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Working Across Generations
By Doug Webster / August 2007
Diversity in today’s workforce is more than just
differences in race and gender. Age and life experiences
are just as important in shaping a person’s perspective.
Differences in generations, or the era in which a person
has lived, can effect everyday business interactions and
viewpoints.
Think about your own workplace. It’s probably not
uncommon nowadays to see a 60-something career employee
working alongside a 20-something entry level graduate.
That is due to the fact that this is the first time in
U.S. history that our national workforce has included
FOUR generations of employees. Does conflict ever arise
between differing generations? What do you do to manage
these employees so that the job at hand is completed?
First, we must identify each of these groups, and
realize that each generation brings unique strengths to
the workplace. We need to acknowledge these strengths
publicly, and encourage each group to share their
viewpoints and values with the team.
Every person can identify with one of these four
generations:
- Traditionalists
- Baby Boomers
- Gen-Xers
- Millenials
Each of these groups has had unique experiences,
and therefore has unique perspectives on work, life,
and society. It is management’s job to make sure
that each generation can effectively work together
to complete their duties.
An easy and effective way to accomplish this is
to have an open discussion - allow each member of
the team to identify ways in which he or she can
help individually. What skills might their
generation have provided? What areas of the job will
each person’s strengths be most valuable? Use this
analysis to organize how the team will go about
completing the project.
In addition to identifying strengths, have an
objective discussion on each group’s weaknesses.
Perform an analysis of where each group in your
organization can improve, and decide how the
strengths of each other group can help spark this
improvement. With the groups working to help each
other, a sense of team uniformity will flourish and
your employees will begin to focus on positive
contributions rather than generational differences.
Your management style affects the productivity of
your employees. When managing diverse groups, you
will have to adapt your management style to support
effective interactions between generations. Remember
to:
- Remain nonjudgmental in communication.
- Know what motivates each member of the team,
and institute techniques to meet each of their
needs.
- Keep your own core values out of your
decisions. Maintain objectivity and give both
sides a fair hearing.
- Be flexible with your company’s standard
procedures. Failing to take into consideration
the differences among generational groups puts
your firm at risk of losing talented workers.
Providing the flexibility to leverage the
strengths of each, however, guarantees a more
satisfied and productive workforce.
By adapting these 4 pointers into your daily
duties, you will inevitably better serve and
motivate your generationally diverse team.
For a no-obligation, 15 day free trial of any
of our products, please call
1.877.650.0454
or email info@knowledgestart.com
Who We Are
KnowledgeStart is an employee development company which, for the past seven
years, has specialized in online training for its U.S. and global clients.
We are a leading provider of award-winning e-learning programs and platforms
that maximize learning, increase collaboration and retention, and improve
competitive edge. Over the years, we have excelled in
enhancing organizational and individual productivity in topics such as
Diversity and Inclusion,
Generational Differences,
Harassment Prevention,
Business Ethics, and
Substance Abuse Prevention.
KnowledgeStart understands that every decision made by your employees eventually
crosses someone's path somehow and can often have a "ripple effect" across your
entire organization. Even the smallest of decisions can have a BIG impact on
your company and the people around you. Your workplace is an incredibly
inter-connected environment.
Through this understanding and our collective skill sets and experiences with
leading companies, we are proud to deliver innovative approaches to employee
training, compliance, and outcome measurement software.
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