Managing the Generation Mix

I wanted to report on the excellent workshop, "Managing the Generation Mix" that several staff members went to on Wednesday. The speaker, Bruce Tulgan, kept us entertained with his workplace skits, but provided a lot of great information as well. His goal was to get us to see thru a different generational lense. He indicated that it is becoming more difficult to manage people because we are pushed to produce "more, better, faster". In addition there are now four generations in the workplace. More importantly, managers have to deal with the less tangible issues of shifting norms and values of the various generations in the workplace.

Mr. Tulgan urged managers to position employees so that they can fulfill their own motivations, which vary with each generation. Babyboomers make up 42.5% of the workforce now. But, Generation X and the even younger Generation Y make up 20% and 22% respectively. Due to globalization, advancements in technology, and the downsizing many Gen X'er's have a free-agent mentality. Because they feel uncertain about the world and the institutions in it, they are more aggressive about getting their needs met. They want to keep their options open. Gen Y, on the other hand, have high expectations about the workplace. This is a group that is eager to prove themselves and want to identify and solve problems. Gen Y'ers think like a customer and they have more awareness about the world. This group was raised by parents and teachers who emphasized self-esteem. They need more immediate gratification; today, tomorrow, next week. Gen Y'ers have a "just in time" thinking and learning process, which allows them to learn quickly and deal with tidal waves of information.

Well, that's just part of Tulgan's research. He had some concrete suggestion on how to manage the generations in the workplace. If any one wants to read more about it, let me know.