This morning, TeamKC hosted an event featuring Kelly Reed, Ph.D., and senior consultant at CMA, a talent assessment and development consulting firm.

Kelly shared with us true generational differences versus trends everyone experiences at various life stages. Check out Kelly’s key takeaways below:

About

• Four generations work side-by-side in today’s workplace: Traditionalists (born 1900- 1945), Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964), Generation Xers (born 1965-1981), and Millennials (born 1982-1999)
• Generations have unique perspectives on individual leadership, communication, problem solving and decision-making
• Generational awareness can help improve corporate culture, encourage employee engagement, increase employee retention, provide recruitment advantage and improve customer service

Millennial Influence

Millennials will be come 75% of the global workforce by 2025, making it imperative that organizations aim to understand how to attract, retain and engage the millennial workforce.

• Recruitment – make the process personal, authentic and straightforward; y-size your website; clearly state expectations; detail specific projects; offer more than money; explain career path
• Retention Strategies – create challenges and milestones; promote collaboration; value communication and provide feedback often; schedule talent management reviews; reward performance; create transparency and access to leaders
• Mentoring – consider non-traditional methods such as reverse mentoring, group mentoring and anonymous mentoring
• Workplace Wellness – create innovative wellness initiatives; establish employee choice and control over work; create collaborative settings; design branded spaces; consider virtual communities

Bridging the Gap

Organizations should work to implement the following: competitive base pay, career advancement opportunities, challenging work, flexible schedules and competitive health care benefits. 

Questions to Consider

• How is the workplace changing as a result of multiple generations working side by side? Has your organization’s policies and general way of doing things changed as a result of this?
• Are leaders in your organization adequately equipped to manage the multi-generational workforce?
• What strategies are in place at your organization to attract, retain and engage millennials?

Contact Kelly Reed with CMA to learn more about generations in the workplace, and to connect with TeamKC contact Jessica Nelson.