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The Changing Face of the Workforce. Kay Dunkley, Director VA Tech Roanoke Center June 28, 2013-VACCE. Types of Diversity. Demographic (Age, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, Geographic etc.) Education Backgrounds and experience Socio-Economic Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Learning Styles
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The Changing Face of the Workforce Kay Dunkley, Director VA Tech Roanoke Center June 28, 2013-VACCE
Types of Diversity • Demographic (Age, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, Geographic etc.) • Education • Backgrounds and experience • Socio-Economic • Myers-Briggs Type Indicator • Learning Styles • Generations
The Generations Remember, dates are positioning points, not definers. Each point is on a continuum, flowing from one generation to the next.
Traditionalist • Civic pride, loyalty, respect • Gray flannel suit crowd • Institutional loyalty • White, male, seniority driven • Mixing of generations rare • Great team players and get along with others
Great Depression Dust Bowl President FDR New Deal Golden age of radio and Hollywood Pearl Harbor and World War II D-Day Death of FDR Hiroshima, Nagasaki Birth of Nuclear Age American grit/power win World War II G.I. Bill Traditionalist Character Shaping Events
Traditionalist Communication Tips • Show respect for their length of service and experience • Watch your language – no cursing allowed • Hard working and loyal • Do your homework; prepare to be tested • Less tech savvy than younger generations • Interact face to face • Say “thank you” and “please” • Don’t rush or pressure them • Serve and honor them
Table Top Discussion • What frustrates or irritates me about Traditionalists? • What do I admire, appreciate and/or could really stand to learn from Traditionalists?
Baby Boomer • Yuppies, Boomers • End of rural, agrarian lifestyle • Babies every 17 minutes for 20 years • Child rearing – hobby and pleasure • Confident, expectant generation • Redefining period between mid-life and old age
Marshall Plan Korean War Red Scare Sputnik Cold War Kennedys & Camelot Civil Rights Movement Vietnam Kent State Protests and marches JFK, RFK & King assassinations Feminist movement Woodstock Moon landing Character Shaping Events Baby Boomer
Communication Tips Baby Boomer • Honor their experience and ask for their advice • Loyal, work centric and cynical • Value the “people side” of business • Speak in an open, personal style • Offer to partner and get the job done; don’t wait to be asked • Support them; make them look good • Don’t call them “older.” Use descriptors like “mature”, “experienced” or “prime” • Center your conversation around forming business relationships
Table Top Discussion • What frustrates or irritates me about Baby Boomers? • What do I admire, appreciate and/or could really stand to learn from Baby Boomers?
Generation X • Latchkey kids • Anti-institution • Segmented – fragmented family • “Family values” redefined • Strong entrepreneurial spirit • 24/7 MTV
Character Shaping Events Generation X • Fall of Berlin wall • Worst recession and job market since Great Depression • Oil Embargo • Watergate • Nixon resignation • Three-Mile Island • John Lennon shot • Challenger explosion • Iranian hostage crisis • Reagan election and assassination attempt
Communication Tips Generation X • Talk with them, not to them • Listen to them. You might learn something! • Use hands-off supervision • When delegating, describe outcomes, but leave results to them • Don’t waste their time • Provide immediate answers and feedback • Value their need to keep learning in order for them to be marketable • Communicate their desire for a work-life balance
Table Top Discussion • What frustrates or irritates me about Gen Xers? • What do I admire, appreciate and/or could really stand to learn from Gen Xers?
Millennial • Internet generation • Most protected children • 1 in 3 not Caucasian • 2 in 4 live in single parent home • 4 in 5 have working mothers • 1/3 teens work 20+ hrs/wk. • WORK is a four-letter word
Character Shaping Events Millennial • Booming economy & job market • US invades Afghanistan & Iraq • 2008 World Recession • Barack Obama, Pres. • Internet • Globalization • Columbine killings • Oklahoma City Bombing • Clinton impeached by House, acquitted by Senate • September 11, 2001
Communication Tips Millennial • Answer their constant “why” questions or ignore them to your own peril • Give them your web address and be prepared for a website critique • Emphasize positives of doing right rather than negatives of doing wrong • Be positive, simple, rational, factual and friendly • Respond quickly - “instant gratification” • Mentor them and be realistic • Be prepared to offer flexible scheduling • Understand they listen to iPod, surf the Net, and text at the same time
Table Top Discussion • What frustrates or irritates me about Millennials? • What do I admire, appreciate and/or could really stand to learn from Millennials?
Things to ponder… • Which generations do I work with the most? The least? • How can my awareness of each generation help me plan more effective meetings? • What can I stop doing/keep doing/start doing to better interact with each of the generations?
Narrow the gap… • Be aware • Be enlightening • Be open • Be a good example • Be creative • Listen to ALL employees and co-workers to create a positive and productive work environment
References • Murray, R.M. & Rutledge, H. (2009). Generations: Bridging the gap with type. PowerPoint Presentation. Norman, OK: Performance Consulting Publishers. • Rutledge, H. (2011). Boomers, Blackberries, and Tweets. Training Workshop. Fairfax, VA: Otto Kroeger Associates.
References • Susan A. Murphy, PhD, Claire Raines Associates (2007). Leading a Multigenerational Workforce. AARP publication. • Melissa P. Reese and Tiffany A. Sharpley. Four Generations-One Workplace-Can We All Work Together? Inside Indiana Business News.
