Recruiting, Retaining, and Leading a Multi-Generational Workforce by Marc Torrey
Recruiting, Retaining, Managing, and Empowering people within a team setting can be one of the most complicated challenges in business today.
One of the proponents of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) that fascinates me is the multi-Generational workforce. The age diversity of the current workforce is the widest it’s ever been in modern history. The age at which young professionals enter the workforce has stayed relatively the same, as the retirement age gets greater. This alone makes for a complex puzzle to be solved, but what’s more, is the stark differences in the multiple generations that make up these workforces across all industries.
Recruiting, Retaining, Managing, and Empowering people within a team setting can be one of, if not the most complicated challenges in business today. As executive search professionals, we face this challenge on a consistent basis. It’s a major reason why the first step after agreeing to partner is to take the time to get to know your organization, its culture, your team, and its people on an intimate level.
What defines a generation? One of the simpler explanations of a generation is: “a group of individuals born and living contemporaneously” but not all generations appear to be created equally.
There is no set mathematical formula that defines a generation. The predominant generations making up today’s US workforces are the Silent Generation 1928-1945 (17 years), Baby Boomers are said to be 1946-1964 (18 years), Generation X 1965-1980 (15 years), Millennials 1981-1996 (15 years), Generation Z 1997 -2012 (15 years).
“Generations” appear to be less defined by math and more by the human experience. More specifically what was going on in their environments (home, school, media, technology, culture, world) during each generation’s formative years.
The divide among the generation's approach to life and work has the potential to be divisive but may also hold the key to success through collaboration.
The 2022 Harvard Business Review Big Idea Series on Getting the Best Out of the Five-Generation Workforce offers great insight into this topic.
In the article Harnessing the Power of Age Diversity - the authors offer a four-part framework for overcoming age bias through, “Identifying assumptions, adjusting your lens, taking advantage of differences, and embracing mutual learning.” It also states that while companies have recently renewed and reviewed their diversity efforts, only 8% of organizations include generational issues as part of their DEI strategy.
I suspect through my many conversations with both candidates and employers over the years in my work helping build successful teams, that this is a core reason leading to trends such as workplace burnout, the great resignation, and a driving force behind the attractiveness of solo entrepreneurship or people choosing to leave teams altogether.
The adage TEAM – “Together Everyone Achieves More” feels as relevant as ever. The success of your business and the overall health of your organization and its people is crucial and where we thrive.
Our team at Jackson Lucas has made more than 1300 historical placements and includes 25 executive search professionals with a combined average of 15 years of industry expertise.
We would love the opportunity to partner and learn more about your team, what’s working and what’s not, and help navigate the challenges that come with recruiting, retaining, and leading teams in today’s world.
Connect with Marc Torrey, Managing Director at 503.341.3912 or by emailing marct@jacksonlucas.com