Bridging the Gap in Multigenerational Communication

Posted by Peter Barron Stark |

Key Point :

This articles deals with how to deal with multi generations of employees in a work place.

Full Article:

Our accountant pointed out an interesting bit of data related to our recent company phone bill:
the youngest team member spent approximately 22 minutes on calls, and texted 1285 times,
while the oldest team member spent approximately 366 minutes on phone calls, and texted only
18 times. Age wise, the employees in the middle had about a 50/50 mix of phone calls and text
messages. We concluded that our phone bill proved that were probably a great example of the
changes going on in how we communicate today. Whats exciting is that, although older
generations think the younger generations are destroying the written English language, this
argument has been heard for hundreds of years. Each new generation challenges the previous
generation with significant changes to the language . . . IMHO.

A quick review of current articles on the topic of cross-generational communication is full of

detail about the differences between how we communicate in todays multigenerational office.
Youve heard this before, but succinctly:
Boomers: Born between 1946 and 1964: This generation at work is seen as hard working,
committed, goal oriented, loyal and motivated by rank/title. They have paid their dues to
achieve their status and expect others to do the same. They are a generation of communicators
and relationship builders. They are also sticklers for using written and spoken English
grammar correctly . . . as defined by their English teachers.
Generation X: Born between 1965 and 1980: This generation was the first to be raised in
homes where both parents worked, or were raised by a single parent. They had tremendous
autonomy as children, and see themselves as equals to parents, teachers and bosses. As a
generation, they are independent, resilient and adaptable. They were the first generation to see
organizations default on their loyalty to employees, witnessing the mass layoffs and
reorganizations during the 80s. As such, they are committed to their work, wherever it may be,
but see less benefit in a long-term commitment to a company. As communicators, they like to
work autonomously. Conference calls, Email, video, and Web conferencing are preferred over
face-to-face meetings.
 Millennials or Generation Y: Born between 1981 and 1994: This generation is the most
educated and culturally diverse group in the workforce today. They are motivated by
meaningful work and want to feel inclusive within their teams and organizations. Recognition
is high on their list of motivators. They are driven by causes and community service. For them,
work/life balance is critical and often the career determinant. They are the most tech savvy in
the workplace, seeing the need to accomplish the work, but not necessarily on-site. The recent
determination by Marissa Mayer to require Yahoo employees to complete their work on-site is
a very public example of the collision between Millennials communication/working styles and
preferences and a more traditional view of the workplace . . . youve got to be here to be
considered working.
Briefly, thats what the research says about the generations in the workplace today . . . along with
volumes of advice about how leaders should be communicating differently with each employee,
based on their generational classification. While in general, the advice is good, its certainly not a
one-size fits all solution. Leaders would be shortchanging their ability to build solid relationships
with employees by trying to communicate with them based on their generational preferences. So
Im going to stick with our long-standing premise: Great leaders treat people the way they want
to be treated. Classifying people by their generational distinctions and communicating with them
differently, based on their perceived communication likes/dislikes discounts the employee and
shortchanges the leaders ability to build strong, effective working relationships with team
members.
What follows are some ideas on how to enhance communication throughout todays workplace,
regardless of generation.
1. Know your employees: Effective leadership is all about building relationships. You cant
build relationships without knowing your team members. Even if youre always pressed for
time, making time for conversations with your employees is critical. Saying that you have an
open door policy is one thing, but truly welcoming team members into your office with their
ideas, complaints, suggestions, and actively listening to them is the real test of leadership.
Encouraging employee input, taking action based on their input and recognizing contributions
all indirectly convey that you intend to be a good communicator.
2. Keep your employees informed: It doesnt matter which generation youre in, we all want
to be in the know. No one likes surprises. Take time to keep your employees informed about
whats happening within your team and the organization. The more informed people feel, the
more included they feel and the better they feel about their association with your team or
organization. When you dont have the answer or are unsure of the reason for a particular
decision, be honest with your employees and do whatever you can to get more information to
them as soon as possible. Because there has been so much discussion about how the
generations like to receive communication, if you mix up the way you communicate you
should meet everyones communication needs. Sometimes face-to-face delivery will be best.
Other times, email will work just fine. A great strategy is to keep your office door open for
anyone who has questions.
3. Encourage employees to share information: Great leaders know that everyone should be
involved in improving communication. If your employees rely solely on you to keep them
informed, youll quickly become overwhelmed and the employees wont get all that they need
to do a quality job. Let your staff know that you expect them to share information on a regular
basis. Actively involve others in giving updates and sharing other relevant information. When
employees do a good job of sharing important information, make sure you recognize them.
4. Use a variety of tools to disseminate information: Face-to-face communication is so
important, but that might not always be an option. In this case, be creative. Understand that
different team members will have different preferences for receiving information. To the best
of your ability, try to meet their needs. The list of communication options is endless but here
are a few to start with:
Email
Text
Go to Meeting format
Video or teleconferencing
Departmental bulletin board
Organizational or departmental newsletter
Suggestion box
Special information-sharing meetings
5. Be Responsive: Not responding to emails squashes communication and reduces morale.
The sender doesnt know you havent received it, or if you just havent taken action yet.
Whatever the reason for the non-response, the employee interprets your non-response
negatively. A general rule of thumb is to get back to people within a maximum of 24 hours. A
better rule of thumb for some would be to get back within four hours. (Im finding today that
people have a much shorter expectation for a return to their message regardless of their
generation.) When someone sends you an email or leaves a phone message, get back as soon
as you can to let that person know what you are doing about the concern. Even if you cannot
respond with a complete answer or solution right away, you can let them know that you are
working on it and that you will get back ASAP. Then, do what you said you would do. No
excuses.
6. Mentor: This may be a strange recommendation to improve communication, but
mentoring clearly conveys that you care about the team member. The world of work is ever
evolving, and sometimes team members dont have an understanding of the organizational
politics and nuances. Taking time to mentor the employee about the proper way to address
senior leaders, project confidence in a meeting, sell their ideas, dress appropriately when
working with a client or company email etiquette will help them be seen more positively and
better reach their full potential. On the same topic, reverse mentoring can also improve
communication with tech savvy Millennials and Gen Xers helping Boomers with their smart
phones and other technologies. Mentoring works both ways, builds workplace relationships
and improves communication.
Dont we live in interesting times? Each generation in the workplace brings a unique set of
talents and challenges. However, at the end of the day, we all have to figure out how to
communicate with one another in a way that brings out the best in each of us. Having a them
against us mentality wont help anyone achieve their professional objectives. Thinking that the
older generation is going to teach the younger communication how to communicate alienates
people and discourages open-communication. Instead, having an understanding about
generational communication preferences and communicating with people the way they want to
be communicated with, will help everyone improve overall efficiency and productivity. And*,
better yet, create a great place to work . . . a place where everyone feels respected, valued,
recognized and included.
*I know its not proper English to start a sentence with And, but these times are changing. LOL.

Article Link:

https://www.peterstark.com/multigenerational-communication/#