Building a successful business requires a team of dedicated, highly passionate employees, however, they come from different backgrounds, which are often difficult for managers to understand. In the Wednesday afternoon session, “Best Practices in Staffing, Training and Retention,” Superb Internet customer care VP Elya McCleave presented her research on generations and how to hire and manage them in the workplace.
McCleave outlined the four generations currently in the workplace: The Veterans (born 1922-45), Boomers (1946-64), Gen X (1965-78), and Gen Y (1979-2002). Of these groups, she says that the Boomers and Gen Y are the most important to focus on.
Baby Boomers “live to work” and are generally in-charge. They have a strong sense of individualism, looking to work for excitement and intellectual stimulation. As the get older, however, they are looking for more autonomy in the workplace and flexible work arrangements.
The less understood Generation Y “works to live,” however, it could be said that they have more in common with Boomers than with Gen X, the “slacker” or the “ignored” generation. With a sense of entitlement and high ambition, Gen Y is quickly arriving at the corporate doorstep, expecting a lot from employers in terms of feedback and opportunities for advancement. They also want time to explore their passions and hobbies.
Employers can incorporate these generational differences into their workplace by providing modularity, flexibility, progressive policies, and implement coaching programs.
Modularity gives Boomers the opportunity to, for instance, scale back in what they do as they approach retirement. Flexibility is a huge concern for Boomers and Gen Y, and employers can achieve this by letting employees work based on results, rather than the hours they put in, freeing up time for outside commitments. Progressive policies need to be implemented . For instance, getting rid of cubicles can promote teamwork by encouraging more interaction in an open-concept environment. Finally, inter-generational mentoring pairing Boomers to Gen Y’ers lets employees learn from one-another (and they are naturally drawn to one another because it’s more like a parent-child relationship.)
While these generational guidelines are general, McCleave makes the important connection between society and the workplace, which has a constantly changing relationship and managers have to keep up with new employee expectations.
Regardless of generation, McCleave also described the five biggest mistakes she has seen in her experience moving up in a company and as a manager herself:
1. Lack of communication: Share as much info as you can – it will help employees care more about your company because it draws them into the big picture of where the company is going. It’s particularly important for Gen Y to see that light at the end of the tunnel. You have to work harder to keep lines of communication open with remote staff, but it’s worth it.
2. Focus on the negative: When you’re focused on downtime, it’s hard to point out the uptime, but it’s important to balance things out, which can make staff feel appreciated.
3. Policy change due to one person: If one person is late to work every day or under-performing, sometimes managers punish the whole team, which makes the workplace more miserable and doesn’t address the core problem — which is that particular employee.
4. Not understanding the needs and concerns of your team: have a good handle on what the staff is up to. Be on the front lines.
5. Never admitting you’re wrong or never taking responsibility: it’s easier to admit that you’re wrong and move forward – your staff will appreciate it and respect you for it.
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