Creating a Multigener=
ational
Culture that Works
Presentation by
WA CPA Annual Conference November 21 20=
06
Good afternoon
Ever wondered what different generat=
ions
are wanting from work?
Curious about how =
to
meet the different needs of individuals within a team, department or
organisation?
In this session you will;
Be able to better identify what
different generations may be seeking from work.
Hear about strategies that organisat=
ions
and individuals can adopt to create an environment where people feel they
belong and can contribute to productive outcomes.
Have a simple and practical framewor=
k to
measure the success and performance of an integrated multigenerational cult=
ure.
Contribute
to your own learning by interacting with each other.
Keywords: Multigenerational (Builders, Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y), Culture,
Retention, Skills Shortage, Communication, Expectations, Work Environment, =
Tolerance,
Policies Systems and Processes.
I am here to reassure and encourage you
about the opportunities that exist in managing a multigenerational workforc=
e.
I intend to leave you acknowledging th=
at
you have learned something new and specific, and that you could explore som=
e of
the aspects in your organisations from next week.
My 4 key messages for you today are;
Point 1
– Engagement at work is critical. You have a golden opportunity to ha=
ve a
big impact with most number of people in your organisations.
Point 2 -=
People
of different ages and stages have some different needs and expectations. I =
will
highlight current research that identifies some of these.
Point 3=
- There are some very
useful things you can do to create the culture all people want to be a part=
of.
Point 4 – You can measure and evaluate culture
changes through a range of measures and they don’t have to be complic=
ated.
So what’s life like in the corporate context=
?
AFR Boss =
Magazine
October 2006 “Generation Cliché” article suggests more junior people do at work what we do =
in
other parts of our lives – look for big brands and look at cost (or in
this case pay). That’s what attracts many people initially when they =
join
the workforce.
By the time people amass some experien=
ce,
some financial stability and sometimes a family, their focus moves away from
this to flexibility and meaningfulness in work.
At work we have a continued need to
perform and improve and retain knowledge in our businesses. We are expected=
to
do more with less and to be more focused on the outcomes and not how we get
there.
To do this, we need to attract and ret=
ain
talent to our businesses and right now that’s a challenge in a
competitive market.
So this takes me to point 1
Point 1
– Engagement at work is critical. You have a golden opportunity to ha=
ve a
big impact with the most number of people in your organisations. Approx 75%=
of
your workforce is open to being engaged. Leaders and Managers play a key ro=
le in
shaping the culture at work.
(The Corporate
Leadership Council – The compelling Offer Revisited 2002).
Point 1=
Again – Engagement at work =
is
critical. You have a golden opportunity to have a big impact with the most
number of people in your organisations. Approx 75% of your workforce is ope=
n to
being engaged. Leaders and Managers play a key role in shaping the culture =
at
work.
Point 2 -
People of different ages and stages have different needs and expectations. =
What
are they?
|
|
Builders Generation
Born before 1945 Aged 61 and over 15% of population |
Baby Boomers
Born 1946-1964 Aged 42 to 60 25% of population |
Generations X & Y
|
Beliefs & values
|
Absolutes Security Work ethic |
Few absolutes Variety Freedom |
No absolutes Lifestyle Fun |
|
Motivations |
Country Advancement Responsible |
Individuality Achievement Relatable |
Own-community Self-discovery Relational |
|
Decision Making |
Authorities Reputations Brand-loyal |
Experts Information Brand-switchers |
Friends Anecdotes No brand loyalty |
|
Earning & Spending |
Conservative- savers Long-term needs Pay up front |
Confident- investors Medium-term goals Credit-savvy |
Uncertain- spenders Short-term wants Credit-dependent |
|
Learning Styles |
Auditory Data Monologue |
Visual Metaphors Dialogue |
Kinesthetic Stories Multi-sensory |
Marketing & Communicati=
on
|
Prescriptive Mass Above the line |
Descriptive Direct Below the line |
Participative Viral Through the friends |
|
Training environment |
Classroom style Formal Quiet atmosphere |
Round-table style Planned Relaxed ambience |
Unstructured Spontaneous Interactive |
|
Management & Leadership |
Control Authority Thinkers |
Cooperation Competency Doers |
Consensus Creativity Feelers |
As you hear these, I wonder how well th=
ey
for you? (Give them the age ranges)
(McCrindle
Research Generation Map Study 2004)
Have a brief chat (5 minutes) with the person
next to you about how well you feel these categories fit for you. Look at p=
2 of
your summary notes for the table.
Show of hands for a rea=
lly
good fit. For pretty good….so so…not
a good fit.
Interesting….lets keep moving
Other studies such as the longitudinal study
carried out by Johanna Wyn and Peter Dwyer call=
ed the
Life Patterns Project measured changes in the way 300,000 high school stude=
nts
from 1991 to 2001 perceived their lives. It showed that singular generation=
al
characteristics simply couldn’t be applied to this group.
They concluded that attempting to confine the
major shifts in social and economic relations to a single category is absur=
d.
Karl Mannheim, sociologist and pre-eminent
theorist of generational cohorts sees the generational=
ising
of the workforce alienates adults of all ages. He suggests that doing this
seeks to make people stand out as being different from one another and does=
not
help us see the sameness of who we are as people.
From a Catalyst Group perspective, there is = no refuting that we have grown up in different times with different life event markers - some public ones we share and others private ones we don’t. Each of these are capable of being worked with as long as we do just that a= nd not lump people of ages and stages into labelled likeness without the effor= ts of knowing what is really required to engage that person and contributing in the best way they can.<= o:p>
Point 2 Again -
People of different ages and stages have some different needs and expectati=
ons.
All people do!
Enough on the
“official evidence” scene. Time for a bit of action
I would like you to sit in the
generational groups
|
|
Builders Generation
Born before 1945 Aged 61 and over 15% of population |
Baby Boomers
Born 1946-1964 Aged 42 to 60 25% of population |
Generations X & Y
|
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
Develop
5 questions in your groups that would help you to learn more about the othe=
r generation
in the room, in order to best work with them effectively at work. (5 minute=
s)
=
=
Then 1
or 2 person from each generation is to take the questions and ask them of t=
he
other generations and have them answered by the members of that generation,=
and
make some notes of for each question as I will ask you to let the whole gro=
up
know what you learned at the end (10 minutes)
=
=
Debrief
=
=
How
did you find the experience (of thinking about the issues, asking the quest=
ions
and answering based on your needs?)
=
=
What
did you learn?
=
=
Thank
you for being prepared to give it a go. You’ve just carried out the
basics of what you can be doing at work, regardless of generations!
=
=
Reiterate
any connections from what people said.
=
–
=
Write
down one implication for you in your role based on what we have covered so =
far.
=
(1 minute)
Point 3=
- There are some very useful things you can do to
create the culture people want to be a part of.
Most companies are doing something about the=
ir engagement
issues. But how effective are their strategies? Common approaches to increa=
sing
employee retention include the qui=
ck
fixes – team building da=
ys
and pay rises – or add-on
benefits such. These can have some impact, but not in isolation.
According to The Corporate Leadership
Council, we need to create an environment which encourages people to have
connection, contribution and credibility in their work.
Psycholog=
ists Emery
and Thorsrud, (in Dunphy et
al 2000) consider that there are six psychological requirements of work to =
be meaningful.
It must:
1.
Be
challenging
2.
Provide
the opportunity to learn
3.
Allow
for a certain degree of decision-making
4.
Provide
social support and recognition
5.
Do work
that the individual can relate to their social life
6.
Do work
that the individual feels leads to a desirable future
Also the Corporate Leadership Council =
advocate that this need to contribute meaningfully nee=
ds to
be directed at meeting business objectives (relevance).
So why is this important?
Because…..When performance is
leveraged (talent & interest) through a meaningful and relevant outlet)=
it
can improve performance by up to 40%.
Worth paying attention isn’t it!=
Other Sources such as the Gallup
Organisation where they surveyed 24 companies and 105,000 employees globall=
y to
find the issues that when addressed had the closest links to productivity,
profit, retention and customer satisfaction. The=
ones
that linked most closely to retention were;
1. I know what is expected of me at work
2. I have the materials and equipment I need to do my
work well
3. I have the opportunity to do my best every day
4. My supervisor or someone at work seems to care abo=
ut
me as a person
5. At work my opinions seem to count
6. There is someone at work who encourages my develop=
ment
There was no age distinction made for =
this
survey and so captures emaployees of all ages by
default.
So What? &n=
bsp;
….. So what can you do?
No
question there is work in this, and it will lead to better productivity and
outcomes for business and individual.