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Typewriters to Texting: Recruit, Retain and Communicate Across the Generation Gap
Sherri Elliott, 08-23-2009
For the first time in history, effectively managing employees means reaching out to four distinctly different generations: traditionalists, boomers, Gen Xers and millennials. Each group has different values, experiences and expectations, which means the rules of recruitment and retention haven’t just changed — they’ve been thrown out altogether.
The one-size-fits-all programs that worked 10 years ago are now irrelevant and obsolete. Talent managers who think they can attract Xers and millennials with fabulous retirement benefits plans that kick in after five years of tenure with the company need to think again. The Bureau of Labor reports that people in their 20s change jobs on average once every 18 months. This age group grew up in the Internet Era — they have a short attention span and are used to instant gratification, which means they’re unlikely to bite if the carrot that’s dangled in front of them is only good five years out. They’re more likely to be enticed by a company iPhone — which costs a lot less than an extensive retirement package.
It might be tempting to ignore the wants and needs of these apparently flaky job-hoppers altogether. But failure to tailor corporate recruiting and retention efforts to attract this demographic can spell disaster for any company. The Department of Labor reports that the number of employees aged 55 and older increased by 30 percent between the years of 2000 and 2005, while the number of 25- to 50-year-old employees increased by just 1 percent in the same time frame. As older workers retire, there will be a shortage of young people to fill their shoes. Companies that are not effectively recruiting younger generations will experience a labor shortage that could produce a catastrophic interruption in business continuity.
The good news is millennials and Xers are not as flaky as their managing boomers and traditionalists might think. High turnover among younger generations is often directly linked to management’s unwillingness to tailor corporate programs to meet younger worker’s needs. Millennials are fiercely loyal and have faith in institutions, as long as those institutions make them feel valued and appreciated. However, traditionalists, boomers, Xers and millennials feel valued in very different ways and require different incentives.
Forget About One-Size-Fits-All
So how can talent managers design a uniform program that will effectively recruit, motivate and retain all four generations? They can’t. Companies that expect to compete in today’s marketplace implement incentive programs that offer options. Deciding which options to offer is as simple as surveying employees to find out what they want. Many companies never think to ask.
HR professionals have seen a strong disconnect between what managers think their employees want and what the employees actually want. For example, managers think high wages and job security are at the top of the list. But today’s workforce would rather have appreciation and better communication — two things that require little money to implement but can produce dramatic boosts in job satisfaction and employee retention rates.
Since different generations feel appreciated in different ways, talent managers can ask employees what would make them feel appreciated. For millennials, it could be something as simple as making sure they’re working with the latest technology. For Xers, it may be the opportunity to work from home or have more flexible hours. Boomers and traditionalists may prefer a comprehensive retirement package to any of these other options. The key is to ask.
Another point to keep in mind is to communicate with each generation on their wavelength, because they have different communication styles and preferences. For example, Xers think attending in-person meetings is a waste of time, but boomers and traditionalists think a lack of face time is disrespectful. If you want to get millennials’ attention, just text them — they really don’t think a phone is made for talking.
Millennials think e-mail is antiquated, and most of them have never even seen an actual typewriter, which is what boomers grew up using.
It’s unrealistic to expect the typewriter generation and the texting generation to respond to the same corporate programs and the same communication methods. It’s critical to reach out to each generation individually to sustain business operations. Companies that figure out how to recruit, retain and motivate across generations early on will be able to maintain a good generational mix, which means they will also sustain a competitive advantage in the future.
Sherri Elliott is the president of Optimance Workforce Strategies, a Career Partners International firm, and the author of Ties to Tattoos: Turning Generational Differences Into a Competitive Advantage. She can be reached at editor@diversity-executive.com .
