How to Encourage Multiple Generations to Work Together in Your Workplace by Andrea Casco
Most companies can’t thrive with one generation of workers alone. However, there will come times when multiple generations clash simply because they went to school at different periods and are used to different styles of working. This can lead to miscommunication or even to costly mistakes when one team member insists on doing things his way without consulting the other members of the group. Although the goal is always the same – to be as productive as possible – the methods by which each generation thinks to get there may come into conflict with another younger or older member on their team.
Getting multiple generations to work seamlessly together should be the goal of any company. Enlist the help of expert team builders by signing up for leadership training workshops at your place of business. These professionals provide tips for playing to each generation’s strengths and disproving misconceptions that may negatively impact a team’s ability to work together. Dividing your workforce into teams of the same generation is actually not as beneficial to your business as making sure there’s representation from Millennials, Generation X and the Baby Boomer generation alike. Each generation brings something to the table that the others do not.
Get Stereotypes Out Into the Open
A good working relationship starts by examining the way each person views the others on the team. Without naming individuals, encourage your team to list adjectives they think describe several age groups, including Millennials, Generation X and Baby Boomers. Allow people to shout out adjectives about their own generations as well. Organize the adjectives into positive and negative thoughts. For example, "hard-working" is a positive, while "entitled" is a negative.
Group Multiple Generations Together
Break the larger group into smaller groups with at least one person from every generation on a team. Have them go over the stereotype list and debate the truth of each positive or negative, giving examples of times they or their similarly-aged colleagues performed in a way to prove the positive or to disprove the negative. For example, a Baby Boomer might explain that she’s often worked overtime to be "hard-working" and a Millennial might say that he actually worked his way through college and is still in student loan debt to disprove "entitled." The point of this exercise is not to argue but to see another point of view. Request that no one interrupt or disagree with another employee while she’s sharing.
Turn Positives Into Strengths
Once each group has gone through the list of stereotypes, come up with a hypothetical group project (or even bring up a real one if the group has a project to do) and assign roles to the different members based on the positive stereotypes of their generation. For example, if the group found that Generation X was personable, the Generation X member of the team could be in charge of sales. If the Millennial was the one most likely to understand the latest technology, she could be in charge of technical support or using a new software program to streamline the project.
Schedule a leadership training workshop for your business today and your company will soon benefit from the expertise necessary to break down the barriers between multiple generations at your business. Corporate team building, constructive conflict resolution and performance management are other areas that may intersect with your multiple generation workshop or may require additional sessions. The sooner you call in the experts, the sooner the working relationships at your company will improve.
About the Author: Andrea Casco is a human resources manager for a Fortune 500 company. She relies on KEY Group Consulting for all of her business’ training session needs.