Workplaces are typically a mix of generations and backgrounds, so how can you make everyone feel welcome? One book has a few good suggestions.
“Generations at Work: Managing the Clash of Boomers, Gen Xers, and Gen Yers in the Workplace,” by Ron Zemke, Claire Raines and Bob Filipczak, was recently released in a new edition a decade after its initial publication. The book draws on real-world examples to offer a number of tips that could make any business a more enjoyable place to work. You want to embrace diversity in the workplace as the valuable asset that it is, and these practices can help.
- Booz Allen Hamilton organizes in-house community groups by interests (poker, kickball, trivia games, etc.), not by age groups.
- KPMG requires that every manager have a protégé and every younger worker a mentor.
- Infosys picks nine high-performing younger workers every year to participate in senior management strategic meeting sessions.
- Brainstorc invites teenagers to visit and help solve problems.
- PepsiCo unites employees with their shared passion in global causes.
- The U.S. Army is encouraging drill sergeants to switch from “intimidation” training tactics to leadership by example.
- Lockheed Martin has embraced more interactive training rather than PowerPoint presentations to better engage younger workers.
- Deloitte hires career coaches who are paid to transfer knowledge from and to workers.
Adapted from How Companies are Addressing the Generation Gap by Dennis McCafferty at CIO Insight.