​Many employers don’t realize that employees’ feelings about the companies they work for are often shaped in the first weeks and months on the job. It’s a critical window of time for employees to find out about the companies they work for and whether the company, culture and co-workers are a good fit.

It’s a time period too important to leave to chance. Studies show there’s one common factor for many employees who leave companies within six months of the time they were hired: A lack of new-hire support. Studies show that as many as half of employees who quit jobs soon after hiring had little in the way of onboarding assistance — or none at all.

Meeting and networking with new people can be a great benefit to business professionals at nearly any stage in a career and in any industry. But it’s also important when you’re a business leader. Did you know that a strong business network has been linked to a host of benefits, such as better company performance, higher firm value, greater innovation and even more favorable financing terms? It’s true.

Are you effectively growing and leveraging your business network? Here are five great ways to use networking as a business and career development tool:

Each generation brings a new approach to the art of management. Generation Y — more commonly called the Millennial generation — is no different. Well, actually they are different in key aspects, and that turns out to be a positive thing in many cases.
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In the past few years, Millennials (generally identified as those born between 1981 and 1996) have become the largest segment of the U.S. population and now represent the largest portion of the U.S. workforce. They are on their way to becoming the biggest force in management today, leaving the Boomers and Gen Xers in their dust. So, what exactly do people in their 20s and early 30s bring to the world of management?

​Here are a few trends: