Mr. Ely

Guest Service / Customer Experience Mgmt

How to Effectively Communicate and Manage Multiple Generations

By John Ely, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Signature Worldwide

I am a Baby Boomer. I manage a staff of Boomers, Gen Xers and Millennials, and work with a set of Traditionalists. I think you see where I'm going here.

As you might imagine, I have little or no trouble relating to the other Boomers on my staff, however, when it come to the Gen Xers and especially the Millennials, let's just say that I can sometimes be "out of touch." Being a marketer, my first line of defense is research when faced with an issue, and relating to, managing and working with a multigenerational workforce was just such an issue for me.

Last year I started a research project to better understand all of these different generations. Some of the results were expected, and some were not, but it was amazing how people of those generational groups behave alike, have similar expectations (especially when it comes to customer service) and have comparable learning styles.

Hopefully, my findings will help you in managing your own multigenerational teams. For the purpose of this article, I'll start by sharing a quick description of the four primary groups that makeup today's workforce.

The Generations

First, we have the Traditionalists. These folks were born between 1900 and 1945, and are also referred to as "The Greatest Generation" in a book by Tom Brokaw. Although many of the people at the tail end of this generation are approaching the "traditional" retirement age, many are still in the workforce and are simply working less as opposed to taking a full retirement.

Next are the Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964. This group still represents the bulk of the workforce with the very oldest of them approaching retirement. Estimates put the number of Boomers near 78 million, with 73 percent of this group in the workforce.

Following the Boomers is Generation X. In my mind, they have the coolest name. I'd prefer being called a Gen Xer over a Baby Boomer any day! These youngsters (youngsters being anyone younger than me) were born between 1965 and 1980 and have been in the workforce since the early '80s.

Finally, we have the Millennials. Born between 1981 and 2000, this group has been entering the workforce for the last decade.

Characteristics

As you might expect, the personality characteristics and communication styles between the generations are quite different. Upon launching my study, I met with two experts on multigenerational personality styles, Mike Mokros and Lisa Kalmar. Mokros and Kalmar partner to help companies develop management and communication strategies when confronted with leading a diverse workforce - which would be most, if not all of us!

"The Traditionalists consider themselves very loyal," Mokros said. "They like a specific chain of command, and above all, seek out security and stability."

No surprises here since most Traditionalists are products of the Great Depression. Mokros and Kalmar found that this generation prefers face-to-face feedback and when communicating in print, they prefer the wording to be formal - even with e-mails. They also have a "just get it done" attitude, according to Kalmar. Traditionalists are confident in their ability to complete projects and want to be respected for their knowledge.

Baby Boomers could also be coined the "Optimistic and Idealistic" generation. This group has a reputation for social change and reform, as seen in the '60s. That decade was a time of incredible generational strife, but much of that was born from the Boomers' desire to live in a safer, kinder world. This was the first generation to openly rail against tradition and authority.

Even so, Boomers were born into the wealthiest generation and also value status and materialism - some of the very same ideals they rallied against 40 years ago. Boomers also like to feel part of the group. Many like to form teams or committees when faced with a work-related issue or project, but at the same time are incredibly competitive. This is not surprising since there were so many of them growing up together.

"Their playgroups and immediate families were larger than those of Xers and Millennials," Kalmar noted. "They were brought up in team atmospheres but also had to compete for attention and accolades."

Generation X shows a bit of a departure when looking at the employee-employer relationship. Many of this generation saw their parents work diligently and sacrifice family time for the good of the employer, only to be laid off late in life, or lose benefits and/or retirement income. Gen Xers are therefore very suspicious of authority and skeptical of the "status quo." They need to be shown not only what to do, but why they are doing it. This may sound like they are a persnickety workforce, but in fact they really do want to make a difference. They just value family and freedom equally with a career. As I mentioned earlier, the Xers come from a smaller population, and many of them come from two-income families.

"Where Boomers came home from school to brothers and sisters, and all were responsible for completing chores as a group, the Xers were more likely to be latch-key kids that had to determine the best way to complete chores on their own," Mokros explained. "They are much more independent thinkers."

Last we have the Millennials. This group reflects some of the optimism of the Boomers. They are hopeful for a better world, but also are more educated on the causes of the day such as global warming, the economy and the war. This group has never known a world without technology and they are amazing multitaskers.

Kalmar added that the Millennials are also known as the "Always On" generation. For example, I once found my stepdaughter working on homework on her computer while listening to her iPod, texting on her cell phone and instant messaging three friends. When I asked her what she was doing she replied, "Nothing!"

Communications and Management

When it comes to communicating and managing, I have a few pointers for working with these different generations.

When working with Traditionalists:

• Use formal greetings and salutations: Sir, Ma'am, Mr. or Mrs. Ask them how they want to be addressed.
• Respect their experience and acknowledge it in front of other team members.
• Give feedback face to face.

• Include them in groups that have a defined hierarchy, even if they are not the lead. When working with Baby Boomers:

• Involve them in group decisions.

• Communicate with them more often. They thirst for reporting on progress and status.
• Greetings can be less formal and more relaxed than Traditionalists.

• Recognize their titles and status in the group. Remember, they are extremely competitive. When working with Generation X:

• When communicating the "what," remember the "why." They like to be abreast of the bigger picture.

• Let them know you care about how the job affects them and their family.
• Communicate with them less often. They do not need to be micromanaged. Give them the result you want, and let them determine the best course of action.

• No long meetings or lengthy communications late in the day (especially Fridays). They get anxious when they believe work is cutting into family time. When working with Millennials:

• Communicate in small bits of information. They are used to conversing in sound bites.

• Communicate often, but not face to face if possible. Use e-mail or text messaging.
• Reinforce positive performance and/or behaviors.
• When communicating the "what," don't be as focused on the "why." But as with the Gen Xers, concentrate on results. I know it seems counter productive to always have to think about communication styles when dealing with different generations, but with a little practice it will gradually become a natural part of your day. I've found that by being sensitive to the different styles, my management effectiveness has increased. I truly believe that what all the generations have in common is the desire to do a great job and simply need to be managed as individuals.

John Ely is senior VP of marketing for Signature Worldwide. He is responsible for developing, implementing and evaluating strategic marketing and corporate growth plans, and has industrial and consumer marketing experience. He has an associate degree in electrical engineering, a bachelor's in technical management and a master's in marketing and communications. He is a member of the American Marketing Association and Product Development Management Association. Mr. Ely has served as a professor at Franklin University and is certified as a "Teaching at a Distance" (TAD) online educator. Mr. Ely can be contacted at 614-766-5101 or johnely@signatureworldwide.com Extended Bio...

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