Employee Engagement in a Multigenerational Workforce

The drive towards equality has in part led to the practice of employers being largely indifferent to the ages of employees in a drive to treat everyone the same. Yet it is through this very indifference that subliminal prejudice can creep into workplace practices resulting in employers consistently failing to maximise the talents and strengths of their staff.


The employment demographic is challenging employers

Strangely, although the Government’s drive is towards a later retirement age the main employment figures produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) concentrate on men aged 16-64 and women aged 16-59. This despite the fact that figures for the quarter to December 2010 show older full time employees at 270,000 with a further 600,000 working part time. Combine these statistics with the current levels of youth unemployment and an interesting pattern appears. The employment demographic is shifting and in the process throwing up challenges for employers.

Same, same but different

The fact is that understanding the differing needs and aspirations of the workforce will enable employers to both align employee engagement and maximise productivity. In this respect true equality means helping people to work to their individual strengths rather than treating everyone the same.

Meeting the demands of each generation

Whilst, we can all cite examples of 20 year olds who act as though they were 50 and vice versa; from a theoretical perspective academics tend to divide the working population up into four main groups: Traditionalists/ Silent Generation (born 1925-1945); Baby-Boomers (born 1946-1964); Generation X (born 1965-1980) and Generation Y/ Millennials (born1981-2001). Within these groups the Older Boomers/Traditionalists are delaying retirement, Baby Boomers are beginning to retire, Generation X’ers are realigning their priorities with respect to work/family and Generation Y is entering the workforce with demands very different from employees of the previous generation.

The employer who can encourage the generations to work together in harmony, respecting each others experience and abilities will be richly rewarded. Engaging employees and creating a harmonious environment that fosters growth and development, requires employers to:

* Address and accommodate employee differences. Treat employees as individuals and work towards meeting their specific needs and unique preferences. Try and be flexible to accommodate their personal lifestyle and encourage them tomaintain a healthy work / life balance.
* Provide purpose and meaning in work and encourage employees to understand the purpose of the organisation’s existence. This can be achieved by having a mission or a vision statement which can encourage and inspire the employees.
* Create workplace choices to allow workplace to shape itself around the work being done. This can shorten the chain of command and decrease bureaucracy.
* Attract the right person for the right position. For this it is essential to look beyond the candidate’s skill set and ensure that their work style and personality fit in the culture of the organisation.
* Improve retention as it is vital to retain valuable employees who are an asset to the organisation. This can be achieved by offering training and one-to-one coaching sessions, encouraging lateral movement, flexible or part time working and broader assignments.
* Build long-lasting relationships. The key to a successful work environment is the trust and confidence that you have in your fellow employees. Developing personal relationships with team members is the best way to foster trust as employees need to feel valued and happy working with those around them.
* Offer benefits keeping the needs of each generation in mind. For example, consider offering non-monetary benefits, as Gen X and Y tend to value personal time as much as compensation. They have a busy life outside work so offering flexible working hours or extended holiday time
* Adopt a management style that – employs direct communication, is goal specific and accurately measures goals, gives sufficient autonomy, provides regular and constructive feedback and rewards appropriately.

The current trend towards a more flexible workforce with employees of all ages from 16 upwards working alongside each other will only increase over time. Businesses which embrace this trend will find that they can build a strong and loyal employee base which will only benefit the business for years to come.