Generation Grasp

Scenario #1 – The organization’s executive leaders can’t understand why, despite the fact that the company offers extensive training and competitive benefits programs, the average tenure of millennials (born in 1981 or later) is less than two years.

Scenario #2 – After a meteoric rise to the top, a generation X (ages 29 to 43) employee receives frequent complaints about her management style, particularly from the older baby boomers (ages 44 to 65) who report to her.

Scenario #3 – The vice-president of HR is discouraged when the new benefits plan receives only a lukewarm reception from employees—even though it offers extensive coverage and is as rich, or better, than those offered by competitors.

Scenario #4 – The head of sales throws up his hands in frustration when yet another generation X salesperson cites work/life balance as the reason for not achieving the organization’s aggressive monthly sales targets. He can’t help but lament the passing of a generation of salespeople who put their careers above all else—as he did when he was starting out 40 years ago.

With four generations in the workforce at one time, it’s not surprising that employees of various ages with a wide range of personal values are looking for different work experiences. If executives and managers truly want to engage workers of all ages, they must invest in understanding the diverse perspectives and needs of a multi-generational workforce and work to effectively design, communicate and administer appropriate HR programs.

Start With a Strong Foundation
The basis of any workforce management plan is an analysis of the current workforce, as well as its future business and employee needs. This analysis must cover business strategy, employee expectations, demographics and employee attitudes, with the goal of identifying the elements of a unique work experience that distinguish the organization from its competitors while allowing it to recruit the best employees, meet their expectations and motivate them to serve customers effectively.

In developing its employee value proposition—the differentiating and compelling balance of what candidates and employees need from the organization and what the organization needs from them—an organization needs to consider the current and future age makeup of its workforce. Research from Hewitt Associates’ annual Best Employers in Canada study has determined that different generations want different things from their employer.

The good news is that there are personal work values that are important to both older and younger employees—for example, work/life balance. However, while millennials cite a good salary and opportunities for learning and advancement among their top motivators, older employees place greater value on work that fully uses their abilities, a supportive supervisor, access to the information needed to do the job and work that is consistent with their moral values.

Get Input From the Source
The reality is that business leadership rarely reflects the organization’s diverse workforce in terms of age and many other demographics. The majority of those on the executive team are likely to be male baby boomers. Moreover, many of the people practices, programs and policies in place at a given organization are likely to have been developed by baby boomers, for baby boomers. Under these circumstances, it’s easy to understand why they may not appeal to younger generations.

The best way to ensure that workers’ needs are being met is to solicit feedback directly from employees and managers, typically through an employee engagement survey and/or focus groups. Armed with this feedback, employers should examine whether their policies, programs and practices are age-neutral. For instance, employers should ask these questions:

• Are we offering dependent care geared only toward children when the workforce may be at an age where elder/parent care has more value?
• Is there sufficient upward or lateral mobility so that younger workers do not feel shut out from advancement opportunities by older workers remaining in the workforce?
• Are younger managers who are supervising older workers receiving the necessary training to handle the role reversal (based on the traditional management model in which seniority comes with age)?

Depending on the results of such an analysis, employers may need to adapt certain programs to make them appropriate for multiple generations.

Customize the Offer
In addition to ensuring that HR programs do not include any generational bias, organizations are increasingly looking to better meet individual needs by offering choice in their HR programs through flexible benefits. Hewitt’s 2009 survey on flexible benefits plans indicates that “meeting diverse employee needs” is the No. 1 reason cited by employers for implementing a flex plan.

Having found that benefits choice works for a multi-generational workforce, some employers are contemplating the next evolution of customization: a more comprehensive flexible rewards package. In this arrangement, certain elements of each employee’s reward package are open for the individual to determine how he or she wants to receive them. For example, an employee may opt to receive all of his or her reward package as cash, while another may choose to use the allotment for benefits, a sabbatical, training—even concierge services, charitable donations or daycare payment—accepting less in the form of cash.

Employers may also want to consider offering different work arrangements. Should certain employees be able to work from home occasionally? Are there some workers who never need to come to the office? Millennials, who have experienced a virtual world all of their lives, may be especially keen to work remotely. However, the concept of telecommuting may be equally appealing to generation X employees with young children and baby boomers who like to head to warmer climates in the winter.

Millennials also want—and expect to have—access to the latest technology, regardless of their particular role or level of seniority. Mobile devices are simply part of the basic tool kit for these employees and are not seen as perks.

Meet Needs While Managing Costs
As people costs spiral upward, there is growing pressure to manage this expense. This means that employers cannot offer everything to everybody in hopes of meeting a broad range of diverse needs.

Flexible benefits can help to a certain degree. Containing benefits cost increases was the second most frequently cited reason in the 2009 Hewitt survey for introducing such programs. However, in order to design a flex program that employees will appreciate, organizations need to get a sense of what employees want and which trade-offs they are willing to make.

The challenge with asking employees for feedback on their HR programs is that they tend to simply want more: more benefits, more flexibility and more money. In recognition of this fact, employers are increasingly turning to methods such as conjoint analysis, in which employees’ opinions are solicited to determine what trade-offs they are willing to make between different features of the work environment. This feedback helps organizations focus their limited HR dollars on the areas that will have the greatest impact on employees.

Provide Much-needed Support
Employers need to create a work environment where there is an appropriate balance between the needs and interests of each generation. In particular, managers of all ages need a great deal of help to understand and meet the needs of a multi-generational workforce. While managers will undoubtedly benefit from more formal training and support, the following pointers are key.

Respect the different values held by different age groups – At the same time, managers should avoid stereotyping particular generations or other workforce segments. For example, older employees may be just as willing to learn new software systems as their younger co-workers.

Keep the lines of communication open – Listen to and address employees’ concerns as they arise.

Encourage multi-generational teamwork – While older workers have the experience, younger employees have a fresh perspective that, in some cases, more closely mirrors that of the customer. Each team member can learn something from the others.

Develop a multi-generational outlook – Often, this means adopting a flexible approach in the workplace. Recognize that there may be more than one way to accomplish the same objective—however, cross-generational teams may help to determine leading practices.

Communicate Across Generations
All employees want relevant, compelling and personalized communication. However, preferences for media, tone, interactivity and depth vary considerably. It is critical for the employer to understand what will resonate best with a given generation or workforce segment.

Respecting employees for who they are includes acknowledging different communication preferences and, often, using multiple methods to convey the same message. For example, while a baby boomer might read a group benefits manual cover to cover to get a comprehensive understanding of the entire program, a millennial might scan the online information for what he or she needs to do now but may not look at information on filing claims until the need arises.

Consider new ways to share information, particularly with younger employees. Podcasts, interactive online learning sessions and instant messaging are communication methods that resonate with millennials. However, in an increasingly stressful and busy world, even older workers are recognizing the advantages of having 24/7 online information. Printed materials may, in short order, become a relic of the past in much of corporate Canada.

How messages are framed may also need to vary by generation to have the greatest impact. For example, while baby boomers and older generation Xers may appreciate knowing what they will gain by following a certain course of action, younger workers with a greater sense of entitlement may not act until they know what they could lose.

There are clearly significant differences in what motivates older and younger workers. However, when armed with an appreciation of what is important to workers of various ages, employers can develop and implement workplace strategies that truly engage a multi-generational workforce.

Neil Crawford leads Hewitt Associates’ Best Employers in Canada study and Julies Raines is the communication practice leader with Hewitt in Canada.
neil.crawford@hewitt.com
julie.raines@hewitt.com

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© Copyright 2009 Rogers Publishing Ltd. This article first appeared in the September 2009 edition of BENEFITS CANADA magazine.