Working With People,Management Skill,Managing People,Baby Boomers At Work,Managing Multiple Generations,Staff Management,People Management
Hands up if you recognise most things in this video The Baby Boom Generation Grows Up! (And hands up if this isn't the first time you've visited YouTube ...)
Yes, the Baby Boomer Generation - you know who you are - is still kicking, still working, still spending and still HERE! As a dedicated Gen X, I have to ask, will they ever leave? And, to be fair, should they?
Baby Boomers defined
Before we go on, perhaps we should clarify first who exactly we're talking about. In The Ultimate Guide To The Generations - Baby Boomers (members), Karen Schmidt provides us with this snapshot of a typical Baby Boomer:
- Born 1943 - 1964 (generally, as opinions differ!)
- Dennis
- Aged 50
- Married for 25 years to Brenda, a nurse
- Two kids aged 18 and 20 at university and still living at home
- Has worked for current employer for 10 years after being retrenched from company where he started after school
- Wants to semi-retire in a few years but not sure if there is enough superannuation or if he will still be supporting his kids
In the workplace, Schmidt says that Baby Boomers are generally defined by their:
- Motivators
The corner office, the company car, an expense account and your own secretary were all seen as outward signs of success and strong motivators for Baby Boomers. This is changing as they near retirement but the need is still there.
- Measures of success
They like to focus on their “input”... see how hard I’m working, see the personal sacrifices I’m making for the company. Baby Boomers liked to measure their input with time sheets, value “face time” and the meeting as a means of demonstrating input.
- Feedback
Following on from their input focused measures of success they came up with the perfect feedback model for them: the annual performance review. The system required lots of paperwork, recognised categories to be rated against, and a meeting with your manager. It achieved the desired “feel good” experience for them but didn’t eat too much into the time they needed to create input.
Ok, so we can see where Baby Boomers are coming from, but where are they going?
The future of Baby Boomers in the workplace ...
In America, the unemployment rate for job seekers aged 50 to 54 has doubled since the recession began - pitting aging Baby Boomers against the younger generation for jobs. Hattie Kauffman from CBS News reports on who's winning - and why.
The situation is different in Australia, but not by much. According to LMA's Generations L.E.A.D. (Leadership, Employment and Direction) Survey, large numbers in all generations don't want to work with, or report to Baby Boomers in the future. And that includes Baby Boomers themselves. LMA's Executive Chairman Grant Sexton comments that "If you believe that Generation Y is the unsolvable challenge when it comes to managing a workforce, think again. Baby Boomers are now the challenge. While this research suggests a much more harmonious cross-generational landscape in Australian and New Zealand organisations than many would have us believe, especially with the younger generations, Baby Boomers are not in favour."
The Survey findings include this interesting statistics:
In the future, to work with:
- Only 17% of Baby Boomers prefer their own generation, 40% prefer Gen X, 27% Gen Y
- 57% of Gen X prefer their own generation, 32% Gen Y, 4% Baby Boomers
- 53% of Gen Y prefer their own generation, 29% Gen X, 4% Baby Boomers
In the future, to report to:
- 41% of Baby Boomers prefer their own generation, 33% Gen-X, 5% Gen-Y
- 71% of Gen-X prefer their own generation, 14% Baby Boomers, 6% Gen-Y
- 50% of Gen-Y prefer Gen-X, 24% their own generation, 8% to Baby Boomers
But what of the Baby Boomers' experience? A New Zealand based study has examined the workplace risk of losing Baby Boomers' expertise. The PhD research by Victoria University graduate Dr Carmel Joe, suggests that few organisations have systems for identifying older experts or retaining their expertise after they retire. Dr Joe comments that "... people had been made redundant but were later re-hired because the organisation needed their knowledge and hadn't been able to replace it."
"Some aspects of a job can be documented but not everything. When I asked people what they would do if an expert in their team disappeared tomorrow, most replied that they'd have all the materials that person had generated but not the added element of the tacit knowledge they hold in their head."
"Understanding the motivations of a given generation could be the difference between an organisation keeping and losing some of their best people in the long run", according to Sexton.
There is clearly a place for Baby Boomers in the workplaces of the future then, so the issue now becomes one of how to balance the multiple generations.
Managing multiple generations in the workplace
Shirley Singleton comments in How To Lead And Manage A Mixed Generation Workplace (members) - "By understanding your employees - their various influencing factors, their preferences and passions - and adopting a strategy of consultative and discursive management, you will gain the respect of your employees, start developing a more creative and dynamic team environment and improve your staff retention."
Some of the steps Singleton suggests include:
- Trust that the employee has the interests of the business in mind
This may manifest itself in a more selfish desire to improve the career prospects of the individual but the result is still better quality work.
- Let go of the view that "this is how it was in my day and it's how it's going to be today"
This outdated view is no longer relevant or constructive and takes no account of the generational influences that have shaped the current generations.
- "Overload" employees
By giving the employee more work than you believe they are capable of completing, you provide them with a challenge to organise themselves and find a way of completing the tasks.
In Gen Y: Are They Even Worth The Hassle? Michael McQueen asks - "(Generation Y's) ... concept of patience, respect and work ethic can seem bewildering at best and insulting at worst. Is it any wonder then that many managers are asking if Gen Y are really worth the hassle?".
All is not lost though, as McQueen clarifys - "Engaging Gen Y employees may seem like a lot of hard work. It will certainly require an investment of time and energy and a willingness to change and adapt. However, those managers that can embrace the challenges of working with this group will reap the benefits of a younger workforce that is energetic, switched on and hungry to get ahead."
Motivation is always a factor in the workplace, as Ricky Nowak addresses in Motivating Each Generation. According to Nowak, "We all know that it has never been harder to attract, recruit and retain staff, so it makes sense to focus on how we look after people who work for and with us. Motivating each generation will help you create a workplace that people won't want to leave!"
Some of the motivational factors for each generation include:
- Baby Boomers
Look at their attitude and reward them publicly - in the company newsletter, newspaper article or staff bulletin board. Reward them financially by providing time-off unexpectedly, personal gifts for their family or even car washes and dry cleaning.
- Generation X
They will be very happy to have their opinions discussed and, where possible, be seen as mentors and teachers for younger staff.
- Generation Y
Provide opportunities for personal development - ideally, sandwich them between someone above and below who can offer support, both administratively and in experience
Looking at this list of motivators for each generation though, I am struck by the thought that I think most employees would be happy to have all of these factors in their work - which leads me to think that maybe we're not all so different as we think ...
Have a fabulous week!
Kristine Szitovszky
CEO Online