Building a Strong Multigenerational Workplace

HRDC    -­‐  Let’s  Talk  HR  21st  February  2013    

HUMAN  RESOURCES    Building  a  Strong  

 Mul/genera/onal  Workplace    

Eddy  M.  Jolicoeur  

What  is  this  all  about?  

For  the  first  4me  ever  we  have  3  different  genera4ons  in  our  workforce  working  together  side-­‐by-­‐side:  

!  Baby  Boomers  (born  1946-­‐1964)  

!  Genera4on  X  (born  1965-­‐1980)  

!  Millennials  (Gen  Y)  (born  1981  to  1995)    

What  is  this  all  about?  

!  Each  of  these  genera4ons  have  been  impacted  by  various  events  that  shape  who  they  are  and  how  they  work  

!  We  need  to  understand  what  mo4vates  the  various  genera4ons  and  how  we  can  work  together  

!  Stereotypical  experiences  and  percep4ons  of  each  genera4on  help  us  to  understand  perspec4ves  

Looks  familiar?  

Different  PercepCons  

Percep4ons  frequently  have  genera4onal  issues  as  their  cause  

!  “He  is  not  commiVed  to  his  job”  !  “She  has  a  poor  work  ethic”  !  “He  does  not  respect  experience”  !  “I  can’t  believe  the  way  she  dresses”  !  “Who  cares  that  we  have  always  done  it  that  way,  with  technology  we  can  do  it  beVer  this  way”  

The  Challenge  

   "Managing  mul4genera4onal  workforces  is  an  art  in  itself.  Young  workers  want  to  make  a  quick  impact,  the  middle  genera4on  needs  to  believe  in  the  mission,  and  older  employees  don't  like  ambivalence.  Your  move."          

   Harvard  Business  School  "Working  Knowledge“  newsleVer,  April  2006:  "Can  you  manage  different  generaCons?"  

A  New  GeneraCon  Gap  

 “The  term  Genera4on  Gap  was  used  mostly  to  describe  conflicts  between  parents  and  children.    Today,  the  “Gap”  has  more  of  a  presence  in  the  workplace,  where  employees  from  different  genera4ons  are  finding  it  difficult  to  work  side  by  side  because  their  experiences,  goals  and  expecta4ons  are  different”.                GOVEXEC.com    

THE  MCB  WORKFORCE  

Millenials  52%  

Gen  X  36%  

Baby  Boomers  12%  

What  about  us?  

They’re  HEEERRE!!  

The  Business  Case…  

!  Recruitment/Compe44on  for  talent  !  Reten4on  !  Reward  !  Produc4vity  and  business  results  linked    to  work  environment  

!  Employee  Sa4sfac4on  !  Customer  Sa4sfac4on/Customers  from  all  genera4ons  

11   SummitQues4ons@valueop4ons.com  

Benefits  of  the  MulCgeneraConal  Team  

!  Can  aVract/retain  talented  people  of  all  ages,  more  inclusive  

!  More  flexible  

!  Can  gain/maintain  greater  market  share  because  reflect  mul4genera4onal  market  

!  Decisions  are  stronger,  more  broad-­‐based  with  mul4ple  perspec4ves  

!  More  innova4ve  and  crea4ve  

!  Can  meet  needs  of  diverse  public  and  can  relate  more  effec4vely  

What  Shaped  You?    

!  Na4onal  Events  !  Music  !  Technology  !  Values  !  Rela4onships  !  Parental  Expecta4ons  !  Other?  

Pickings  from  the  focus  group  

!  14%  of  the  Boomers  agreed  that  a  person  should  build  their  career  with  one  employer,  compared  to  11%  of  Xers  

!  When  asked  “Which  genera4on  is  the  best  at  finding  work-­‐life  balance?”,  all  genera4ons  picked  Millennials  

!  Millennials  indicated  that  flexible  workplace  and  opportunity  for  promo4on  were  more  important  than  salary                      

Characteristics Baby Boomers Born 1946-1964

Generation X Born 1965-1980

Millennials Born 1981-1996

Age Span 50 to 65 years old 34 to 49 years old 19 to 33 years old Traits Idealistic

Break the rules Time stressed Politically correct

Pragmatic Self-sufficient Skeptical Flexible Media/Info/Tech savvy Entrepreneurial

Confident Well-educated Self-sufficient Tolerant Team builders Socially/politically conscious

Defining Events Vietnam War/Cold War Mai 1968 Independence

Liberal subjects Recession Free education

Computers in schools Globalisation Terrorism Corporate scandals China

To Them Work Is An exciting adventure A difficult challenge To make a difference

Work Ethic Driven Balanced Eager but anxious Employment Goals Second career Work/life balance Unrealistic Education Birthright Way to get to an end A given Communication Telephone Email IM/Text messaging Time at Work is defined Visibility Why does it matter if I get it done

today? Is it 5 PM? I have a life…TGIF

Need most in the workplace

Recognition! ‘Stop ignoring me!’

More information ‘Nobody tells me anything!”

Praise and fun; or is that fun and praise?

Baby  Boomers’    generaCon  

Baby  Boomers    

!  The  “Me”  genera4on  

!  More  hours  equals  beVer  performance;  now  regret  

!  They  are  the  managers  who  are  running  our  organiza4ons  today  

 !  Career  oriented  

!  “Love  the  good  life”  

!  Love  job  performance  feedback  

Managing  the  Baby  Boomers  

!  Help  them  explore  their  next  set  of  workplace  op4ons,  and  demonstrate  how  your  organiza4on  can  con4nue  to  use  their  talents  

!  Walk  the  talk  on  work-­‐life  balance  by  redesigning  their  jobs  to  accommodate  mul4ple  life  demands  

!  Encourage  them  to  enrich  their  present  job  and  grow  in  place  if  they  need  to  slow  their  career  pace  

GeneraCon  X  

GeneraCon  X  

!  The  next  genera4on  of  leaders  

!  The  most  well  educated  genera4on  

!  Goal-­‐oriented  

!  Free  Agents  vs.  Company  Loyalists  

!  Thrive  on  independence  

!  Want  to  be  challenged  

!  Led  dot.com  boom  

Managing  GeneraCon  X  

!  Talk  to  them  about  their  reputa4on,  not  just  job  tasks;  they  want  your  candid  perspec4ve  and  feedback  (Trust)  

!  Acknowledge  their  ability  to  work  independently  and  encourage  them  to  leverage  their  entrepreneurial  abili4es  

!  Help  them  get  the  most  out  of  every  job  posi4on  by  discussing  what  the  job  can  do  for  them  and  what  they  can  learn  from  it  

Millenials  

Millennials    

!  Value  independence  but  need  some  supervision    

!  Look  for  new  challenges  

!  Challenge  the  status  quo  

!  Want  the  job  of  their  dreams  not  a  good  job  

!  Want  the  opportunity  to  make  an  impact    

!  Fear  boredom  more  than  anything  else  

Managing  the  Millennials  

!  Demonstrate  the  stability  and  long-­‐term  value  of  your  organiza4on,  and  also  show  how  your  organiza4on  is  flexible  and  filled  with  learning  opportuni4es  for  them  

!  Provide  work  schedules  that  help  them  build  careers  and  families  at  the  same  4me  

!  Make  groups  and  teams  part  of  their  job  

Summary  of  Work  CharacterisCcs  

The  differences  exist  so....  

 DEAL  WITH  THEM!  

3  Strategies  to  Manage  by:  

1)  Communica4on  

2)  Delega4on  

3)  The  Giq  of  Feedback  

CommunicaCon  

•  What  do  your  employees  want  from  a  work  environment?  –  Forget  exit  surveys;  why  do  people  stay?  –  What  do  you  want  from  your  work  environment?    

•  Talk  about  peoples’  differences  amongst  your  team    •  Develop  an  ac4on  plan  specific  to  your  team    •  Talk  about  conflict  –  do  not  brush  it  under  the  carpet  

DelegaCon  

!  Boomers  want  teamwork,  Xers  want  independence,  Millennials  want  more  responsibility  

!  Delega4on  can  be  the  answer  to  everyone’s  needs  !  Prepare  Xers  for  the  next  role,  challenge  Millennials,  give  

Boomers  some  much  needed  balance  

!  Requires  accountability  and  feedback      P.S.  Forget  how  long  it  took  you  to  reach  the  point  where  things  were  delegated  

to  you…those  days  are  gone!!  

The  Gi]  of  Feedback  

Keys  to  providing  effecCve  feedback:    •  Immediate  feedback  –  to  recognize  good  performance,  and  

address  performance  issues  as  they  arise  

•  PosiCve  and  construcCve  feedback  –  direct,  non-­‐judgmental,  ethical  and  based  on  values  governing  the  policy  

•  Specific  feedback  –  the  feedback  should  pinpoint  targeted  strengths  and  areas  for  improvement  

 •  Give  feedback  OFTEN  –  keeps  employee  on  course,  prevents  

work  from  going  “off  track”  for  long  periods  of  4me,  and  reduces  the  s4gma  of  giving  feedback  

Keys  to  Providing  EffecCve  Feedback:  

   •  Spend  Cme  with  your  employees  to  discuss  the  work  and  

see  how  they  are  doing  

•  Explain  how  the  employee’s  work  contributes  to  the  big  picture  

•  Delegate  based  on  employee  workload  and  capabiliCes  

•  Show  your  commitment  to  their  objec4ves  by  providing  needed  support  and  direc4on  

STAR  Model  for  Giving  Feedback  

•  S      SituaCon  –  describe  the  SITUATION  where  the  behaviour  occurred  

•  T      Task  –  describe  the  TASK  the  employee  performed  

•  A      AcCon  –  describe  the  ACTION  the  employee  chose  in  this  situa4on  

•  R      Result  –  describe  the  outcome  that  occurred  as  a  RESULT  of  the  ac4on  

If  it  is  construc/ve  feedback  add  an  addi/onal  AR:  

•  A      AlternaCve  AcCon  -­‐  suggest  an  ALTERNATIVE  ACTION  the  employee  could  have  chosen  in  this  situa4on  

•  R      AlternaCve  Result  -­‐  describe  the  likely  outcome  that  would  have  occurred  as  an  ALETERNATE  RESULT  of  the  alternate  ac4on  

DON’T  FORGET  TO  GIVE  POSITIVE  FEEDBACK  

What’s  Next?  

•  Digital  Na4ves  (born  1996  or  aqer)  enter  the  scene  star4ng  in  2014:  – More  ‘knowledgeable’  about  technology  than  instructors  have  been  

–  Technology  is  how  they  connect  with  their  friends,  perform  research,  and  feel  at  home    

– When  combined,  Millennials  &  Digital  Na4ves  out  number  Baby  Boomers  

– Mul4-­‐tasking  isn’t  a  concept  –  it  is  the  only  way!  

Thank  You!  Ques4ons?  

Sources  and  references  

•  Harvard  Business  School  "Working  Knowledge“  newsleVer,  April  2006:  "Can  you  manage  different  generaCons?    hVp://www.hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/5297.html  

•  The  Economist  “Winning  the  genera4on  game”  September  2013    hVp://www.economist.com/  

•  McGee  Jr.,  Paul  E.  “A  New  Genera4on  at  Work:  Y  and  How  to  Manage  It.”  The  Washington  Business  Journal.  May  10,  2004.  hVp://www.washingtonbizjornals.com/  

•  Valueop4ons.com”  Understanding  and  managing  different  genera4ons”    hVp://www.valueop4ons.com/