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Building an Effective Multigenerational Workplace

By Lizz McCrindle

NSGA Marketing and Communications Coordinator

At this year’s Management Conference & Team Dealer Summit, Jeff Butler shared his expertise and provided practicable and actionable takeaways during his session on Building an Effective Multigenerational Workplace. Most business owners will be faced with managing a multigenerational workplace at some point and according to Butler, the key to understanding how to get the most out of each team member is to understand the differences between what each generation expects. The catch is experience determines future success. Younger team members simply do not have the level of experience older team members may have, or more simply, “they don’t know what they don’t know.” Butler refers to this as “crossing the generational bridge” and one of the main ways he recommends doing that, is by using alignment, or clearly setting the expectations of the environment. Every relationship has expectations and it is easier for employees to succeed when they clearly understand what is expected from them. Some examples of setting expectations in the workplace include work/life balance, work ethic, culture and communication protocol. Different generations have different expectations as older employees may expect more pay for their work experience and some employees may act as if the rules don’t apply to them or they may show up to meetings late. Butler emphasized the importance of setting the line as the boss so employees know what will and will not be expected of them and that there will not be surprises. Most workplaces will inevitably have employees who do not meet expectations. Instead of getting angry and frustrated with the employee, Butler recommends using a checklist protocol to help the struggling employee stay on task while at the same time providing the employer with feedback and the ability to monitor the quality of work performance. When establishing a culture at your business, Butler recommends first setting expectations, followed by defining the values of the workplace and putting it all together to create the culture. Values and beliefs are the biggest differences between the generations, according to Butler. He suggests managing these differences by making sure all team members receive equal status. This is often one of the most difficult things to manage, but it is achievable by facilitating intergroup cooperation, outlining common goals and by maintaining institutional support for your team. Bridging the recruiting gap can be a daunting task, especially when there is a shortage of workers. Butler recommends using your current employees as referral engines. Your current employees know the “why” for joining your business. Allow them to sell someone on joining your team by sharing their “why.” Butler also suggested asking prospective employees submit a short 30-second video explaining why they are interested in joining your team. This helps filter out candidates who may not really be interested in working for your business and are just looking for any job.

>> Jeff Butler Butler concluded by talking about the importance of consistently providing feedback to your employees. He recommends providing feedback early on and not allowing it to fester and become a big problem by using the following strategy: positive feedback – negative feedback – positive feedback. Butler calls this a “feedback sandwich,” because the negative feedback is sandwiched between two positive elements, and he recommends providing people with positive feedback in real time. Butler also recommends letting employees know when they have made a mistake but doing it in such a way to gain understanding into the process the employee went through and the reasoning behind what occurred. Then the employer can address the problem and see if there are shortcomings or ways to improve the environment or process to avoid the problem in the future.