The workforce is in the middle of a slow revolution. Baby Boomers are retiring at an accelerated rate but still represent a potential resource. Meanwhile, Gen Z workers are pouring into the labor market.
As an employer, these dynamics give you both an opportunity and a challenge. You have a diverse generational talent pool to dive into. However, at the same time, you need to learn how to build teamwork among the different generations.
As Boomers are starting to phase into retirement, Gen X and Millenials will be holding a higher share of potential employees. In the coming years, the growing Gen Z population will hold a strong share of the available talent, too.
What does this mean for your company? Here are some steps you can take to encourage healthy collaboration between generations within your team:
Bolstering Teamwork Efforts Among Different Generations
Establish a Common Mission
A little healthy rivalry among your staff can lead to improved results. However, you want to keep this friendly and constructive. To do that, make sure everyone is concentrating on the overall objective: driving the business forward.
Get this done by staying assertive about establishing goals. This starts setting an overall vision for your organization. From there, set near-term objectives and team targets. This will channel ambition and competitiveness in the right direction.
Encourage Communication
Build an atmosphere of open discussion. This includes an ongoing dialogue between managers and their direct reports. At the same time, the process should embrace conversation between coworkers as well.
These conversations can get more difficult in virtual situations. In these scenarios, when your team doesn’t have constant daily contact with each other, generation gaps can become particularly wide. As such, you must take special care to encourage ongoing communication in these scenarios.
You can drive this process forward with social events. Where possible, gather your team together for opportunities to mingle on a more personal level. This will help your multi-generational team nurture connections.
Create a Mentorship Program
Encourage direct communication between members of different generations. Show them that there is value on both sides by having these connections. Younger workers can learn from the hard-won lessons that veterans impart. Meanwhile, more experienced staffers can benefit from a connection with the up-and-coming generation.
Achieve this goal with a formal mentorship program. At the same time, look for informal ways to pair teammates from different generations, letting them collaborate on projects and encouraging them to get to know each other.
Build a Welcoming, Understanding Culture
To some extent, fostering a multi-generational team should come naturally to you. With a strong culture, this type of collaboration becomes part of your DNA. Do what you can to cultivate a welcoming, understanding culture.
You can implement this culture through formal and informal means. For official policy, develop an engaged diversity and inclusion program that has provisions related to age. This will give you structure within your HR operations to deal with any generational issues that arise.
Meanwhile, on the more informal front, set an example for your staff and encourage managers to do the same. Look for ways to involve employees from multiple generations in any projects and encourage everyone’s participation in group settings.
Looking to Find the Right Talent for Your Organization?
You want to take advantage of all the talent you have available. A top recruiter, like Elby Professional Services, can help you. You’ll find the perfect candidates for your open positions.
Contact Elby today to learn more.
