Each generation has its praises, complaints and stereotypes about the generations before and after it. When leading a multigenerational workforce, you must set these differences aside while creating an effective workplace environment that’s engaging for all.
What Is a Multigenerational Workforce?
Companies with employees spanning multiple generations have multigenerational workforces. In many companies, as many as five generations of employees are working simultaneously. Recent graduates may be on the same teams as employees that are great-grandparents, with each bringing a unique perspective.
Tips for Managing a Multigenerational Workforce
For leaders of multigenerational workforces, engaging all employees is essential to driving employee satisfaction and enhancing the company’s overall success. Consider the following tips for managing and engaging a multigenerational workforce:
- Be a leader for everyone: Each generation wants different things from its leaders. As a manager of a multigenerational workforce, it’s vital to keep each generation’s expectations at the top of your mind and strive to meet them when possible.
- Provide inclusive benefits: Some benefits, such as parental leave, are generally only beneficial for one generation. As a leader, you can ensure the benefits you offer employees span their full age range. Some examples of inclusive benefits include retirement perks, educational stipends or paid time off for new pet owners.
- Avoid stereotypes: Avoiding stereotypes about different age groups is key to ensuring employee collaboration. Develop opportunities for employees to collaborate and socialize beyond their typical social circles, and give employees a chance to share stories and perspectives.
- Capitalize on each generation’s skills and knowledge: Every employee brings a unique experience to the workplace. As a leader, you can help team members of any age thrive in new and familiar areas. For example, you might create a mentorship program where senior employees nurture and guide their younger co-workers to help them connect on a deeper level.
- Clear up miscommunications: Every employee may interpret the same message differently. Understanding communication preferences and clearing up miscommunication when it occurs can enable your company to operate more efficiently.
- Check in regularly: Make it a habit to check in with your employees about work and their personal lives. Learning what is happening in an employee’s personal life creates trust in the workplace and makes it easier to offer benefits and rewards that suit their needs.
Learn Practical Leadership Skills With The Center for Leadership Studies
At The Center for Leadership Studies, we help leaders match their behaviors with employees’ performance needs through the Situational Leadership® methodology. This groundbreaking leadership model is flexible and offers practical solutions you can implement to start seeing results. We invite you to contact us today to learn more about the benefits of our leadership training courses.
