How To Manage Multi Generational Workforces

All generations have differences in the way they do things, but for companies trying to manage a multi generational workforce those differences can make it impossible. On the one hand baby boomers who were supposed to retire are hanging on to their jobs for longer, angering Generation Xers who were next in line for those positions. Meanwhile millennials or Gen Y, who are used to having a voice, are growing frustrated by the old guard who don’t want to hear their opinions let alone let them be part of any brainstorming. RELATED: How to Recruit Millennials “Different generations define things differently,” says Mary Abbajay, principal at Careerstone Group. “Work/life balance is going to look very different to a baby boomer than a Gen Y worker.”  Not to mention feedback. Baby boomers are good with a once a year review but the millennials want feedback and they want it all the time. It also goes without saying, millennials and even Gen Xers are very comfortable with technology but many baby boomers can’t or won’t learn the new technologies. All of those differences mean the company has to take a different tact when it comes to managing their disparate workforce. RELATED: Top Companies for Work-Life Balance “By the year 2025 75% of the global workforce will be Gen Y,” says Shirley Engelmeier, founder and chief executive of InclusionINC, the diversity training company. “The pain points generally tend to be between baby boomers and Gen Y. Gen Y has gotten a bad rap and they don’t really deserve it.” One of the best things a company can do is to encourage all generations to get to know each other instead of holding on to stereotypes that often aren’t true. After all not all millennials are entitled and not all baby boomers subscribed to the old ways of thinking. Consider this situation that played out at Susan Heathfield’ssoftware company. One of her female employees in her mid 40’s to early 50’s filed a complaint with human resources claiming her 30ish co-workers were discriminating against her. After an investigation it was discovered the co-workers weren’t harassing her but they also weren’t deferring to her simply because of her age and experience. That enraged the woman who expected the younger workers to follow her lead because of that. In this case the HR manager handled it by gathering everyone involved to discuss their mismatching expectations which worked wonders for all parties. “You can’t paint the entire generation with the same brush,” says Heathfield, the guide to human resources for About.com. “Millennials are just human beings. They want you to like them, they want praise and feedback and they want to have a great career.” In addition to actually getting to know the workers in the different generations, human resource experts say managers have to set the expectations for their workers. Baby boomer bosses may get annoyed that their younger workers don’t return calls but only answer texts or think they are slacking off because they are listening to music with ear buds while they work but if the expectations and rules weren’t set in the first place it’s not the employees fault if they aren’t doing what the boss wants. “How many clients have come to me complaining that Gen Y are not dressing professional and I ask them have you told them what you expect,” says Abbajay, noting many will say the younger generation should know better. “But why should they know better if the manager or leader hasn’t clarified what’s important?” A helpful tool, one that can not only bridge the gap but also teach each group something is to have the company engage in reverse mentoring. For instance a millennial can be paired up with a baby boomer and that younger workers can help the older one with any technology issues. Meanwhile the older, experienced worker can provide advice and guidance on moving up in the company. In order to have a successful reverse mentoring program, Heathfield says it has to be created with the expectation that it’s going to be a two way street. Understanding and accepting that differences exist can also help a company deal with the different generations under one roof. That could mean that while baby boomers like to work in the office each day the younger generations can have the option to work at home some of the time if they prefer. It could also mean giving millennials the constant feedback they crave and letting them have a voice even if the idea isn’t the best. Managers have to be “adaptive” with whichever generation they are dealing with, says Engelmeier. “You want to work with everybody’s strengths and yield to people of expertise regardless of age or length of service,” she says.