Quick! How do I deal with a multigenerational workforce?

Published date14 August 2017
Pages192-193
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-09-2016-0087
Date14 August 2017
AuthorElizabeth Martin Savino
Subject MatterHR & organizational behaviour,Employee behaviour
Quick! How do I deal with a
multigenerational workforce?
Elizabeth Martin Savino
Elizabeth Martin Savino is Vice
President, HR, at CTG, Inc.,
Buffalo, New York, USA.
Do you sometimes feel like
you are on a carousel that is
set to warp speed? Do you
question your decision-making
ability because of the speed at
which you are required to react? Are
you juggling so much information in
your head that you forget what task
you are working on as you are
working on it? E-mail, phone (both
cell and office), instant messages
and social media accounts are
constantly interrupting and
demanding your attention.
Life has become so chaotic and
fast-paced that we have even
truncated our language by using a
myriad of acronyms, emojis and text
messages. Google Maps has even
devised a function that finds you the
shortest distance between two
points – because, heaven knows,
two minutes may make a difference!
We all feel that we have to find the
best, shortest and the most efficient
way to our destination point – both
literally and figuratively. We have
become a nation of “short cutters”.
And to make decision-making
simpler, we tend to make
generalizations so that we can get
to the endpoint faster.
Nowhere is this more evident than
when we speak about the
characteristics of our different
employment cohorts. From “the
Greatest Generation” to the
Millennials, we clump these
employees into behavior types:
Millennials need instant
gratifications, GenXers are skeptical,
Baby Boomers are optimistic and
those from the Greatest Generation,
also known as Traditionalists, are
loyal. We make broad statements
like these to make management
easier.
Well guess what? It is all nonsense.
Show me a millennial who needs
instant gratification, and I will show
you ten who are working in
third-world countries where positive
outcomes are measured in decades.
Show me a loyal Traditionalist, and I
will show you ten more who question
authority and job hop.
Managing increasingly diverse
employees is no simple feat. When
trying to find a management style
that works with the diverse
preferences of your workforce, it is
natural to encounter some bumps in
the road. Here are a few best
practices to keep in mind to help
you maintain harmony and to keep
your team working productively:
Get to know the individual
Making generalizations about
people never works. If you want to
get the most out of your employees,
you need to look at them as
individuals, not as “types”. Get to
know them and figure out what
motivates them, what inspires them
and what you can do to help them
grow. In turn, let them satisfy their
curiosity about you, their manager,
How to...
PAGE 192 STRATEGIC HR REVIEW VOL. 16 NO. 4 2017, pp. 192-193, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1475-4398 DOI 10.1108/SHR-09-2016-0087

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