After a few internet wobbles we are back on the blog. My current function is really far ranging and encompasses everything that is in the realm of the Captain and Staff Captain. That means it is not related just Navigation, more or less everything that might come under the captain’s purview is linked to it.
One of the more fascinating parts of this is the human factor. As time progresses the human attitude changes, the way people live changes and what people find important changes. That all has its effect on the way we man the ships. Ships have to sail and thus we have to attract new Officers and Crew all the time and that means that we have to find them. Once found we have to entice them to join Holland America and once they are there, we have to try and keep them.
Thus I am trying to find out all the time what makes the younger officers tick. What are their interests, what makes it worth while for them to stay? The Human Resources world out there has identified several groups of people and that links in with the changes that happen from generation to generation. And all generations all different. When I was young, I saw my grandfather as a sort of stately person from a bygone age and not really relevant to my current life; he was old. That did not mean that he was not hugely important though, as he augmented my weekly pocket money considerably.
Then there were my parents and with them came a period of time that you are absolutely convinced that they absolutely do not know what they are doing and that there must be something completely wrong with them as they cannot understand what your life and your friends life are all about. Now I am even past my parents, parental years and now I have to figure out what the new generations are doing.
I remember that the first captain whom I sailed with, Capt. Van Noordt. in 1981, was greatly puzzled about the way we as 4th. Officers behaved. He had children himself but he did not think that the (normal) behavior of his children should in anyway be reflected by us. He expected that we would behave as he did, when he was a 4th. Officer back in the 1950’s. Luckily he was a very quiet and understanding man, so he let us “carry on” as he called it. The next two captains, Hoenderdos and Hess had more outspoken opinions and thus we reduced our presence on the bridge to the absolute minimum.
Now I am in a similar position but we have more science available to understand this better. As we all have to deal now with Generation Y, which will be shortly followed by the Millennials. Me as a baby boomer is the outgoing group.
If you look at the table, the various generations greatly differ; there is only one common denominator: they will have to have a career as well, to earn money some way or another. Thus a career at sea is a possibility. However to get another generation into that career means that the framework of that career has to be adapted. In what way, is very much open for discussion as there are many ways to sail a ship safely.
Generations have always been different from one to the other and thus the world has slowly involved as well, including the shipping world. However it seems that this evolving goes faster and faster compared to before 1960. There was not so much difference between the ways a navigator in 1900 did his work compared to 1960/65. Then technology started to make a big impact on the industry, starting with the Container revolution. Since then everything has gone into overdrive both ashore and at sea and that reflects on the vastly different outlook on life between the last few generations.
October 13, 2014 at 9:21 am
What are the duties and responsibilities of the staff and crew members during the time the Veendam is in dry dock undergoing the current repairs?
October 13, 2014 at 11:05 am
I was disappointed to see the huge gap in blog posts. I was hoping to see you guide us through the process of the unscheduled dry dock and what occurs during this process.
October 13, 2014 at 12:56 pm
Some thoughts:
The above table , comparing generations, is interesting, but I wonder how much economy and respective cultural backgrounds may also weigh into the generational differences. Longterm goals, expectations etc. of young people, raised in a rural environment, possibly Indonesia, must of necessity be different from the same generational group of, say UK or Netherlands etc. Identifying, educating and training a new recruit is a huge investment by any “company”, in any field, be it at Sea, in a Hospital, a Law office etc.. But just as the “company” must hedge its bets against loosing the recruit, and the investment, so must the recruit hedge against the demise of the “company”, or shifting personal needs. Yes, the previous generation looked towards “multiple careers”, but I see more and more the variation of “multiple career” combined with “portability “. Loyalty in general appears to be influenced by work climate, company stability and purely human factors. In addition a career at sea is unique from almost any other, in that it occurs in a fairly closed, tightly led environment, under a strictly hierarchal order.
I would find it almost impossible to plan for a future, when that future is already the past, by the time your plan gets activated.
October 13, 2014 at 5:21 pm
Welcome back, I have really missed your blogs, this one is particularly interesting, you are so observant of life and people’s behaviour, a really thought provoking article
I see you are in Philadelphia are you on board a Ship?
Best wishes Robina
October 13, 2014 at 7:55 pm
Wow Captain Albert:
After your 2 week absence from the blog, my guess was that you got deeply involved in the Veendam propeller woes progressing from minor technical problem to divers and parts being brought in to unscheduled dry dock, and that you would give your readers a summary technical update. The cancellation of 3 Veendam cruises must have been a huge impact to HAL, but according to all reports it was handled very well.
October 13, 2014 at 9:11 pm
Our first cruise was in 1981 on the Statendam with a 7 day cruise out of Vancouver. We have talked about this, but, as to be expected, we did not meet each other. We have since sailed with you on the Prinsendam and look forward to a cruise with you again.
October 14, 2014 at 4:24 pm
Many thanks, Captain Albert! The table is very useful to me in my assignments ☺
The above are no doubt results of surveys conducted in different locations of certain cross sections in different societies. The messages I get in talking to the generations X & Y in the West End of Vancouver are very mixed, totally based on family backgrounds and life experiences. I’ll try to “marry” both the above findings and my own. Thank you again for posting the above table.