The disagreements between Memo and her boss have become constant; she a baby boomersdoes not understand why he, a millennialprefer to work at home instead of the officenor why he doesn’t answer her emails and, instead, prefers to send her messages through messaging applications that seem informal to her, in the case of office work, but that for him, represent the fastest way of communication to take decisions.
Although these situations are not generalized, the truth is that organizations are facing important challenges in talent management, especially when there are generational differences; for example, when the leaders are much older or when they are younger than their team. And it is that the characteristics of each generation, together with their own way of being, can cause frictions that range from a lack of understanding about what the leader expects from each collaborator, to confusing trust with a lack of respect.
This is an issue that becomes relevant considering that the current business environment is bringing together four generations of collaborators (generation Z, millennialsgeneration X and baby boomers) with significant gaps, who need to work hand in hand to achieve shared business goals. So organizations need to properly manage talent, to improve the experience of each collaborator and channel efforts for the benefit of the company.
At this point, collaboration is a key element, but to promote itfirst we need to know and value the differences of colleagues who grew up in different times than ours.
A historic moment for organizations
With the presence of a multigenerational workforce occupying various jobs in different companies and extending to all industries, today we witness a historic moment in business life, which although it implies challenges due to the different professional styles and practices, forms of communication and job expectations, I also believe is creating significant opportunities for companies due to the different knowledge, experiences and skills that come together and combine in the workplace.
These generational differences are abundant, they can range from different ideas to different styles of work, but at the end of the day translate into a diversity of perspectives that enrich work life and can drive better decision-making that benefits the organization.
Collaboration in multigenerational talent management
One of the most important responsibilities of any leader in an organization is to build and support a collaborative team. Collaboration, especially in a multigenerational environment, is key to company success; and if we achieve an effective collaboration, we will make the collaborators work together, obtaining benefits for the company and for themselves.
This is the reason and the fundamental basis why I call all the members of an organization “collaborators”, because although each one has their own responsibilities, these only take on meaning and impact when they are integrated into the company’s machinery.
Although we know that collaboration is essential to help an organization achieve its goals, promoting it can become an uphill battle, especially when we have to manage four different generations in the same workplace.
Adopting a management strategy that addresses the distinctive characteristics of different generations can allow us to build on each other’s strengths and help us better compete in the marketplace.
How to build a collaborative team when we have a multi-generational workforce? In my experience and knowledge, these are some actions to take into account:
Understanding and respect for differences, because by understanding and accepting that we are different, and that being different we have different needs; We recognize the importance of treating each person uniquely, according to their own individuality.
Business leadership able to understand the differences, singularities and convergences, to build a workplace that supports all employees, regardless of their age, job position, etc.; but who also knows how to achieve a conjunction and synchrony of all the talent.
open communicationunderstood as the creation of an environment in which each team member has a space to be heard and feels confident that their opinion will be respected, even if the team chooses an alternative option.
Training and skill developmentwhich you can promote through a multigenerational training program, which allows you to take advantage of the individual characteristics of each generation for the distribution of tasks and the achievement of common goals.
Collaborative workspaces. After experiencing remote work, now is the time to combine this modality with on-site operations, to create a perfect collaboration ecosystem where ideas and points of view can be exchanged, and a learning space is generated that enriches everyone.
The multigenerational workforce is a clear trend that we will be seeing for a long time. So the best way to manage expectations and gaps between employees is through a specific strategy that responds to all parts of the organization.
That strategy must become a priority, making sure we help our team understand the positive effects of multigenerational workforces, the common challenges that can arise, as well as the importance of collaboration as the best way to work together and the fundamental principle to unleash the potential of the entire organization.
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Hector M. Meza CEO of InfoSol. MBA and Communication Consultant. He was Vice President at IBM Mexico.