Age has no boundaries – part two
Posted by admin in 3 Generations : 1 Workplace, Genera(lisa)tion Y, tags: Age Discrimination, CIPD, competitive advantage, engagement, Gen X, Gen Y, Generation Y, generational behaviour, generational interaction, Penna, retention, war for talent
The UK’s CIPD, in association with Penna, recently produced a comprehensive report based on a survey of over 5,500 individuals across 6 European countries and focus groups within more than 30 major UK employers. Their findings confirmed that there are more similarities than differences between the generations and that it is the preconceptions between generations about each other that is more the problem.
The study shows that the differentiating factors setting Gen Y apart is the influence that the reward deal has, the close connection between socialising and work, their advocacy of the employer brand (nothing new there) and perhaps suprisingly a more common interest in staying with one employer for five years than many would expect. And yet many Gen X, although perhaps seemingly more career driven, will often job-hop to make progress.
The study appears to support the messages of articles we referred to in Part One, that generationalisations of Gen X and Y are becoming blurred, we are seeing Gen Y behaviours in our Gen X’ers, etc.
The report focuses on the need to foster creativity and innovation from generational interaction and that the risk of not managing generational diversity can lead to disengagement or even conflict. One common theme to all generations was the importance of respect and dignity in the workplace. Harnessing capabilities across generations within organisations has never been more important; use of new media, social networking, entrepreneurism, customer service ethos and strong change management skills based on experience and wisdom, are sure surivival skills in the coming year.
Age Discrimination regulations introduced into the UK in 2006 have yet to be fully embraced in the right way, with many organisations taking a safe approach of ensuring that all generations are treated in exactly the same way. However, this does not run entirely true to the aims of the regulations. Many would be concerned about having generationally specific offerings. But more often than not employers are not being flexible enough to meet the range of needs of their staff.
A key message from the CIPD’s national conference was that the war for talent will continue to be an issue despite news of redundancies and that employers will need to rethink about recruitment, engagement and retention strategies. Similarly other studies revealed that 70% of HR directors in a recent UK survey believe that strategic planning and talent management have continued to be of major interest.
One thing is for sure there are certain differences in mindsets, lifestyles, life stages and generational behaviour. And for these, employers need to get on with getting to grips with this or they will come out of the other side of the recession having lost competitive advantage.
More themes from this report and other inputs will be explored in the coming weeks.
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I believe this idea that Gen Yers have less loyalty than previous generations has been greatly overstated. Millennials are very open and honest about their expectations with an employer, and if a company cannot meet those expectations I do not believe we should fault an employee for leaving. I am thankful that we live in a world where we do not have to spend countless years at a job we do not like, and instead can move to opportunities where we can maximize our talent. In fact a study was just recently published from the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology Conference showing that Millennials are no less loyal or engaged than their older generation counterparts.
I do very much agree though that young professionals value the social aspect of their careers much more than older workers. In fact, research has recently found there to be a gender difference among Gen Yers regarding socializing and turnover.