The paper seeks to determine what tomorrow's employees (i.e. graduates) are seeking from SMEs in terms of organizational satisfaction and value characteristics.
A survey of 55 university students who identified SMEs as their best opportunity for their career goals is shown. The survey utilized tested measures of organizational satisfaction and values.
The paper finds that Generations X and Y are seeking equivalent values and satisfaction outcomes from SMEs. It is seeking very caring, environmentally concerned, and sensitive SMEs. Tangible and intangible benefits, empowerment and respect, workplace involvement, concern for employee welfare and supportive management are critical.
The paper shows that when researching one can differentiate between what graduates are looking for from their SMEs as opposed to organizations in general. Future research could analyze SME versus MNC or other organizational forms.
The paper implies that in the recruiting process SMEs need to focus on various outcomes that graduates seek in order to attract and retain the best potential employees. There appears to be little need to tailor the workplace for Generations X versus Y.
A series of outcome variables has been specifically identified for graduates who want to work in SMEs.
