Prior to TO TO TO 1964 TRADITIONALS MATURES SILENT GENERATION Question NOTHING! GEN-X GEN-XERS Question/Question MILLENNIALS Forget the Question BOOMERS BABY BOOMERS Question Everything

GEN-X GEN-XERS “Question the Question” MILLENNIALS “Forget the Question” BOOMERS BABY BOOMERS “Question Everything”

Cuspers play important roles …  Mediating  Translating  Explaining  Coordinating  Resolving conflicts

Who is Ron Howard? 0 Richie from Happy Days 0 Opie from Mayberry 0 Award Winning Actor 0 Who is Ron Howard?

Boomers “Richie” Traditionals “Opie” Millennials “The Director” Its all about Perspective- Everyone’s Right

How did John Kennedy Die? Its all about Perspective- Everyone’s Right 0 Plane Crash over Martha’s Vineyard 0 Gun Shot in Dallas, Texas Matures & BoomersGen X and Millennials

 The Great Depression  Disney’s 1 st Animated feature  World War II  The G.I. Bill  The Cold War  The Atom Bomb InfluencesPeople in the News  Frank Sinatra  Ella Fitzgerald  FDR  Jackie Robinson  Henry Ford  John Wayne  Joe DiMaggio TRADITIONALISTS

Traits  Loyal/Civic Minded  Patriotic  Hard working  Fiscally conservative  Faith in Institutions  Work for same employer  Make do or do without  Practical  Respect Authority Growing Up  Disciplined- stay in line  Conformers  Personal sacrifice  Children should be seen and not heard

TRADITIONALISTS

Influences People in the News  John F. Kennedy  Martin Luther King, Jr.  Rosa Parks  The Jackson Five  Elvis  The Beatles  Neil Armstrong

Traits  Confident  Independent  Self-reliant  Competitive  Questioners of authority  Idealistic Growing Up  Stay-at-home moms  Suburbs  TV  Play well with others

Traits  Optimistic  Desire to stand out from the crowd  Cool  Work-centric  Relish long work hours  Defined by Professional Accomplishments

Boomers

People in the News  Divorce  AIDS  Massive Corporate Layoffs  MTV & Cable TV  The Challenger  Missing children on milk cartons  Chernobyle Disaster  Three Mile Island Accident  Bill Clinton  Bill Gates  Michael Jordan  Nelson Mandela

Gen -X Realist Inventors

Influences People in the News  Fall of the Berlin Wall  Events of September 11 th  Connected 24/7  iPod, iPad, Smart Phones  Stock Market Plummets  Drugs and gangs  Hurricane Katrina  Virginia Tech Shooting  President Barak Obama  Opra Winfrey  Britney  Backstreet Boys  Oprah Spears  Mia Hamm  Serena & Venus Williams  Mother Teresa

Traits  Globally concerned  Diverse/Inclusive  Cyber literate  Media savvy  Realistic  The group is the key  Confidence  Entitled  Most educated Growing Up  “You are special”  Helicopter parents – (Boomer parenting)  “Black Hawks!” (Gen X parenting)  Involved dads  Packed schedules

The M-Factor  Parenting  Entitlement  Meaning  Great Expectations  Immediate Gratification  The Need for Speed  Social Networking  Collaboration Works Cited Lynne C. Lancaster, D. S. (2010). The M-factor: how the millennial generation is rocking the workplace. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

Millennials Globally minded Me-Centric

A positive, inclusive work culture can lead to business success by enhancing Recruitment, retention and profitability. The Team can attract and retain talented people of all ages Flexibility is fostered Decisions are stronger because they’re broad-based and from Multiple perspectives ‘Four heads are better than one’ Team can meet the needs of a diverse public and relate more effectively

Work and the 4 Generations The Assets of each generation The Liabilities Motivation Preferred Management Style Recruiting and Retaining Preferred methods of Communication Rewards and Recognition

Workplace Assets TraditionalsBoomersGen-XMillennials Experience Enhanced Knowledge Dedication Loyalty Focus Emotional maturity Perseverance Service oriented Dedication Team Perspective Experience Knowlege Adaptability Techno-literate Independence Creativity Willingness to buck the system Collective Action Optimism Multi-task Techno-savvy

Workplace Liabilities TraditionalsBoomersGen-XMillennials Reluctant to Buck the System Uncomfortable with conflict Reticent when they disagree Not necessarily ‘budge minded’ Uncomfortable with conflict Reluctant to go against peers May put process ahead of result Skeptical Distrustful of Authority Need for supervision and structure Inexperience Inexperience with conflict resolution and working with ‘difficult’ people.

They prefer to work for managers who….. TraditionalsBoomersGen-XMillennials Are direct and identify clear steps Take a logical Approach Set long term goals Are fair and consistent Spell out clear job expectations Are respectful Are consensual and treat them as equals Take a democratic approach Work with the group to define a mission Show warmth and caring Assure them they are making a difference. Competent, Direct and Straightforward Genuine Comfortable with deadlines- turning them loose to meet it. Supportive of training and growth opportunities Flexible Results-oriented Educational and know their personal goals. Comfortable coaching and supporting them Collaborative Achievement- oriented Motivationaly

Motivating Styles and Messages TraditionalsBoomersGen-XMillennials They tend to be motivated when managers connect their actions to he overall good of the organization. They tend to be motivated by leaders who get them involved and show them how they can make a difference. Allow them to get the job done on their own (what might seem unorthodox) schedule. They tend to be motivated when their managers connect their actions to their personal and career goals. “Your experience is respected here.” “It’s valuable to the rest of us to hear what has and has not worked in the past.” “Your opinion is valued” “Your contribution will be recognized.” “We need you.” “Do it your way.” “We’ve got the newest hardware and software.” “There aren’t a lot of rule around here.” “You can be a hero here.” “You and your co- worker can turn this company around.”

The RIGHT Reward TraditionalsBoomersGen-XMillennials Tangible symbols of loyalty, commitment and service including plaques and certificates. Personal appreciation, promotion and recognition with monetary compensation. Free time, upgraded resources, opportunities for development, bottom-line results, certifications to add to their resume. Rewards, certificates, tangible eviden.

Communication and Feedback TraditionalsBoomersGen-XMillennials Official Memos Letters Personal notes Phone Calls Face to Face interaction Voice mail Instant Message Blogs Text Feedback “No news is good news” Feedback Once a year review with documentation Feedback Instant - Immediate Feedback Individualized- want it at the ‘push of a button’

Managers who drive them crazy….. TraditionalsBoomersGen-XMillennials Too touchy-feely Indecisive Worry about making unpopular decisions Use profanity and slang Use ‘trendy’ management styles Disorganized Aren’t open to input Are Bureaucratic “My way or the highway” Don’t‘ show interest ‘Two faced’ Micro- manage Don’t walk the talk Flashy Bureaucratic Schmooze Cynical /Sarcastic Treat them as too young to be valuable Threatened by their technical savvy Condescending Inconsistent Disorganized

Recruit and Retain Use a personal touch. Make face-to-face contact. Computer-driven communication sometimes alienates members of this generation. Be mindful of age and experience. Show them that their experience is viewed as an asset rather than a liability. Capitalize on experience. Consider setting up mentoring relationships that match senior employees with younger ones. Traditionals

Recruit and Retain Offer flexible work arrangements: telecommuting, adjustable scheduling, personal time to handle family and caretaking matters. Provide challenging work opportunities, horizontal movement, learning opportunities. Offer phased retirement programs. Offer health and wellness programs to foster healthy life styles. Boomers

Recruit and Retain Gen-X Show them lots of options for their workplace schedule. Allow them to work autonomously. Tap into their adaptability. Generation Xers are typically flexible, and many are independent operators. Give them an important task that needs to get done; they’ll likely get it handled! Give FAST (Frequent, Accurate, Specific, Timely) feedback in order for them to build their skills and improve their resumes

Recruit and Retain Millennials Tap an outstanding employee from the Millennial Generation to talk to the candidate about the company. Provide flexibility to allow them to pursue their many outside interests. Get them involved in meaningful volunteer efforts. These workers are community oriented and are graduates of required community service hours. Count them in on benefits like 401(k) plans. Millennials are financially savvy. Use their capability to access and share information quickly. This is the most technologically and globally aware generation. Pair them up with older mentors. On surveys, Millennials say they resonate most with the Baby Boom and World War II generations. Help them learn interpersonal skills for the workplace. They may need to be rescued from difficult situations while they develop these skills.

Six Principles for Managing Generations Successfully 1. Initiate conversations about generations. Individuals often make judgments about each other without realizing those judgments are generational in nature—and they tend to keep those judgments under the table. When they get them out in the open, the issues become less personalized and more generalized. They become easier—and sometimes even fun—to talk about the needs and preferences of a diverse workforce. 2. Ask people about their needs and preferences. Out of the best intentions, human beings often project their preferences onto others. The only way to know for certain what someone else’s needs and preferences are is to ask!. 3. Offer options. Working successfully with a mix of generations means offering as many choices as possible to meet and suit the needs of the employees as individuals and as a whole..

Six Principles for Managing Generations Successfully 4. Personalize your style. Be flexible. Learn about preferences of others on the team and find creative ways to meet their expectations. 5. Build on strengths. The best mixed-generation work teams recognize the unique strengths of each individual. Urge people who are different to become more of who they already are, rather than trying to blend in with the rest of the team Pursue different perspectives. Many work teams would say they tolerate differences, but the mixed-generation teams that truly succeed go beyond tolerance. Choose people with varied backgrounds and perspectives to work on projects together.

Managing the Generations It’s A Bottom-line Issue! Thank you

Thank you! Robin Housch