Generations Blog

Managers are increasingly faced with those significantly older and younger at the same time. Here’s the situation for one manager and how I suggested she resolve it:

I manage an underwriting department for an insurance carrier. These days, everybody is being asked to do more with less. As people leave for other jobs or retirement, they are not being replaced. Those I supervise are responding to the increased pressure in different ways. The people who have been around for a long time simply grumble and seem to find ways to absorb it. But my younger workers let me know in no uncertain terms that they are not prepared to work longer hours to cover the slack. The veteran workers hear this and grumble even more thinking that they’re going to end up with the overload. The young underwriters find a way to fit their work in from 8 to five, but they also commit more errors. On top of this, I am losing about one of these young people a quarter, which adds to the pressure. What do I do?

You have a couple of tough decisions to make: 1) How to argue for restored staffing levels. 2) How to find a way to foster cross-generational understanding about how the work will get done. As much as it means challenging those further up the food chain, the first effort is probably easier to accomplish.

Begin by gathering data. How many people have you lost in the past 24 months? (Calculate the turnover cost of each position and multiply.) How much has the workload increased? (Quantify this with as many numbers as you can.) Quantify the number of mistakes made and calculate the potential liability from these mistakes. You get the idea. Then build a case, based on numbers, that you can bring to your boss. The more specific numbers, the better. Chances are, he or she will appreciate the effort and begin to plot with you on how your department’s situation can be brought to the attention of those who can restore the positions and funding. (If your boss does not support you, begin looking for another job. It’s probably not going to get any better.)

The cross-generational relations are more difficult to resolve. The older underwriters probably feel a certain obligation to “buckle down” and keep their “noses to the grindstone.” They may also feel they have more to lose by agitating about the situation.

The younger underwriters are wired differently for the most part. The job happens to be where they work, not where they live. Additionally they tend to view a job more as a contract. In their view, the company has been breeching this contract by allowing the staff to dwindle and workloads to increase. “But,” they think, “this is not my issue.” Arguably, they may not see any future in the organization anyway, if this is how it manages resources.

For the present, you can take several steps:

1) Begin by acknowledging the situation. That does not mean that you descend into “ain’t it awful” in front of the troops. But letting them know that you are aware of the situation should buy you time to attempt some remedies. Resist the temptation to do this at every staff meeting, however. Once it’s out in the open, it does not need to be beaten to death. That will depress and frustrate everyone.   

2) Remind everyone that the burden is on everyone to find a way to make it all work, at least in the short-run. Even if some positions are restored, there is little chance that staffing will be returned to previous levels.

3) Brainstorm with everyone on steps that can be taken to ease the burden for everyone. Encourage people to contribute ideas no matter how silly or small they might appear at first glance. You might ask a small cross generational committee to sift through them and make recommendations. Not only does this ease your workload, the ideas are being vetted by those who would have to live with them. Reward and reinforce workable ideas. This not about cash, however. This is more about recognition, more flexibility in hours, or maybe a small gift tailored for the person who had the idea.

Remember that all of this takes time. Any effort of this nature is an evolution, especially if it is to succeed in the long run.

Research firm Weber Shandwick reports that 54% of employees polled say the senior management within their organization has not said anything about the financial crisis and what it might mean for their firm. Seventy percent say they would welcome that kind of information.

In a time of upheaval, who wouldn’t want to know what the leadership believes about the future? While those in older generations have tended to trust those at the top implicitly, those under 30 harbor no such assumptions. This is a group that expects clear communication. They are used to instant access. If you don’t tell them, they’ll research it on their own. They’ll put their thumbs to the Blackberry and poll their friends and colleagues. Reality has a funny way of leaking out of the executive suite, regardless of what is done to lock it up.

Now in some cases, it simply hasn’t occured to those in charge that the front line might appreciate some reassurance. In others, the leader is reluctant to reveal the information. In either of these cases, one has to wonder about the leader’s motives and/or ability to manage others. The younger generations won’t wait to find out.

I had a delightful conversation with a class of young college leaders this past Saturday. The topics ranged from how to deal with older supervisors to my vision for the nature of jobs in the future. All in all, it was a good learning experience for everyone, including me. Anyone managing others should periodically take the time to visit with those in the emerging generations.

At one point, one of the young men asked, “Are there ways to short-cut the time it takes to get ahead within an organization?” Continue reading “Millennials and the Short-cut”

This past evening, my 14-year-old daughter ate an ice cream pop and left the stick and wrapper on the kitchen counter. I called upstairs and said “Erin, please put your ice cream stick in the trash.” After a bit of a huff, I heard her come back down into the kitchen. A short time later, I returned to the kitchen and discovered that, yes, she had put the ice cream stick in the trash but, no, she had not put the ice cream wrapper the stick was resting on in the trash as well. When I asked her to return the kitchen again, she once again returned with a huff and threw the wrapper away.

I asked, “Why didn’t you throw the wrapper out with the stick?” Continue reading “Stick and Wrapper: The Millennial Generation’s Interpretation of Instructions”

This morning, someone once again asked me about the issue of fairness that Millennial employees seem to have with the workplace. “Why,” this person asked, “do they think that everyone has to be treated exactly the same way? Any time I give someone a bonus, extra training or some other opportunity, I am told that I am being unfair to everyone else. What has happened to merit?”

A good deal of this has to do with a transformation of the word “fairness.” Where fairness in the work environment has Continue reading “Fairness and the Millennial Generation”

I stopped by the local McDonald’s yesterday for a snack. The voice emanating from the drive-through speaker was that of a delightful young lady. She sounded genuinely interested in how I was. Then she pointed out that I’d save a few cents if I purchased the 42 oz. Diet Coke that was on special.

When I got the the first window, she greeted me once again and took my money. We exhanged pleasantries while I sat in line waiting to reach the second window for my food. At the same time, she continued to take orders and text her friends, all with a bit of music in the background. The Boomer in me wanted to say, “you should concentrate on what you’re doing.”  But then I asked myself, “Is she accomplishing the duties assigned?” I hear from lots of managers about young workers who seem to have such a desire to keep stimulated while they work. To many of these managers, the work itself should be stimulation enough. But shouldn’t we let the employee decide that, as long as the work assigned is performed within expectations?

There are also those managers who complain about the young person who performs the task assigned and then stops without looking around for something else to do. With so many possible distractions/stimulations at young people’s fingertips, they don’t feel a need to look around for something to do. All it takes is flipping open your hand-held device. It is incumbent on managers, now more than ever, to be assertive with assigning tasks. Complaining that many young workers possess no self-initiative may be accurate. But this doesn’t get the job done. I’m finding that those effectively managing young people work harder to stay on top of what everyone is doing. Is this more time consuming? Yes, at first. But over time, the good performers adapt to those expectations and begin to self-initiate . 

One of the coffee shops in which I hide out to get my creative work done is packed some mornings with students from a nearby high school. In fact, I’m writing this as they sit at the surrounding tables. In many ways, they are like the friends of my youth — full of bravado, gossiping about the teachers, and discussing the latest TV, music and movies. One of the big difference is that while they carouse with the peers next to them, they are also connecting with others from 500 feet to 500 miles miles away. Every single on of these individuals carries a cell phone. They might connect with Mom or Dad five or six times a day. They might text a cousin in Mexico. They might call a friend inside the school to check on whether some teacher is really giving a quiz today. Continue reading “Coping with the Ultra-Connectedness Today’s Emerging Generation”

The more time I spend with front-line managers, the more I am convinced that close supervision is the best way to begin the work relationship with those under 25. Now every time I say this to an audience, I get push back from two groups: 1) The managers in the room who say, “Who’s got the time?” 2) The Millennials in the room who accuse me of perpetuating a myth that they’re all dumb, lazy, good-for nuthin’s. But that’s not my point. So let’s get practical here:

 To the Millennials:   No, I am not perpetuating a myth. I am counseling managers and supervisors on the most effective means for getting the productivity they need out of those under 25. Yes, I certainly agree there are many in this age Continue reading “Close Supervision — The Key to Establishing the Millennial Relationship”

What? You know — an anomaly — a one-time occurance — like that time somebody spilled a cup of coffee on a big report and in response you banned all food and drink in the office forever. One of the topics that comes up consistently in the conversations I have with young workers is the LACK of consistency among the supervisors they work for. I have to wonder what impact this has on the turnover of Millennials.

I’ll be the first one to say that managers are having an increasingly difficult time remaining consistent when there is so much pressure to do more with less. This, coupled with all those young people who think they know their workplace rights, Continue reading “Are You Managing by Anomaly?”

As I mentioned last time, I frequent a Panera restaurant close to my office. This store is also within spitting distance of a large high school. For some students, Panera is becoming an alternate cafeteria.  This leaves Mark, the manager, with a dilemma. On one hand, he wants the students’ business. On the other, he doesn’t want them to take over the store and dissuade other customers from coming in for their coffee and pasties. Continue reading “Managing Millennial Customers”