ACTIVITY

ACTIVITY

Your team and you will build a structure. You will compete against the opposing team to build the highest structure. Highest structure after 10 minutes win. (It must stand up

itself without assistance to win)

USING ONLY

One Catch…

NO ONE ON YOUR TEAM CAN TALK

MULTIGENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES

OVERVIEW

Generations in the Workforce

The 4 Generations

Matures/Traditionalists Baby Boomers

Generation X Millennials

Matures/Traditionalists

Born prior to 1946 survived World War II, the

Korean Conflict, and The Depression

familiar with hardship, value consistency, and are disciplined and respectful of the law

“hard work is the key to success,” “the common good above all,” “be thrifty and save your money for a rainy day there are hard times ahead,” “authority deserves respect,”

CORE VALUES OF TRADITIONALIST

Dedication/Sacrifice Hard work Conformity Law and order Respect for authority Patience Honor

CORE VALUES OF TRADITIONALISTS (continued)

Delayed reward Duty before pleasure Adherence to rules

Baby Boomers

Born between the years 1946-1964

phenomenal impact on the country through politics, economics, socially, and culturally through their extensive numbers

Divorce, consumer debt, the Cuban missile crisis, the assassination of the Kennedys and Martin Luther King, Jr., and Vietnam

optimistic, remained willing to go into debt, remain process-oriented, and strive for convenience

CORE VALUES OF BABY BOOMERS

Optimism Team orientation Personal gratification Health and wellness Personal growth Youth Work Involvement

Generation X

Born between the years 1965-1980 most profound impact of

technological developments Watergate, anti-war protests,

excessive inflation, massive layoffs, the Challenger tragedy, the energy crisis, Three Mile Island, AIDS, and the EXXON Valdez

skeptical and mistrustful of established organizations, institutions, and traditions.

The concept of job security is a myth to this generation and as a consequence, they work to live, putting very little stock in future stability.

CORE VALUES OF GENERATION XERS

Diversity Thinking globally Balance Technoliteracy Fun Informality Self-Reliance Pragmatism

Millennials

Born between the years 1981 and 1994 The Net Generation, Generation Y,

Generation Why?, Nexters, the Nintendo Generation, and Internet Generation

Scored 15 points higher (raw intelligence) than children 50 years ago

Have an ability to multi-task which can be exemplified by their ability to listen to music, instant message friends, while completing their work

Extensive media exposure available to them has educated them to challenge any tradition, institution, value, and person

CORE VALUES OF GENERATION MILLENNIALS

Optimism Civic duty Confidence Achievement Sociability Morality Street Smarts Diversity

ON-THE-JOB CHARACTERISTICS OF MILLENNIALS

ASSETS LIABILITIES

-Collective action -Need for super-

-Optimism vision & structure

-Tenacity -Inexperience,

-Heroic spirit particularly with

-Multitasking capabilities handling difficult

-Technological savvy people issues

What Shaped the Millennials

They are impatient but smart. They expect results immediately.

Instant rewards associated with utilizing technology as the World Wide Web

Prefer technology that is portable

Unpredicted accessibility to events that occur worldwide

Grown up in a world where cell phones, pagers, the Internet, and the Web have always existed and are common place

Common Messages Provided To Millennials

Be smart. Leave no one

behind Connect 24/7 Achieve now Serve your

community

Some Facts

97% own a computer 76% use instant

messaging 15% of IM users are

logged on 24 hours a day/7 days a week

34% use Web sites as their primary source for news

28% own a blog and 44% read blogs

49% download music using peer-to-peer file sharing

75% have a Facebook account

What Do They Look For?

Need for Ongoing Learning

High Expectations of Employers

Goals, Goals, Goals Desire for Immediate

Responsibility Balance and

Flexibility

What Supervisors Need To Know

Provide structure Provide leadership and

guidance Encourage the

Millennial’s self-assuredness, “can-do” attitude, and positive personal self-image

Take advantage of the Millennial’s comfort level with teams. Encourage them to join.

What Supervisors Need To Know

Listen to the Millennial employee

Millennial employees are up for a challenge and change

Millennial employees are multi-taskers on a scale you’ve never seen before

Take advantage of your Millennial employee’s computer, cell phone, and electronic literacy.

What Supervisors Need To Know

Capitalize on the Millennial’s affinity for networking

Provide a life-work balanced workplace

Provide a fun, employee-centered workplace.

6 Principles of Millennial Management

You be the leader Challenge them Let them work with

friends Have fun Respect me Be flexible

Mentorship

Set up a reverse Mentor Program– Procter and Gamble

Siemens: tutoring middle-aged executives

– Jack Welch: GE: Knowledge that younger employees bring to the table assist in reverse mentoring their employers as well

Get Ready for the Millennials

Be Prepared For:– High expectations– Possible

involvement of parents

Don’t…– Expect them to pay

their dues– Throw a wet blanket

on their enthusiasm

Do…– Encourage them– Mentor them– Learn from them

Where Employers Go Wrong…

Not meeting their high expectations

Discounting their ideas for lack of experience

Allowing negativity Feeling threatened

by their technical know how

When The Door Opens…

75 million Millennials are preparing to join or are have joined the workforce.

The average Baby Boomer is in their late forties/fifties. They will be moving on/retiring sooner rather than later.

Half the school teachers plan to retire within five years

60% of all Federal workers who are Baby Boomers state they are on the verge of retirement

• The need to fill the void left by the extreme number of Baby Boomers leaving the workforce.

Overview of Millennial Characteristics

• Confident • Hopeful • Goal- and

achievement-oriented • Civic Minded • Inclusive • Tech savvy • Multi-tasking • Staying connected