An Ageless Challenge

PUBLISHED APRIL 2024

We’ve seen this play before: In 2009, workforce development executives and leadership training gurus found fertile ground with corporate clients and HR managers trying to make sense of a new generation entering the workforce: The Millennials. 

Their entry into the job market would not be inconsequential: Estimated at 72.25 million in number, their generation supplanted Baby Boomers as the largest in the nation’s history. Born roughly between 1984-2001 (social scientists seem unable to agree on a time frame), this cohort showed up for work with a mindset unlike employers had ever encountered.

For one, they were technology natives, raised on keyboards and video screens, even if those tools might be considered rudimentary in the age of the smartphone. They also viewed work differently, with a hunger for work-life balance that didn’t mark previous generations in which single-employer careers were a norm. They wanted not only a collaborative environment but a seat at the table with discussions long deemed the province of management, even senior leadership.

They also craved continuous learning and training, and if any one of those elements wasn’t sufficiently present, they would be out the door. Loyalty wasn’t programmed in anywhere near the levels companies had come to expect.

At that same time, roughly around 2009-2010, the last vestiges of the Silent Generation were exiting the scene. Having grown up during the late stages of the Great Depression and too young to serve in World War II, their worldview was one shaped by hardship and, often, deprivation. These were people glad to have jobs, be able to support a family, and buy a house. They personified the American Dream.

As they left, the first of the Baby Boomers began to hit retirement age, a trend that was expected to play out through the end of the current decade, roughly 2030. That expectation hasn’t quite been realized: Many refuse to head into retirement. Whether it’s a personal choice to keep working for the satisfaction of it or financial conditions that require them to work past Social Security eligibility, roughly 20 percent of Boomers were still employed or working by the end of 2023, according to the Pew Research Center.

This year, the youngest of the Boomers hit 60 years old, meaning the last of them reaches full retirement age in 2031.

With their looming exodus, businesses are faced with unique challenges—and opportunities that won’t present themselves for another generation. If a company hasn’t already begun to address issues of knowledge transfer, now’s the time, say professionals in organizational development. It’s vital that the aggregated knowledge of that generation be retained and applied quickly to meet strategic, tactical and operational goals.

But how?

Your process, experts say, should start with some market segmentation: Not every greybeard on your team holds the same store of know-how. Identify the key players, prioritize them by the estimated value they can help you retain, and get your tools in place to make it happen: Off–the-shelf software, flow charts you can create in-house, digital and physical libraries, etc. 

For larger companies with the HR budget, much of that heavy lifting is done. At the mid-size and small-business levels, day-to-day demands to keep a business going routinely prevent leaders from taking the time to safeguard their corporate futures.

Then you need to measure and evaluate the material itself: Operations manuals from the old Compaq desktops probably aren’t of much value, but what do you really know about the data contained in the files on those hard drives? You might even consider producing some how-to videos featuring your key leadership and operations staff, something that can live on long after they’re gone. 

Once you’ve established the value proposition of your materials or the creation of new content, you need to address accessibility to ensure that it’s getting into the hands of the right younger workers. 

So there: You’ve assessed the book-ends of your workforce. There’s still the matter of managing Gen X employees, Millennials and Zoomers to produce a cohesive team.

Gen X, already asserting its place at the highest levels of many organizations, grew up labeled as The Latchkey Generation, with higher numbers of children hailing from homes where both parents worked. 

As a result, they tend to demonstrate a stronger brand of independence. In learning how to look out for No. 1 as kids, they have a reputation for doing the same at work, which means a heightened sensitivity to what they see as matters of fairness—that can involve compensation, advancement opportunities, training, and development. But they want to chart their own course.

That’s where potential conflicts emerge with younger generations. Millennials broke the mold by embracing a more collaborative mindset, but Zoomers have taken that to another level altogether. 

Like Millennials, Zoomers are in-fused with a desire to wring something more meaningful from their work than just a paycheck. Loyalty? It’s a two-way street, so if you’re not showing commitment with your workplace design—not just salary and benefits, but philanthropic mission and work-life balance—they could be gone soon.

And they’ll likely be gone in any case. By next year, Gen Z is projected to account for one-third of the workforce, but demographers say this cohort will switch careers—not jobs, but careers—three times during their working years.

For employers, it’s important to note that these are people who grew up during the financial crisis of 2008, the ensuing Great Recession and now are being whiplashed by inflation and enormous increase in housing costs. Only 41 percent, according to a McKinsey study, expect to be able to afford a home during their lifetimes.

Think about what that implies for employee retention: Renting ties you to a physical place on a yearly lease-renewal basis. Homeownership, by contrast, can be an anchor that keeps talent not just in your office but in your community. 

And if you’ve read about how Zoomers view the issue of workplace inclusivity but haven’t figured out why they see things differently, keep this in mind: This is the most ethnically and racially diverse generation the nation has ever seen. On one level, we might congratulate ourselves on how far we’ve come as a nation to reach that point, but the flip side for Gen Z is a higher value placed on being part of a diverse workforce. 

One in four of them is Hispanic, a major shift over the past generation. The proportions of black workers (14 percent), Asian (6 percent), and multiracial workers (5 percent) are closer to recent census norms, but the collective interest in DEI programming—and provable outcomes that flow from it—are top of mind here. Surveys show that fully 86 percent of job seekers in that cohort say they would be part of an employee resource group committee or otherwise be part of their employer’s DEI programs.

Addressing all of the issues presented by this kind of intellectual, emotional, educational, and demographic diversity, HR coaches generally agree that it all comes back to communication. If your staff members know the specifics of compensation strategies, benefits design, workplace dynamics (remote/in-office/hybrid), paid time off, philanthropic matches, retirement planning, EAP and more, you’re ahead of the game. 

It’s vital, say experts in organizational development, that every employee knows where he or she fits into the operation, how they contribute to its success, and how that success translates into their own lives.

When employees don’t know any of that, don’t expect them to be part of your team for the long haul.