Compensation Challenges in a Multi-Generational Workplace

A multi-generational office can be enriching for all team members, but it also presents unique challenges to effective management. Beyond matching compensation levels to experience and responsibilities, employers also now have to take into account the different compensation preferences of up to five generations. When it comes to attracting and retaining a talented team, employers need to consider compensation factors that go beyond the paycheck.

Younger generations are less likely to build a life-long career at one company, and so they value career development and personal growth.

When identifying incentives for millennial workers, employers can consider funding their LinkedIn accounts, relaxing the office dress code, or sponsoring happy hours where younger employees can connect with more experienced staff.

Recent research has shown that Generation X’s priorities lie in managing their work-life balance, and many will consider sacrificing higher pay for jobs that are less demanding of their time. For Generation X, paid time off is a significant incentive. Meanwhile, Baby Boomers are generally less interested in social incentives, and will be more focused on benefits and matches in retirement plans or pension programs. While experienced-based compensation is expected, additional incentives can help retain employees across all generations.

Contact Madison Approach Staffing today to discuss how our Direct Hire, Temp to Hire, Temp Staffing, Training, Payroll Transfers and Benefits Administration services can benefit your business.

 

Improving Multi-Generational Communication in the Workplace

Talking About My Generation

It is widely accepted that respectful and productive communication is the key to team-building and workplace success. Juggling different value sets and communication styles is difficult enough amongst a team of peers, but as people work longer and as millennials enter the workforce, the modern office must confront ingrained generational differences.

A multi-generational office might have a shared vision and goals, but when it comes down to communication styles, preferences across generations vary wildly. It’s no secret that millennials prefer texting and e-mails over phone conversations, which can frustrate older employees, and leave Generation Xers stuck in the middle. The secret to managing these differences lies in a mutual respect for each generation’s values and communication style. And of course, some compromise.

Voicemail? What’s that?

Most young employees arriving to the workplace come equipped with a certain set of common communication preferences. Millennials are less accustomed to making phone calls unless the situation is urgent; this can leave older employees frustrated, when a series of texts or e-mails accomplishes less than just one phone call. Younger employees should respect the workplace standards and culture, while also integrating their aptitude for new technologies. Millennials also are more likely to seek guidance, mentorship, and feedback, which can be perceived by older employees as a high-maintenance workplace ethos. However, this attitude is ideal for learning and training, as well as building strong inter-personal connections.

Middle Child Syndrome

Members of Generation X are comfortable with technology, and already acclimated to the workplace culture. However, these employees can be stuck in the middle between wildly distinct generational values. These experienced employees are preparing to move into higher positions, and will be tasked with bridging the generation gap between new employees and established professionals. The best approach to these new challenges is to open up various avenues of communication based on the individual needs of employees.

Baby Boomers

Boomers possess the experience and skill level that younger employees strive to attain, but can feel isolated by millennials’ communication styles and desire for feedback. Patience and openness will be fundamental to improving the tension between these two generations. Boomers can feel threatened by what they perceive as a radical shift in communication styles, and may not be open to embracing new technologies. However, Boomers possess invaluable industry-specific knowledge, and should be open to working with new employees to provide guidance.

In acknowledging these differences, we can break down communication barriers and form more effective teams that can work together to share skills and grow as individuals.

Contact Madison Approach to get started today!

Keep reading:

Compensation Challenges in a Multi-Generational Workplace

Workplace Motivation Across Generations

 

Tapping Your Employee Network’s Professional Network

Social media has proven to be the new wave of connections, however many companies discourage their employees from checking their Twitter and LinkedIn on company time. Reid Hoffman, Ben Casnocha and Chris Yeh, authors of ‘The Alliance,” propose a new kind of networked intelligence that might just have managers and business owners embracing social media as a new path to increasing company knowledge.

By choosing to incorporate technology and online interaction, instead of fighting it, both managers and employees can expand their network, make important connections for the company and increase their awareness of new trends and people in the know.

Reid Hoffman’s presentation, “Network Intelligence: Your Company Can’t Thrive Without It,” hits the major points of the book.

“Information and insight from people you know that can give you a competitive advantage.”

In short, Hoffman describes the alliance as a situation where no one loses. The company gains knowledge and the employee gains experience in networking and expands their professional network. The company has access to double; sometimes triple, the amount of information, as it would if individuals only limited themselves to resources in their own company. The example Hoffman uses of a company that practices the alliance method is HubSpot. HubSpot celebrates the number of Twittter followers or LinkedIn connections an employee has. In using this method, “Hubspot attracts two times the number of candidates for job opportunities it posts on LinkedIn.” HubSpot owner and Founder, Dharmesh Shah, says, “My one regret is that we didn’t put the Learning Meals policy in place from the start at HubSpot.” The Learning Meals program provides the opportunity for employees to dine with individuals in their field on company time and money, providing that employees bring back information and share the new knowledge with the rest of the company. Some of the most valuable information is shared via person-to-person contact. Google is informative, but it doesn’t hold all of the knowledge on a subject that an individual does.

“When it comes to knowledge in a highly networked era, who you know is often more valuable than what you‘ve read.”

Just because the information you’re looking for doesn’t show up on the first five pages of Google, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Interacting with knowledgeable professionals in your field usually leads to more answers, because it can be tailored directly to your needs. Networking is something that is highly valued in general and Hoffman points out that networking goes far beyond just the individual. Encouraging your employees to work for you, and themselves, is becoming a new way of thinking. It helps upper level management problem solve quickly and efficiently, allows employees to help grow the company and more importantly, themselves. Gaining network intelligence through an alliance is a necessity for companies to stay competitive. Also, it serves as a means of growth for employees, which could lead to individuals staying longer in a company in the future.

How do you tap into your employees’ resources to grow your business? We’d love to hear about how you empower your employees, utilize their connections and think up new ways to solve your business challenges.

Are You Suffering From Job Burnout?

Exhaustion, a decline of interest in work projects, and a serious decrease in job performance are all signs of workplace burnout – an increasingly common result of chronic stress. Burnout is most common in human services professions – doctors, police officers, teachers, customer service reps and social workers – as it often stems from a lack of emotional resources to handle the strain of your current work environment and interpersonal interactions. The exhaustion can be mental, emotional and physical.

3 Types Of Burnout

• Exhaustion
  • You feel completely overwhelmed with the amount of work you have, so you increase your work hours despite finding it harder to concentrate on your tasks. The lines between home life and work life completely blur as you answer emails at all hours and have trouble sleeping. You’ve started to complain more about the company and hierarchy, sure that they are limiting your potential.
• Cynicism
  • You’ve lost all motivation at work and feel that your work doesn’t matter. First you start to distance yourself from your work, then your coworkers, followed shortly by the need to just quit. You may also find you’ve become hostile towards coworkers and clients, even if you’re not sure why.
• Inefficacy
  • You’re worn out, despite seeing your goal, the obstacles in the way seem entirely too big for you to handle. Your work has begun to suffer, and you can’t see a way back to your productive self.

Causes

The factors that influence job burnout vary, take a look at this list and see if you see some familiar situations:

• You don’t have control over your project timelines and don’t have the resources you need to do your best work.
• Your passion lies elsewhere and your job doesn’t fit your interest or skills.
• Your job is either always too stressful and chaotic or monotonous with no challenges.
• You are not sure where you stand, the specifics of your job description, or what your manager expects of you. You are rarely comfortable at work.
• You don’t have the social support you need, either at work or at home. Maybe you feel like your workplace is more like a battlefield than a place to do your best work.
• You just can’t get a handle on that work-life balance.
• You say yes to every request and find yourself buried underneath other peoples’ projects.

Effects

Like depression or anxiety disorders, long-term stress can affect your health and mental wellbeing. Consequences can include headaches, insomnia, colds and exhaustion. In some cases burnout can also lead to substance abuse through self-medication with alcohol, cigarettes, sleeping pills, stimulants, mood elevators and more. You may also find yourself having emotional reactions that aren’t typical – snapping at coworkers, distancing yourself from loved ones and becoming defensive quickly during conflicts.

Recovering from Burnout

Once you have identified the cause of your burnout, it’s time decide what needs to change. You should start with the basics: eat well, sleep well, and stay healthy by taking breaks and getting exercise. These are the first steps that will help you climb your way out of the burnout hole.

Take time to learn some basic stress management techniques, either on your own time or as offered by your employer. In your personal life, try to surround yourself with positive people and allow them to bolster you up. Find someone outside of your job to talk to about your stress and work frustrations.

Learn to say no. Being liked will get you nowhere in your career if you are unable to perform your job. There are other ways to make yourself invaluable at work. Resist the urge to bring your work home with you. Schedule an appointment with your boss if you feel that deadlines are unrealistic, you don’t have enough resources, or if there is a project you would love to incorporate into your current workload.

Make sure you are in the right job. An honest assessment of your passion and your skills will help your figure out if it is time to move on from your current place of employment. That being said, manage your expectations – there is a difference between working your way up to your dream job and being on the wrong path entirely. Everyone has to start somewhere.