For the first time ever we have 3 different generations in our workforce working together side-by-side: Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials (Gen Y).

1. HUMAN
RESOURCES
Building
a
Strong
Mul/genera/onal
Workplace
Eddy
M.
Jolicoeur
HRDC
-­‐
Let’s
Talk
HR
21st
February
2013

2. What
is
this
all
about?
For
the
first
4me
ever
we
have
3
different
genera4ons
in
our
workforce
working
together
side-­‐by-­‐side:
! Baby
Boomers
(born
1946-­‐1964)
! Genera4on
X
(born
1965-­‐1980)
! Millennials
(Gen
Y)
(born
1981
to
1995)

3. What
is
this
all
about?
! Each
of
these
genera4ons
have
been
impacted
by
various
events
that
shape
who
they
are
and
how
they
work
! We
need
to
understand
what
mo4vates
the
various
genera4ons
and
how
we
can
work
together
! Stereotypical
experiences
and
percep4ons
of
each
genera4on
help
us
to
understand
perspec4ves

4. Looks
familiar?

5. Different
PercepCons
Percep4ons
frequently
have
genera4onal
issues
as
their
cause
!
!
!
!
!
“He
is
not
commiVed
to
his
job”
“She
has
a
poor
work
ethic”
“He
does
not
respect
experience”
“I
can’t
believe
the
way
she
dresses”
“Who
cares
that
we
have
always
done
it
that
way,
with
technology
we
can
do
it
beVer
this
way”

6. The
Challenge
"Managing
mul4genera4onal
workforces
is
an
art
in
itself.
Young
workers
want
to
make
a
quick
impact,
the
middle
genera4on
needs
to
believe
in
the
mission,
and
older
employees
don't
like
ambivalence.
Your
move."
Harvard
Business
School
"Working
Knowledge“
newsleVer,
April
2006:
"Can
you
manage
different
generaCons?"

7. A
New
GeneraCon
Gap
“The
term
Genera4on
Gap
was
used
mostly
to
describe
conflicts
between
parents
and
children.
Today,
the
“Gap”
has
more
of
a
presence
in
the
workplace,
where
employees
from
different
genera4ons
are
finding
it
difficult
to
work
side
by
side
because
their
experiences,
goals
and
expecta4ons
are
different”.
GOVEXEC.com

8. What
about
us?
Baby
Boomers
12%
Millenials
52%
Gen
X
36%
THE
MCB
WORKFORCE

9. They’re
HEEERRE!!

10. The
Business
Case…
Recruitment/Compe44on
for
talent
Reten4on
Reward
Produc4vity
and
business
results
linked
to
work
environment
! Employee
Sa4sfac4on
! Customer
Sa4sfac4on/Customers
from
all
genera4ons
!
!
!
!

11. Benefits
of
the
MulCgeneraConal
Team
! Can
aVract/retain
talented
people
of
all
ages,
more
inclusive
! More
flexible
! Can
gain/maintain
greater
market
share
because
reflect
mul4genera4onal
market
! Decisions
are
stronger,
more
broad-­‐based
with
mul4ple
perspec4ves
! More
innova4ve
and
crea4ve
! Can
meet
needs
of
diverse
public
and
can
relate
more
effec4vely
11
SummitQues4ons@valueop4ons.com

12. What
Shaped
You?
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
Na4onal
Events
Music
Technology
Values
Rela4onships
Parental
Expecta4ons
Other?

13. Pickings
from
the
focus
group
! 14%
of
the
Boomers
agreed
that
a
person
should
build
their
career
with
one
employer,
compared
to
11%
of
Xers
! When
asked
“Which
genera4on
is
the
best
at
finding
work-­‐life
balance?”,
all
genera4ons
picked
Millennials
! Millennials
indicated
that
flexible
workplace
and
opportunity
for
promo4on
were
more
important
than
salary

14. Characteristics
Baby Boomers
Born 1946-1964
Generation X
Born 1965-1980
Millennials
Born 1981-1996
Age Span
50 to 65 years old
34 to 49 years old
19 to 33 years old
Traits
Idealistic
Break the rules
Time stressed
Politically correct
Pragmatic
Self-sufficient
Skeptical
Flexible
Media/Info/Tech savvy
Entrepreneurial
Confident
Well-educated
Self-sufficient
Tolerant
Team builders
Socially/politically conscious
Defining Events
Vietnam War/Cold War
Mai 1968
Independence
Liberal subjects
Recession
Free education
Computers in schools
Globalisation
Terrorism
Corporate scandals
China
To Them Work Is
An exciting adventure
A difficult challenge
To make a difference
Work Ethic
Driven
Balanced
Eager but anxious
Employment Goals
Second career
Work/life balance
Unrealistic
Education
Birthright
Way to get to an end
A given
Communication
Telephone
Email
IM/Text messaging
Time at Work is defined
Visibility
Why does it matter if I get it done
today?
Is it 5 PM?
I have a life…TGIF
Need most in the
workplace
Recognition! ‘Stop
ignoring me!’
More information ‘Nobody tells
me anything!”
Praise and fun; or is that fun
and praise?

15. Baby
Boomers’
generaCon

16. Baby
Boomers
! The
“Me”
genera4on
! More
hours
equals
beVer
performance;
now
regret
! They
are
the
managers
who
are
running
our
organiza4ons
today
! Career
oriented
! “Love
the
good
life”
! Love
job
performance
feedback

17. Managing
the
Baby
Boomers
! Help
them
explore
their
next
set
of
workplace
op4ons,
and
demonstrate
how
your
organiza4on
can
con4nue
to
use
their
talents
! Walk
the
talk
on
work-­‐life
balance
by
redesigning
their
jobs
to
accommodate
mul4ple
life
demands
! Encourage
them
to
enrich
their
present
job
and
grow
in
place
if
they
need
to
slow
their
career
pace

18. GeneraCon
X

19. GeneraCon
X
! The
next
genera4on
of
leaders
! The
most
well
educated
genera4on
! Goal-­‐oriented
! Free
Agents
vs.
Company
Loyalists
! Thrive
on
independence
! Want
to
be
challenged
! Led
dot.com
boom

20. Managing
GeneraCon
X
! Talk
to
them
about
their
reputa4on,
not
just
job
tasks;
they
want
your
candid
perspec4ve
and
feedback
(Trust)
! Acknowledge
their
ability
to
work
independently
and
encourage
them
to
leverage
their
entrepreneurial
abili4es
! Help
them
get
the
most
out
of
every
job
posi4on
by
discussing
what
the
job
can
do
for
them
and
what
they
can
learn
from
it

21. Millenials

22. Millennials
! Value
independence
but
need
some
supervision
! Look
for
new
challenges
! Challenge
the
status
quo
! Want
the
job
of
their
dreams
not
a
good
job
! Want
the
opportunity
to
make
an
impact
! Fear
boredom
more
than
anything
else

23. Managing
the
Millennials
! Demonstrate
the
stability
and
long-­‐term
value
of
your
organiza4on,
and
also
show
how
your
organiza4on
is
flexible
and
filled
with
learning
opportuni4es
for
them
! Provide
work
schedules
that
help
them
build
careers
and
families
at
the
same
4me
! Make
groups
and
teams
part
of
their
job

24. Summary
of
Work
CharacterisCcs

25. The
differences
exist
so....
DEAL
WITH
THEM!

26. 3
Strategies
to
Manage
by:
1) Communica4on
2) Delega4on
3) The
Giq
of
Feedback

27. CommunicaCon
• What
do
your
employees
want
from
a
work
environment?
– Forget
exit
surveys;
why
do
people
stay?
– What
do
you
want
from
your
work
environment?
• Talk
about
peoples’
differences
amongst
your
team
• Develop
an
ac4on
plan
specific
to
your
team
• Talk
about
conflict
–
do
not
brush
it
under
the
carpet

28. DelegaCon
! Boomers
want
teamwork,
Xers
want
independence,
Millennials
want
more
responsibility
! Delega4on
can
be
the
answer
to
everyone’s
needs
! Prepare
Xers
for
the
next
role,
challenge
Millennials,
give
Boomers
some
much
needed
balance
! Requires
accountability
and
feedback
P.S.
Forget
how
long
it
took
you
to
reach
the
point
where
things
were
delegated
to
you…those
days
are
gone!!

29. The
Gi]
of
Feedback
Keys
to
providing
effecCve
feedback:
•
Immediate
feedback
–
to
recognize
good
performance,
and
address
performance
issues
as
they
arise
•
PosiCve
and
construcCve
feedback
–
direct,
non-­‐judgmental,
ethical
and
based
on
values
governing
the
policy
•
Specific
feedback
–
the
feedback
should
pinpoint
targeted
strengths
and
areas
for
improvement
•
Give
feedback
OFTEN
–
keeps
employee
on
course,
prevents
work
from
going
“off
track”
for
long
periods
of
4me,
and
reduces
the
s4gma
of
giving
feedback

30. Keys
to
Providing
EffecCve
Feedback:
•
Spend
Cme
with
your
employees
to
discuss
the
work
and
see
how
they
are
doing
•
Explain
how
the
employee’s
work
contributes
to
the
big
picture
•
Delegate
based
on
employee
workload
and
capabiliCes
•
Show
your
commitment
to
their
objec4ves
by
providing
needed
support
and
direc4on

31. STAR
Model
for
Giving
Feedback
• S
SituaCon
–
describe
the
SITUATION
where
the
behaviour
occurred
• T
Task
–
describe
the
TASK
the
employee
performed
• A
AcCon
–
describe
the
ACTION
the
employee
chose
in
this
situa4on
• R
Result
–
describe
the
outcome
that
occurred
as
a
RESULT
of
the
ac4on
If
it
is
construc/ve
feedback
add
an
addi/onal
AR:
• A
AlternaCve
AcCon
-­‐
suggest
an
ALTERNATIVE
ACTION
the
employee
could
have
chosen
in
this
situa4on
• R
AlternaCve
Result
-­‐
describe
the
likely
outcome
that
would
have
occurred
as
an
ALETERNATE
RESULT
of
the
alternate
ac4on

32. DON’T
FORGET
TO
GIVE
POSITIVE
FEEDBACK

33. What’s
Next?
• Digital
Na4ves
(born
1996
or
aqer)
enter
the
scene
star4ng
in
2014:
– More
‘knowledgeable’
about
technology
than
instructors
have
been
– Technology
is
how
they
connect
with
their
friends,
perform
research,
and
feel
at
home
– When
combined,
Millennials
&
Digital
Na4ves
out
number
Baby
Boomers
– Mul4-­‐tasking
isn’t
a
concept
–
it
is
the
only
way!

34. Thank
You!
Ques4ons?

35. Sources
and
references
• Harvard
Business
School
"Working
Knowledge“
newsleVer,
April
2006:
"Can
you
manage
different
generaCons?
hVp://www.hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/5297.html
• The
Economist
“Winning
the
genera4on
game”
September
2013
hVp://www.economist.com/
• McGee
Jr.,
Paul
E.
“A
New
Genera4on
at
Work:
Y
and
How
to
Manage
It.”
The
Washington
Business
Journal.
May
10,
2004.
hVp://www.washingtonbizjornals.com/
• Valueop4ons.com”
Understanding
and
managing
different
genera4ons”
hVp://www.valueop4ons.com/