I am the human resources manager for a utility that employs about 200 people. We are beginning to hire a number of young skilled technicians to fill the positions of retiring workers. Most of those with us presently have been on the job for 15 years, in some cases many more. Since most of our crews are rather tight knit, young people find it difficult to penetrate the resistance these people put up to having a young stranger in their midst. We’ve lost two of these hard-to-find technicians in the past six months. While neither of them said so, I am sure it was because they were treated like serfs and probably hazed a bit as well. They know they can go anywhere because of their skills. I want to fix this problem before we hire more people. What would you suggest?

While I empathize with your position, it has always been human nature to give the new kid on the block somewhat of a hard time. Since most of these veteran technicians probably endured this behavior twenty or thirty years ago, they figure there is nothing really wrong with it. Some of these crews have spent years depending on each other for safety and support on a dangerous job. It’s understandable that this might be happening. Then there’s all the bully-proof training that young people have received over the past few years in school. It has led some of them to conclude that there will always be someone there to protect them. In the world outside of education, that is simply unrealistic. You may have hired two young technicians who just couldn’t take a little ribbing. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

I would begin by discussing this situation with your field superintendent to get a feel for the best way to approach the crews. He or she can probably provide some key insights into the crews’ personalities. It could be that these two individual were assigned to a couple of teams that aren’t real flexible. While it might be tough for you to approach these individuals about this concern, your superintendent possesses the "street cred" to counsel them about this. Nothing can change long-held beliefs, but he or she can provide them with some awareness of how their environment is going to change in the coming years, whether they want it to or not. I’d like to think that the vast majority of them are reasonable people and will be more sensitive to the emotions of those joining their ranks. For the few who can’t seem to get it, I suspect their peers will persuade them to change their ways. Once the situation’s out in the open, it will probably go away.

What about hiring?  I would suggest that you incorporate a question or two about how candidates have approached the process of joining a new workplace or school environment. You’re essentially checking for applicant temperament. You will probably find that most applicants will be able to tell you more than one story about how they have had to navigate their way through challenges of becoming accepted by strangers. Their examples might come from a previous job, a sports team, or perhaps just getting along with their neighborhood friends. All it generally takes is one experience of this nature to develop the skills, insights and patience to deal with it again.

You might also experiment with getting the crews involved with selection. After all, this can obligate them to make a success out of the people about whom they gave input. Consider this process carefully, however, before proceeding.  Will it be a deal-breaker if you find someone with good skills and a lack of street smarts? No, it will just require some coaching and a good placement. Over the next decade lots of employers will face these kinds of situations.