companiesin terms of attracting and retaining graduates?

Methodology

The current research arose from the findings of previous qualitative researchconducted by the authors (Broadbridge, Maxwell, and Ogden 2006, 2007) whichidentified the career factors that Generation Y students regarded as of importance tothem. These findings formed the basis of a larger scale quantitative investigation intothe relative importance of factors to Generation Y’s careers. The research design forthis study comprised a self-completed questionnaire. The aim of the research was toexplore students’ employment experiences to date, and to discover their future career

The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research 409

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Ane

lis P

lus

Con

sort

ium

201

5] a

t 03:

37 1

5 Ja

nuar

y 20

16

expectations. We were interested in which factors attract Generation Y graduateswhen considering their first job after graduation, and whether these change whenthey considered their longer term career.

The questionnaire was largely quantitative in nature although some open endedquestions were asked to uncover feelings in more detail. For example, thequestionnaire began by asking students about the type of employment they hadmost experience with, whether they perceived this experience to be positive ornegative, followed by an open ended question asking ‘Why is that?’ This enabled usto gather some richer data about the respondents’ feelings towards the retail sector.The respondents were provided with a series of 39 variables that had been drawnfrom the authors’ typology (see Figure 1) and the literature on career issues that mayor may not be perceived as relevant to a person’s career, many of which had beenreported in previous studies to be important to Generation Y individuals. Using afive point Likert scale (where 1 ¼ totally unimportant to 5 ¼ very important),respondents rated how important each of the factors was to them. They completedthis initially by relating them to their career after graduation. They were then wereasked to consider their ratings when thinking about their long term career. Theywere also provided with a series of ten statements drawn from previous literatureabout some of the distinguishing characteristics of Generation Y. Again, using a fivepoint Likert scale, they were asked to state their level of disagreement or agreementwith each statement (where 1 ¼ strongly disagree and 5 ¼ strongly agree). Thequestionnaire went on to ask respondents whether they would find retailingattractive to work in after graduation. The reasons for the respondents’ replies tothis question were probed in an open ended question. Finally, the questionnairegathered some personal details from the respondents, including their sex, age,current year and programme of study.

The population for study was business school undergraduate students at theUniversity of Stirling and Glasgow Caledonian University. The samplingprocedures were based on non-probability sampling techniques. Questionnaireswere piloted and then distributed and completed in class to students in the coreclasses in each year of study. Thus, convenience sampling methods were used todistribute and collect the questionnaires. In total 486 questionnaires werecompleted by students falling into the Generation Y age category. For thepurposes of this article, the 340 students with retail experience were selected forstudy. The data were analysed using SPSS.

A limitation of the methodology is that students only came from two UKuniversities and may not be representative of the total UK student populationalthough their location was city centre and more rural. However, the scale of thefieldwork is comparable to previously published studies on Generation Y. Forexample, Eisner’s (2005) study of Generation Y was based on 350 studentquestionnaires conducted over more than one academic year.

Findings

Characteristics of the sample

Of the 340 students with some form of retail employment experience, 137 (40.3%)were students at the University of Stirling and 203 (59.9%) were students of GlasgowCaledonian University. With regard to their demographic characteristic, two thirdswere female (67.1%) and a third were male (32.9%). Rather than this being an

410 A.M. Broadbridge et al.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Ane

lis P

lus

Con

sort

ium

201

5] a

t 03:

37 1

5 Ja

nuar

y 20

16

imbalance in terms of gender, it reflects the distribution of men and women in thegeneral retail workforce. With regard to the age profiles of the respondents thesewere fairly evenly distributed: 53 (15.0%) were aged 17 or 18; 67 (19.7%) were aged19; 77 (22.6%) were aged 20; 71 (20.9%) were aged 21; and 72 (21.10%) werebetween 22 and 30 years of age. Correspondingly, their year of study was fairlyequally spread: 25.7% were in their first year; 23.9% were in their second year;29.9% were in their third year and 20.6% in their fourth year of their universitydegree. A range of business-related degrees were represented, with the most popularbeing business studies (28.3%), and marketing (19.4%). Some students wereundertaking specialist degrees, most notably recreation, sports and events manage-ment (14.8%) and retail or retail marketing (8.9%). As stated above 340 of the 486students had some form of retail employment experience. This represents 70% of thetotal sample, so it is immediately confirmed that retailing is an important employerof students while they are undertaking their full-time studies.

While all the students in this analysis had some experience of working in theretail sector, we additionally asked them to state what kind of organisation theyhad most experience of working in. Almost two thirds (63.5%) had mostexperience within the retail sector. This was followed by 8.2% with moreexperience of restaurants and cafes, and hotels respectively, and 5% with moreexperience of call centres and leisure facilities respectively. A further 8.2% had acombined experience in other types of employment. Hence, these findingsadditionally corroborate the importance that retail employment has for students,whilst also showing that many students have a variety of sectoral employmentexperiences that they can compare when making future career choices. It is notunrealistic to believe that their retail employment experience may have aninfluence over their perceptions of how attractive the industry would be to workin after graduation.

Experiences of working in the retail sector

Respondents were asked to describe their overall experience of working in the sectorthey had most experience of. For those with most experience of the retail sector,44.9% had had a positive experience (with 7.9% stating this to be a very positiveexperience and 37.0% saying it was mostly positive). Almost half had a mixture ofpositive and negative experiences (48.1%). Perhaps more encouraging, was that veryfew (7%) described their experiences as wholly negative.

We probed in an open ended question for respondents to explain why they haddescribed their experiences as they did (175 out of the 216 students responded).Those who described their experiences of retail work as being positive said that it wasa dynamic environment where every day is different, and therefore interesting andenjoyable; the job involved undertaking a variety of different tasks. The particularcompany they had worked for was a reason for them having a positive opinion; theythought the company treated its employees well or they liked the products they wereselling. Some had been given early responsibility in their jobs which they appreciated,and others said it gave them excellent life skills and good experience; they had learnta lot. They enjoyed the team environment and the people they worked with,including the managers, while on the whole they enjoyed working with the publicand meeting targets. For those with a mix of positive and negative comments, againon the positive side was the good experience and the development of social skills.

The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research 411

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Ane

lis P

lus

Con

sort

ium

201

5] a

t 03:

37 1

5 Ja

nuar

y 20

16

Although some had enjoyed the experience, they did say that they would not like towork in the environment longer term. There appeared to be varying levels ofmanagement support reported by these students. Those who described having atotally negative experience regarded the work to be boring, repetitive andunchallenging. It was also perceived as being stressful, low paid and havingunsocial/ long hours. They considered it to be very hard work for little reward. Themajority of complaints about the work were about the management, theirmanagement style and their lack of professionalism.

Importance of factors in the first stage of their career after graduation

The mean scores for each of the 39 variables was calculated, revealing that 15 wereranked with a mean of 4.0 or more (i.e. showing broad student agreement that theywere perceived as quite or very important to their career immediately aftergraduation – see Table 1). In particular, the factors that scored the most highly forrespondents were ‘being determined to succeed’, ‘meeting personal goals’, getting‘good pay’ and ‘self-development’. These can be largely related to their personalcareer development and the human capital characteristics the individual possesses orwill accumulate. Nonetheless, combinations of individual and organisational factorswere considered amongst these 15 factors to be important by the respondents. Manyof the organisational factors held important are dovetailed to the individualattributes; so that they believe the organisation should provide ‘opportunities for

Table 1. Factors held important to Generation Y students in their first graduate job andlonger term career.

First Graduate Job Long Term Career

MeanStd.

Deviation Rank MeanStd.

Deviation Rank

Being determined to succeed 4.48 .786 1 4.47 .784 3Meeting personal goals 4.39 .756 2 4.43 .824 7Good pay 4.34 .807 3 4.58 .684 2Self-development 4.33 .764 4 4.38 .838 5Opportunities for training anddevelopment

4.26 .741 5 4.19 .852 14

Supportive managers 4.25 .814 6 4.23 .877 12Job security 4.20 .873 7 4.42 .800 4Positive company culture 4.19 .826 8 4.36 .740 6Having clear career goals 4.09 .862 9 4.30 .846 10A clear promotion/advancementpath

4.09 .866 9 4.32 .885 8

Working very hard 4.06 .938 11 4.06 .930 17A good work–life balance 4.06 .947 11 4.19 .884 14Taking personal responsibilityfor my career

4.03 .914 13 4.22 .802 13

Undertaking challenging work 4.02 .785 14 4.31 .741 9Upwards promotion 4.01 .861 15 4.60 .709 1Ability to make a difference * * * 4.13 .919 16A good pension scheme * * * 4.26 .923 11

*not rated important for first graduate job.

412 A.M. Broadbridge et al.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Ane

lis P

lus

Con

sort

ium

201

5] a

t 03:

37 1

5 Ja

nuar

y 20

16

training and development’, have ‘clear promotion/advancement paths’ and provide‘challenging work’. Having ‘supportive managers’, a ‘positive company culture’ and‘a good work–life balance’ were additionally important factors for them. These setsof variables relate to some of the ‘employment terms and conditions’ and‘management approach and culture’ factors identified by Broadbridge, Maxwell,and Ogden (2007).

Importance of factors in their longer term career

When the mean scores for each of the 39 variables were measured for relativeimportance to students for their longer term career, 17 variables had a mean of 4.0 ormore (i.e. the students perceived these factors to be quite or very important to theirlonger term career). Of these, the 15 that had previously been thought to be highlyimportant at the beginning of their graduate careers remained quite or veryimportant to them longer term (see Table 1). Added to this original list was also‘good pension scheme’ and having an ‘ability to make a difference’. We might expectthat students are less likely to rank a good pension as important to them immediatelyafter graduation but consider this to grow in importance as they establish theircareers. Similarly, the ability to make a difference may be perceived as coming withexperience of the world of work, and it is a laudable characteristic these studentshold to be important in the longer term.

When we compare the factors that respondents considered to be most importantto their short term and long term careers, it is apparent that some of them relate topersonal attributes such as ‘being determined to succeed’, ‘self-development’, ‘goodpay’ and ‘job security’ are very important to respondents throughout their careers –at entry point and later on in their careers. Achieving personal goals is alsoimportant throughout their career and particularly early on in their career. As ispredictable, ‘upwards promotion’ and ‘a good pension scheme’ are considered to bemore important in the respondents’ long term career than in the short term.Although the same 15 factors held most important appear in both lists, theirrankings and mean scores are a little different. Below we note some of thesevariations; however it is with the caveat that the differences in deviations are notstatistically significant. The factors that respondents consider to be more importantin their longer term career include ‘upwards promotion’, ‘good pay’, ‘job security’,‘self-development’, ‘positive company culture’, ‘having clear career goals’, ‘a clearpromotion/advancement path’, ‘a good work–life balance’, ‘taking personalresponsibility for my career’ and ‘undertaking challenging work’. Their expectationsto succeed and work hard remain the same throughout their career. The variables‘opportunities for training and development’, having ‘supportive managers’ and‘meeting personal goals’ are perceived to be a little less important longerterm, possibly because the respondents’ anticipate to have met these expectationsby then.

Personal values of Generation Y students with retail working experience

Given that previous literature found Generation Y to hold distinctive personalvalues from other generations, such as the importance of valuing diversity equalityand tolerance, and a good work–life balance, students were asked to state theirdisagreement or agreement with a number of statements about the relative values of

The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research 413

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Ane

lis P

lus

Con

sort

ium

201

5] a

t 03:

37 1

5 Ja

nuar

y 20

16

their work and non work lives (where 1 ¼ strongly disagree and 5 ¼ strongly agree).Table 2 shows the mean scores. The enjoyment of their work was particularlyvaluable to them, as were issues of equality, fairness and tolerance in the workplace.At this stage, they seemed to be generally unsure whether they will need to makesome personal sacrifices for their career and whether their career is as important astheir home life. It can be argued that this ambiguity is not inconsistent with the viewthat Generation Y are likely to have a high regard for their work–life balance asexpressed in Table 1 above. However, analysis of the personal value statementsshows that many students also indicated that they do not wish work-life balance tobe achieved as a trade-off for financial rewards. This is evidenced by the low scoringin relation to the statement that ‘time off is more important than financial rewards’and ‘money isn’t everything’.

In summary, the findings relate in particular to their personal careerdevelopment; but also to the other categories outlined by Broadbridge, Maxwell,and Ogden (2007), namely, employment terms and conditions; the managementapproach and culture; and personal values. The students were concerned withtheir personal career development and the training and development opportunitiesavailable to them. They expect to have a linear career path with good pay, whilstat the same time wanting a good work–life balance, thus reflecting the notion thatthey ‘want it all’ (Martin 2005). Mirroring the distinctive characteristics ofGeneration Y, the findings confirmed that these students are socially conscious,have expectations of a good work–life balance and want some flexibility in theiremployment.

Attractiveness of retailing as a sector to work in after graduation

We also asked the respondents how attractive they would find the retail sector towork in after graduating. The findings were somewhat discouraging. Just a quarter(24.4%) of these students considered retailing to be an attractive sector to work inafter graduation (6.2% finding it very attractive and 18.2% finding it quiteattractive). In contrast, another quarter (27.9%) considered it to be a totallyunattractive career option, and a further 19.7% showed ambivalence towards acareer in retailing.

When probed further for their views in an open ended question (answered by 290of the 340 students), those who believed retailing to be an attractive career option

Table 2. Personal values of Generation Y students.

N Mean Std. Deviation

I want to enjoy my work 338 4.76 .517I want to work with employers who are fair to all 334 4.64 .623I expect equal opportunities in my career progression 338 4.52 .723I will tolerate differences in people I work with 336 4.04 .779I work to live rather than live to work 337 3.98 1.052I want to work with a diverse group of people in my career 338 3.90 .838Personal sacrifices are necessary to build my career 338 3.58 .912My career is as important as my home life 338 3.44 1.217Time off is more important than financial rewards 338 3.30 1.003Money isn’t everything in my career 337 3.15 1.166

414 A.M. Broadbridge et al.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Ane

lis P

lus

Con

sort

ium

201

5] a

t 03:

37 1

5 Ja

nuar

y 20

16

after graduation described it as a vibrant, thriving and ever-changing industry. Oncethey had their degree they believed the work would be challenging. Some saw thebenefits of getting on to a management trainee programme and this appealed tothem. Others foresaw the good career prospects and opportunities that the sectorheld. Others said that given that they now had experience of working in retailing, thiswould facilitate their transition to full-time employment in the sector. Team workingwas also regarded as a positive aspect of working in the retail sector. A minority(8.9%) were undertaking a retail degree and therefore intended to enter the industryafter graduation. A few had definite retail careers in mind such as buying andmerchandising, marketing and advertising, while a few others aspired to runningtheir own retail businesses in the future.

Of the respondents who regarded the retail sector as a totally unattractive option,some did not provide definite reasons other than they do not think they would wantto work in the sector after graduation. This might indicate that the students have alimited understanding of what a graduate career in retailing entails. A few stated thatthey did not want to work with the general public nor work the long antisocial hours,while some did not consider there to be any challenges or opportunities in the retailenvironment: it is not perceived as an industry for graduates – anyone can workthere. These students saw it as a boring sector which was poorly paid and wasphysically demanding. A few knew what careers they preferred, such as teaching andtourism. For many their retail job was considered to be a means to an end whilst atuniversity and the idea of continuing in retail as a full-time career just did notcompute with them or compete with the sectors they had identified as moreattractive.

So the findings revealed that a polarisation of views exists regarding theattractiveness of the industry after graduation. No doubt some of them areinfluenced by their student employment experience in retailing. However,the findings do reveal a need for retail employers to better educate students as tothe myriad opportunities that exist in the sector after graduation.

Students showing a preference for retailing after graduation

Subdividing the sample and taking the 83 students who said that retailing was quiteor very attractive after graduation, we compared the means of the relativeimportance of the various factors in their first job expectations after graduationwith the means of the total sample of retail respondents. Little variation was foundexcept for a few slight differences. These respondents rated 18 variables with a meanof 4.0 or above as important at the first stage of their career, as compared to 15variables for the whole sample. The three additional factors that these studentsconsidered to be important (having a mean of above 4.0) that were not included inthe list of the whole cohort were ‘using their degree’ (26.2% of these 83 students wereundertaking retail related degree), ‘graduate training scheme’, and ‘chance to becreative’. It was noticeable that these students who would find retail an attractivecareer option scored higher means than the total cohort for all of the top 15 variables(although, again, the means are not statistically significant). The first six factors wereranked in the same order as the whole cohort of students. They did seem to consideras important to them a higher determination to succeed, self-development andreaching their personal goals. Good pay was also considered to be very important tothem.

The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research 415

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Ane

lis P

lus

Con

sort

ium

201

5] a

t 03:

37 1

5 Ja

nuar

y 20

16

These same 83 students rated 19 variables as particularly important in theirlonger term career. Again, in general these ratings reflected the rankings of the totalcohort of students with any retail experience, with ‘upward promotion’, ‘good pay’and ‘determination to succeed’ being the top three rankings. Where there were somedifferences was the heightened importance of ‘good work–life balance’ to thestudents who would consider retail after graduation. An added important factor was‘working flexible hours’ (an extremely important factor for Generation Y) whichscored a mean of 4.06 for these 83 students.

We then compared the means for the personal value statements of those studentswho would (n ¼ 83) and would definitely not (n ¼ 95) consider retailing to be anattractive sector to work in after graduation. Similar results were found althoughthere were two statistically significant differences revealed by a Mann Whitney test.First, students who would potentially consider a career in retailing agreed morestrongly with the factor ‘my career is as important as my home life’ (U ¼ 7802;p ¼ 0.001) and ‘personal sacrifices are necessary to build my career’ (U ¼ 8601.5;p ¼ 0.009). This may suggest that these students, at least in the short term, were lessput off by negative factors associated with working in retail such as poor workinghours. As found previously (Broadbridge, Maxwell, and Ogden 2007), they appearto be willing to sacrifice work–life balance in the short term if it supports their careerdevelopment.

Discussion and conclusions

The findings of this research study from 340 undergraduate students with retailemployment experience confirm that these students share many of the characteristicspreviously found to be important to Generation Y. On that basis we might arguethat they are generally representative of Generation Y’s beliefs, and thatrecommendations can be made to retail companies regarding their future graduaterecruitment and retention strategies. The findings from Tables 1 and 2 confirm, likeWoodruffle (2006), that enjoyment of work, good pay and reward packages wereimportant engagement drivers for these Generation Y respondents. Returning to thetwo research questions outlined at the beginning of this article, retail companies arerecommended to deal with two main issues: the first is the lessons retailers can learnfrom students’ perceptions of their prior employment experiences in retailing, andhow this might aid their graduate recruitment process; the second is to incorporateinto their recruitment strategies those factors that Generation Y deem to be mostimportant to their future careers, both in the short and longer term. Together, theseissues can result in a more positive view of retailing as a future career.

Student employment experience in retailing and how this can aid graduaterecruitment strategies

More students in this sample seemed to have a positive experience of their retailemployment than those in Broadbridge’s (2003b) research. Moreover, the studentswho had a positive employment experience of retailing used descriptors similar tothose found by Broadbridge (2003b) to describe a preferred career, which is highlyencouraging. They stressed the variety, interest, enjoyment, skills development andexperience they had gained within a lively, fast-paced environment. However, therewere various negative associations with retailing as a graduate career; many regard a

416 A.M. Broadbridge et al.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Ane

lis P

lus

Con

sort

ium

201

5] a

t 03:

37 1

5 Ja

nuar

y 20

16

graduate career in retailing in the same vein as their student employment experience:boring, poorly paid, with long hours and few career prospects. With only a quarterof the students saying that they would consider a career in retailing after graduation,it would appear that many students are oblivious to the opportunities and financialbenefits that the retail sector can bring after graduation. Given that so many studentsalready have experience of working in retail companies and that this experience canhighly affect the attractiveness of the industry after graduation, retailers face thechallenge of dispensing some of the negative associations students may have withregard to a longer term career in retailing. The retail jobs they perform as studentsdo not accurately reflect the opportunities that exist for a diverse and meaningfulgraduate career that can be acquired in the retail industry.

With the high proportion of students that retail companies employ, retailers havean (almost) unique opportunity (over other graduate employers) to showcase to theirbest student employees the opportunities that a future career in the industry holdsafter graduation. Although employed specifically for non-managerial type employ-ment while students, there were reported instances where students were given certainresponsibilities and these contributed to their positive perceptions of the industryafter graduation. So while retail companies have arguably a potential competitiveadvantage over other industries to provide ‘work sample’ opportunities forpromising graduates many do not offer them. Instead, too many students arediscouraged from a future career in retailing because of their shop floor experiencesas students; this represents a lost opportunity for retail graduate recruiters. One wayto reverse this view is for retailers to give budding graduates more responsibilitiesand opportunities during their student employment experiences, and expose them tothe opportunities that exist post graduation. Perhaps budding graduate employeescould undertake some retail-specific training that will build their career capital andmight enhance their career prospects. This may enable them to be fast tracked lateron and help to tie them into a particular retailer post graduation. This works to thebenefit of both the potential employer and employee. For employers, they reducetheir employment and recruitment costs while being confident that they are selectingthe most appropriate candidates as graduate recruits; students obtain a betterunderstanding of what a career in retailing offers which should help their decision-making processes.

Retailer recruitment strategies for Generation Y graduates

Prior literature has demonstrated the characteristics of Generation Y and illustratedthe differences of this generation with previous generations. Realistically, some of thedescriptors used to describe Generation Y could be attributed to young people andcareer ‘newcomers’ generally and may not differ significantly from previousgenerations (e.g. a determination to succeed; wanting to achieve personal goals,good pay and opportunities for development). However, the literature did raise someindications that Generation Y individuals may differ from their predecessors in somedistinct ways, and it is the combination of all these factors that retail employers needto be aware of in devising their future employment strategies and terms andconditions. The knowledge of the relative importance of the factors studentsconsider to be most important in their short, and longer term careers providesopportunities for retail employers to match their employment terms and conditionsto the personal development criteria held most important to Generation Y. They can

The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research 417

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Ane

lis P

lus

Con

sort

ium

201

5] a

t 03:

37 1

5 Ja

nuar

y 20

16

reflect these in their recruitment strategies in order to attract the best possiblegraduates.

Retail companies, in their attempt to compete for high calibre graduates, arerecommended to pay attention to the positive descriptors that students possess aboutthe retail industry together with the factors that Generation Y employees hold to bemost important to them once they graduate, and tailor these to their futurerecruitment strategies and literature. For example, they can advocate the vibrancyand variety of the sector and the many challenges, training and development, andcareer opportunities it can offer. Currently, many students, because of their studentemployment experiences, will automatically associate a future career in retailing asoperational; they perhaps do not appreciate the specialist kinds of careers that can beundertaken at the head offices of retail companies. So, for example, a studentwanting to go into finance might not be aware that such a career is possible withinthe retail sector. It is noteworthy though that the retail degree students from thisresearch seemed more cognisant of the variety of opportunities available to thempost graduation, confirming the importance of such higher education courses toconvey such knowledge.

Retail companies need to be acquainted with how they are regarded by theGeneration Y labour market segment and their perceived relative attractivenesscompared to other occupational sectors. Thinking of the variables that Generation Yhold most important for their short term (and longer term) careers is one way thatretail companies can ensure that their future recruitment literature reflects the valuesof this generation of employees. Therefore, arguably, the successful companies to dothis will ensure that their employment terms and conditions and their managementapproach and culture correspond with Generation Y’s value systems and pursuit ofpersonal career development opportunities. The company culture and behaviour ofthe management is noticed by students from their work experience and has a strongimpact on their intention to work for that company after graduation. Thosecompanies that treat their employees fairly and with respect are noted by GenerationY students, and are more likely to provide them with a positive image of retailing asa career upon graduation. This extends to the current management style used inretailing which was found to have a negative affect on many students’ futureintentions to enter the industry after graduation. One of the future challenges facingretailers is how to balance and respond to the issue that Generation Y hate beingmicromanaged yet expect instant feedback and gratification. Retail companies needto seek strategies that enable ongoing regular feedback to be provided to theiremployees while at the same time adopting a ‘hands off’ approach to managing them.Providing them with more empowerment and a need to decentralise some decision-making procedures to a local level might be necessary for this to be effective.

NAS (2006) outlined various steps to retaining a Generation Y employee:encourage their values; train them; mentor them; show them how their work willcontribute to the bottom line; provide full disclosure given that they value fairnessand ethical behaviour; create customised career paths and provide access totechnology. Most of these recommendations parallel the descriptors that therespondents held to be most important to them in their future careers. Retailcompanies need to be aware of the values of Generation Y and endeavour to meettheir needs. This includes opportunities for training, development and advancement,being aware of their social conscience and need for a balanced lifestyle. Employeesneed to be integrated into the company, treated fairly and provided with feedback:

418 A.M. Broadbridge et al.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Ane

lis P

lus

Con

sort

ium

201

5] a

t 03:

37 1

5 Ja

nuar

y 20

16

they need to understand where they fit into the organisation and how their workcontributes to it.

As well as paying attention to the factors that all students hold most important tothem for their short and long term careers, retail companies should pay attention tothose variables that students who would consider a future career in retailingparticularly value. These students additionally considered a ‘good work–life balance’and ‘working flexible hours’ as particularly important to them. This perhaps posesan additional challenge for retail companies whose managerial appointments havetraditionally been associated with long and inflexible hours. Retail companies mayconsider further developing some elements of their internal structures that mightmake them more attractive to potential Generation Y graduates. In particular,would be the development of flexible working arrangements, something that retailcompanies are renowned for at non-managerial levels yet appear to be less flexible inmanagerial positions. One potential advantage for retailers is that the students didseem willing to sacrifice their work–life balance in the short term at the beginning oftheir careers. While some of the negative descriptors students associate with a careerin retailing are the long, inflexible hours, employers might consider the ways toemphasise longer term benefits to be gained from a career in retailing, and how theymight enable a better work–life balance for their managers. Other factors ofimportance to those who would consider a future career in retailing is ‘using theirdegree’, having a ‘graduate training scheme’, and the ‘chance to be creative’. Again,these should be emphasised in retailers’ graduate recruitment drives.

In summary, retail companies are recommended to convey to their potentialgraduate market the various career opportunities that exist within retailing. In sodoing they can tailor these to the student’s own personal career developmentobjectives. They should show how developmental opportunities are provided in thefirst years of employment and then demonstrate the kinds of career paths that existfor graduates. They need to stress the enjoyment and challenges of retailmanagement, as well as the rewards package and how employees can achieve agood work life balance. They need in place a supportive management structurewhich can assist individuals to meet their own personal career objectives. Theyshould also emphasise the positive culture of their companies including showing howthey deal with equality, fairness and tolerance in the workplace.

Postscript

Since writing this article and after attending the International Conference on Retailin the Distributive Trades conference in July 2009, we became aware of the workconducted by Hurst and Good (2009) on Generation Y. There seemed to be somesimilar findings between our and their research. Thus, we are intending to work withthem in a joint attempt to undertake a cross-cultural examination of Generation Yand their attitudes and expectations towards a career in retailing.

References

Barke, M., P. Braidford, M. Houston, A. Hunt, I. Lincoln, C. Morphet, I. Stone, and A.Walker. 2000. Students in the labour market – Nature, extent and implications of term-timeemployment among University of Northumbria undergraduates. Research Brief No. 215.London: Department for Education and Employment.

The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research 419

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Ane

lis P

lus

Con

sort

ium

201

5] a

t 03:

37 1

5 Ja

nuar

y 20

16

Barron, P., G. Maxwell, A. Broadbridge, and S. Ogden. 2007. Careers in hospitalitymanagement: Generation Y’s experiences and perceptions. Journal of Hospitality andTourism Management 14, no. 2: 119–28.

Broadbridge, A. 2003a. Student perceptions of retailing as a destination career. InternationalJournal of Retail and Distribution Management 31, no. 6: 298–309.

Broadbridge, A. 2003b. The appeal of retail as a career 20 years on. Journal of Retailing andConsumer Services 10, no. 5: 287–96.

Broadbridge, A., G. Maxwell, and S. Ogden. 2006. Perceptions and expectations of graduateentrants in UK retailing: Initiating a longitudinal study. Paper presented at the BAMAnnual Conference, September 6–8, in in Belfast.

Broadbridge, A., G. Maxwell, and S. Ogden. 2007. 13_2_30: Experiences, perceptions andexpectations of retail employment for Generation Y. Career Development International 12,no. 6: 523–44.

Economic and Labour Market Review. 2008. (Table 2.15) Educational status, economicactivity & inactivity of young people. Economic and Labour Market Review, December.

Eisner, S.P. 2005. Managing Generation Y. SAM Advanced Management Journal 70, no. 4:4–15.

Foreman, H. 2006. Understand Gen Y Employees. Credit Union Magazine 72, no. 4: 70–3.Harris, J. 2006. Future imperfect. The Guardian, September 30.Herriot, P. 1984. Down from the ivory tower: Graduates and their jobs. Chichester: John Wiley

& Sons.Hurst, J.L., and L.K. Good. 2009. Retailing as a career: Transition preparation for Gen Y.

Paper presented at the 15th International Conference on Research in the DistributiveTrades, July, Surrey University, Guildford, UK.

Kerslake, P. 2005. Words from the Ys. New Zealand Management 52, no. 4: 44–6.King, Z. 2003. New or traditional careers? A study of K graduates’ preferences. Human

Resource Management Journal 13, no. 1: 5–26.Lucas, R., and L. Ralston. 1997. Youth, gender and part-time employment: A preliminary

appraisal of student employment. Employee Relations 19, no. 1: 51–66.Martin, C. 2005. From high maintenance to high productivity: What managers need to know

about Generation Y. Industrial and Commercial Training 37, no. 1: 39–44.Morton, L.P. 2002. Targeting Generation Y. Public Relations Quarterly 47, no. 2: 46–8.Mayrhofer, W., J. Steyrer, M. Meyer, G. Strunk, M. Schiffinger, and A. Iellatichitch. 2005.

Graduates’ career aspirations and individual characteristics. Human Resource Manage-ment Journal 15, no. 1: 38–56.

NAS. 2006. Generation Y: The millennials. Ready or not, here they come. NAS Insights.Retail Merchandiser. 2003. Retail employers must understand Gen Y values. Retail

Merchandiser 43, no. 2: 12.Rothberg, S. 2007. Boomers to Gen Y: How the times have changed. Recruiting Trends. http://

www.recruitingtrends.com/online/thoughtleadership/620-1html (accessed 24 October2007).

Rynes, S.L. 1991. Recruitment, job choice, and post-hire consequences: A call for newresearch directions. InHandbook of industrial and organizational psychology, Volume 2, ed.M.D. Dunnette, and L.M. Hough, 399–444. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting PsychologistsPress.

Swinyard, W.R. 1981. The appeal of retailing as a career. Journal of Retailing 57, no. 4: 86–97.Swinyard, W.R., F.W. Langrehr, and S.M. Smith. 1991. The appeal of retailing as a career: A

decade later. Journal of Retailing 67, no. 4: 451–65.Woodruffle, C. 2006. From ‘whatever’ to ‘my pleasure’: How can employers increase

engagement? In Reflections on employee engagement, CharteredInstitute of Personnel andDevelopment, 8–10, CIPD Report. London: CIPD.

420 A.M. Broadbridge et al.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Ane

lis P

lus

Con

sort

ium

201

5] a

t 03:

37 1

5 Ja

nuar

y 20

16