There’s plenty of commentary out there on organisations who employ multi-generational workforces, how they go about it and how they get individuals to work productively together.
We know all about this at We Optimise where we span the four generational groups out there in the workplace:
- Baby Boomer Colin saw Led Zeppelin live and remembers faxing CVs to clients
- Gen X Cathy remembers her childhood home phone number and shared one office computer in her first job, and Sonya wore a ra ra skirt and leg warmers from Chelsea Girl, and addressed clients on the telephone by their formal title unless told otherwise
- Millennials Aimi recalls bedazzling her whole Bebo page and dialling 9 to get an outside line at work, and Josh knew the best app on the Appstore was IBeer and work life meant spending all 5 days in the office
- Gen Z Oliver enjoyed playing on the Nintendo Wii, and can’t understand any of the above work references
Our expertise involves advising our clients on how to tailor their attraction method, process and communication to the audience they’re targeting.
And getting a multi-generational workforce firing on all cylinders? That phrase itself is dated with the rise of EV ownership, but the challenges are nonetheless quite clear. From communication styles and methods to technology gaps; from stereotyping and bias to motivational differences, employers lump a multi-generational workforce homogenously together at their peril.
The key to workforce harmony and productivity is to promote a culture where all ages feel valued for the strengths and experiences they bring. Where they are encouraged to collaborate and mentor cross-generationally to share different perspectives and solutions to work tasks. Where the work policies are flexible and employees can work in ways that suit their life stage, if practical. And where communication channels are varied to suit different preferences and encourage transparency and regular feedback.
Many of the factors above will form part of the Employer Brand; one of our favourite topics as regular blog-readers will know. The EB needs to be authentic and consistently applied throughout the whole candidate to employee lifecycle. But just as it needs to have some flexibility in its marketing to reflect different audiences for different roles, it also needs to factor in the audience generation and what they want from the EB.
Get it right and employers will increase their recruitment and retention effectiveness, fully utilise broader skillsets and viewpoints, benefit from better innovation and decision-making, and create a more resilient and agile workforce.
So recognise, utilise and celebrate your employees’ differences and use them to your best advantage. Maybe leave the leg warmers off the dress code though!
If you need support or advice with your recruitment process do not hesitate to contact us today or fill in this form for a FREE recruitment marketing audit.
