Managing the Needs of a Multi-Generational Team
As retirement patterns shift, individuals are working longer than ever before. Baby Boomers and even Traditionalists are still working because of the COVID-19 pandemic and financial need; this is especially true for communities of color. Meanwhile, Gen Z is hungry for opportunities to grow quickly and move into leadership roles. All generations can become easily frustrated by a lack of understanding of their younger or older co-workers.
Embracing and promoting the benefits of generational diversity is key to creating collaborative, well-functioning workplaces.
Tips for Bridging the Gaps
The first step is helping your multi-generational team communicate with you and each other. As a manager, show how to adapt your style to different generations’ preferences. What resonates with one may not satisfy another. Use various methods, from in-person and written interactions for older generations to chat platforms and short video announcements with younger workers, to meet everyone’s needs.
Next, introduce the generations to each other. Co-mentoring is a powerful way to build bridges. Pairing up tech-savvy younger workers with industry-experienced older workers creates shared opportunities for skills-based learning, as well as informal lessons in inclusivity and diversity. Work with your diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging team or employee resource group leaders to create meaningful mentorship programs that bring together different ages, experience levels, and cultural backgrounds. After all, each generation has something to teach and something to learn.
Finally, acknowledge the value each generation brings to your organization. The significance of multi-generational diversity extends beyond your internal teams. All generations, as employees and consumers, play dual roles in shaping your business’s success. A multi-generational workforce provides a competitive advantage, offering a deeper understanding of diverse consumer segments.
By harnessing insights from different generations, you can craft strategies that truly resonate with all your customer demographics.
Career Progression for Multi-Gen Teams
With a multi-gen workforce, culture conversations take on new significance. Catherine Wheeler, founder and chief culture strategist for Pivot One-Eighty, says it’s time to reimagine workplace culture and redesign it to serve all generations.
“Lots of organizations are in a flux space because their culture is not a function of the business strategy,” she says. “But COVID-19 made us realize that business strategy and culture need to have a conversation with each other if you want to keep people happy, whole, and contributing.”
Wheeler says one change all generations share is not being included in their own career conversations. Organizations mastermind career paths to serve themselves, not the individuals. Managers must create career progression processes that include everyone, and they need succession plans for every role. When this happens, each employee’s skills and interests are considered when determining where they best fit in the company.
“I have a philosophy that career ladders should die,” Wheeler says. “Career ladders suggest that moving up is the goal. But we know that people are looking for fulfilling experiences. When we get rid of the ladder and create succession across and not just up, we’ve created a very different experience for how people are successful and how work is meaningful.”
Financial Needs Across Generations
April Stewart, employee financial wellness strategist at April Money Coach, has seen a financial literacy gap across all generations. She urges employers to invest in and nurture financial learning because it leads to salary satisfaction, reduced distraction, and employee loyalty.
In fact, financial wellness has become a top-requested employee benefit, going from a “nice to have” to a “need to have” for employers, according to BenefitsPro.
Stewart shares a few insights about the different generations and their financial needs:
Gen Zers are committed to either resetting bad financial habits or becoming educated on good habits.
Millennial and Gen X employees have more financial responsibilities and need more support getting over the hump to financial change. When shown a light at the end of the tunnel, they get onboard.
Gen Z and Millennials have easier access to financial education via social media channels. If there’s an interest in learning, the information is readily available to them.
In comparison, Gen X, Baby Boomers, and Traditionalists without social media feel more stuck in terms of gaining financial education.
Gen Z wants a solid start. Millennials and Gen X want to correct past mistakes and teach their children financial literacy. Baby Boomers and Traditionalists are most motivated by improving retirement readiness and having a financial legacy.
Gen Z and Millennials are more prone to take their financial future into their own hands.
Gen X and Baby Boomers often believe that it’s too late for them. They feel the weight of squandered resources and missed opportunities.
Stewart advises managers to offer unbiased education and guidance around a variety of financial matters, including student loan debt, managing expenses, getting on the path to wealth building, homeownership, child care expenses, funding college for children, saving for retirement, closing the gap in retirement savings, caring for aging parents, and so on.
Many Teams Lack Foundational Practices
Beth Messich, principal and founder of Beth Messich Coaching and Consulting, says one of the biggest obstacles for multi-generational teams has nothing to do with the generations but with the lack of foundational practices that facilitate effective collaboration, communication, and decision-making.
“The biggest challenges with a multi-generational workforce usually stem from the lack of foundational practices,” Messich says. “Most organizations never have conversations about how to work together as a team, how to communicate with each other, and what decision rights look like. Those challenges will be greatly compounded on teams with generational issues at play.”
To overcome this, managers must proactively create and foster these practices, tailoring them to meet the diverse communication needs of different generations.
Finally, it is important to note that while each generation has distinct characteristics, there are also fundamental similarities, particularly regarding the new work environment. Regardless of age, most of the workforce is saying no to the traditional 9-to-5 office setting. The global pandemic accelerated the adoption of remote and hybrid work models, emphasizing the need for adaptable workplaces that cater to the preferences of all employees.