Silents, Baby Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y…

Oh My!

Jeff Smith, PrincipalTitan Groupjeff@titanhr.com540-400-6875

Agenda

Define generations (Silent, Boomers, Gen Xers, Millennials) Understand the forces that shaped them

Discuss how best to leverage each generation

Share management tools/tips Learn how to best manage each talented group

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Why do we care about this topic?

Terminology

Silent Generation Born 1925-1945

Boomers Born 1946-1964; 80 million

Gen X Born 1965-1981; 51 million

Millennials (Gen Y) Born 1982-2003; 80 million

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Who is this guy and why should I care?

Your next Manager is likely a huge fan of his…

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Which of the Following Means the Most to You?

Elvis joins the Army

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MTV debuts

Jimi Hendrix dies

Kurt Cobain dies

Then You Are a…

 Elvis joins the Army (Silent) Jimi Hendrix dies (Boomer) MTV debuts (Gen Xer) Kurt Cobain dies (Millennial)

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Famous Silent Generation

Martin Luther King, Jr. January 15, 1929

John McCain August 29, 1936

Marilyn Monroe June 1, 1926

Noam Chomsky December 7, 1928

Tina Turner November 26, 1939

Ray Charles September 23, 1930

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Silent Generation at a Glance

Born 1925-1945; smaller than boomers Conventional Grave; fatalistic Faithful Want to leave the work force Looking to leave a legacy; mentor others Believe in hard work, paying your dues,

will be recognized if job is done well

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Silents Shaped By…

Great Depression WWII Korean War Politics of Inclusion Artistic expression Saving money

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Silent Management 101

Respect Recognition Flexibility (review schedules; f.t. vs.

p.t.) Ask them what they want to be

doing? Legacy

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Famous Boomers

George Bush July 6, 1946

Bruce Jenner, Olympian October 28, 1949

Bill Gates October 28, 1955

David Letterman, Entertainer April 12, 1947

Madonna, Entertainer August 18, 1958

Donald Trump November 14, 1946

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Baby Boomers at a Glance

Born 1946-64; 80 million Challenged authority Idealistic Money, title and recognition Stellar career; competitive Starting to burn out Believe in hard work, paying your dues,

will be recognized if job is done well

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Boomers Shaped By…

Suburbia TV Vietnam, Watergate Protests Human Rights Movement Drugs and Rock ‘n Roll Shifting from Pensions to 401k’s

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Boomer Management 101

Respect Authority Recognition Status Show them key to success Flexibility (review schedules; f.t. vs.

p.t.) Challenge them to continue growing

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5

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3,4

Famous Gen Xers

Tom Anderson, founder MySpace

November 8, 1970

Chad Hurley, founder YouTube 1977

Larry Page, co-founder Google March 26, 1973

Sergei Brin, co-founder Google August 21, 1973

Pierre Omidyar, founder, eBay. June 21, 1967

Jerry Yang, co-founder, Yahoo. November 6, 1968

David Filo, co-founder, Yahoo. 1966

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Generation X at a Glance

Born 1965-1981; 51 Million Balance between work and life Value freedom Flexible and motivated Build a portable career Skeptical

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Gen Xers Shaped by…

Sesame Street, MTV

Game Boy; Atari; Nintendo PC Divorce rate tripled Latch key children Parent’s laid off from AT&T, Chrysler, etc.

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Gen Xer Management 101

Avoid judging Accommodate individual needs whenever

possible Demonstrate competence to earn respect Forgive impatience Be a coworker until someone requires a

boss Create fun events and a stimulating

environment Celebrate the heroes on your staff

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Famous Millennials

LeBron James, NBA basketball December 30, 1984

Jessica Lynch, US Army April 26, 1983

Olsen Twins, Entertainers June 13, 1986

Prince William June 21, 1982

Prince Harry September 15, 1984

Daniel Radcliffe, Actor July 23, 1989

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Millennials at a Glance

Born between 1982-2003; 80 million Gen Y, Internet generation, Echo Boom, Nexters,

Nintendo or Digital generation Need mentoring; growth opportunities Confident Hopeful Goal- and achievement-oriented Civic-minded Inclusive-like working in teams

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Millennials Shaped By…

Focus on children and family Scheduled, structured lives Parent Advocacy Terrorism Heroism Patriotism Multiculturalism Globalism Hurricane Katrina

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Millennial Management 101

You be the leader Challenge me Let me work with friends Let’s have fun Respect me Be flexible Don’t expect them to pay their dues;

don’t dampen their enthusiasm Constant feedback

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Millennials at Play

80% talk to their parents daily and 75% see their parents weekly

50% have modified their body with a tattoo or piercing 20% have little or nothing to do with religion 33% pay attention to politics "most of the time" 48% identify as Democratic Party and 35% as Republicans 40% feel that as a citizen they have a "duty" to vote 23% read the newspaper 67% feel that immigration is good for the country 74% support privatizing Social Security 47% support gay marriage

28Source: Pew Research Center for the People & the Press 2007

Welcome to Your WorkforceSilent

GenerationBaby

BoomersGeneratio

n XMillennial

s

BirthYears

Before 1945 1946-1964 1965-1981 1982-2003

Business

Focus

Quality Long hours Productivity

Contribution

Motivator

Security Money Time off Time off

Company

Loyalty

Highest High Low Low

Money is

Livelihood Status symbol

Means to an end

Today’s payoff

Value Family/Community

Success Time Individuality

3 Divides

Technology Attitude toward business Consumer attitude mindset

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Technology

24/7 Connectivity Breaks down hierarchies Encourages networks Challenges traditional management

practices Is it a tool or a toy

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Attitude Towards Business

Silent—Loyalty Boomers—Competitive; move ahead Xers—Skeptical Millennials—What are you doing for

—me, the community and are you honest?

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Consumer Attitude

Question value High-quality Easily to handle microwavable

experiences Want to know how you have grown

your skills

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3 R’s and 3 C’s

Respected Recognized Remembered Coached Consulted Connected

34Decoding Generation Differences, W. Stanton Smith p. 26

Key Motivational Factors

Daniel Pink—Drive1. Autonomy2. Mastery3. Purpose

Carrot and stick is so last century!!!

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Management Tips for All

Mindset of thinking flexibly Work with friends Respect Have some fun Sense of humor Challenge and stretch

employees minds Mentor

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Millennials Management Tips

Engaging experiences Transferable skills Provide rationale for the work Reward extra effort Variety of tasks Help with flexible schedules Teams

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Problem: My Younger Workers Want More Flexible Schedules

Solutions: Hours Ability to connect with outside world Less hours More flexibility of location of work More time off

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Problem: My Younger Workers Seem to Need Constant Feedback…Why? Why? Why?

Solutions: Pull-up to their desk Explain the rationale Okay to text or tweet responses Schedule short meetings more often Review their growth at least

quarterly

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Problem: Getting People Interested in Management Roles

Solutions: Need to explain what’s in it for me (WIIFM) Highlight the learning opportunities Create a strong mentoring/coaching program Outline who they will be working with Identify how many extra hours will be required? Define the compensation Link their role to the vision; provide lots of

feedback

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Problem: Keeping Key Boomers and Silents

Solutions: Flexible schedules (Part-time) Identify growth possibilities Set up them up with a mentee Leave a legacy (Silent; older

Boomers) Set clear expectations for promotion

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Problem: Retaining top young talent

Solutions Make it less about work Connect with the community Let them work in teams Let them choose a mentor Give them meaningful work Allow more flexibility Ask for their opinions

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What Can I do Tomorrow?

Create mentoring programs Have a coaching session with a

direct report about their career Explain changes you are hoping for Learn something new from a

millennial

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www.TitanHR.com 44

About Titan Group LLC Formed in 2001 Owners:

Lee Weisiger & Genevieve Roberts 9 Employees (7 Consultants) 100+ years of HR Experience Headquartered in Richmond, VA

Office in Roanoke, VA Five year annual growth rate over 30% Named Small Business Success Story by

Virginia Business Magazine in 2008.

www.TitanHR.com 45

Our Services

Compensation Services Employee Training & Leadership Development HR Advisory Services Talent Strategy Services Executive Compensation & Benefits Roanoke Regional Compensation Survey in the

Fall—stay tuned!!!

Recommended Resources

Decoding Generational Differences: Fact, fiction or should we just get back to work? (W. Stanton Smith, Deloitte)

Generations at Work (Ron Zemke)

Millennials Rising (Neil Howe, William Strauss)

Millennial Makeover: MySpace, YouTube, and the Future of American Politics (Morley Winograd, Michael D. Hais)

Pew Research Center For The People & The Press

How Young People View Their Lives, Futures and Politics

Managing the Millennials (Espinoza, Rusch and Ukleja)

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