The Benefits of a Multi-Generational Workforce

Written by; Nicolette Elia – Director of Event Services, Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre  

There is a proverb in African culture; “It takes a village to raise a child”. The basic meaning being that development and personal growth is attributed to a collective effort, beyond the immediate family, including the extended family, professionals and other people within the community.

When thinking of the work environment, the hours spent and the regular interaction with colleagues, most work environments can be considered sub-communities and the team members within these communities extended family or at the very least direct or indirect influencers. This is especially true when working for a convention centre that requires synergised teamwork, accommodates a hierarchical complement of employees and operates 7-days a week.

Considering the village of employees within a corporate community like Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre that recruits people from all walks of life, what is apparent is the age demographics across departments, from Baby boomers (1946 – 1964) to Generation Z (1995 – 2009) and over the next year or so, we will welcome Generation Alphas (2010 – 2024) to the team. This is an absolute gold-mine of shining nuggets for any company when you consider the wealth of experience, knowledge and qualifications available in one place.

In general, people are living longer thanks to medical advancements, upgraded living conditions, healthier lifestyles, improved sanitation practices and access to nutritious food and clean water. This longevity is resulting in greater generation diversity within work environments. Granted, there are always advantages and disadvantages to having a large age scope working collectively, however, all things considered, the pros certainly outweigh the cons, where the challenges can be mitigated through education and training.

These challenges that may need to be addressed include communication barriers due to different styles, jargon and preferred communication channels, disconnect in work values, ethics and etiquette, stereotyping and biases as well as inflexible mindsets that influence adaptability and willingness to be open to change. However, when considering the list, if made aware, people can be taught to think differently and learn to overcome or at least manage these challenges for the purpose of achieving collective work goals.

Focusing on the advantages of having an age-diverse team, it is justified to support the notion that there are real benefits a company can leverage to enhance the work environment and provide opportunity for personal growth and development. This is evident with more companies across industries placing greater awareness and focus on generational analysis within their workforce.

In the work context, three advantages are worth elaborating, the first being brainstorming and problem solving. Growing up in different eras, against different political climates and world issues, each generation will be influenced differently as they live and grow, this most certainly impacts their thought process and how they may tackle challenges when compared with colleagues from different generations. This allows for varying perspectives and the potential for a myriad of solutions to address common challenges or drive innovative change.

The second is the range of skills and knowledge individuals bring to the table. It is not wrong to assume that the older a person is, the wiser. Being wise does not necessarily refer to formal qualifications, although many veterans within a company may hold specialised credentials, the wisdom attained is also attributed to the knowledge gained through years of trial and error as well as the experience collated from being exposed to certain environments, job scopes and industries for extended years. For this reason, age-mature employees tend to have the upper hand when offering advice on what has worked and what has failed in the past. However younger generations should not be discredited as they can offer updated or new information due to being exposed to the most current learnings and trends, especially if the employee is a current student at a tertiary institution or a recent graduate. Using both historical and new intelligence can be a powerful tool when combined.

The third advantage is mentorship and knowledge transfer within the company. Older, more experienced employees are sometimes considered more “street-smart” where they have been exposed to more life lessons not always found in textbooks or discussed in lecture halls. Younger generations, especially those new to the company or industry, have the invaluable opportunity of being mentored by someone with a wider life-experience portfolio. Learning through real-life situations and case studies, information can be shared across generations that has the potential of providing an invaluable advantage to every new generation where hopefully they do not revisit the same mistakes and are more prepared to tackle issues with tried and tested solutions, helping them fast-track innovation and enhanced methods to drive company and industry evolution.

A mentee partnering with a worthy mentor, is an understated gift to any employee positively fuelled with tenacious determination to climb the corporate ladder, focused on making a worthy contribution to the company and industry. In the mentor/mentee relationship it is not one who benefits more from the other, but an equal opportunity to have inside knowledge of a particular generation, to better understand how they interpret the world, what they hold important and what brings out the best in them in terms of productivity and quality work.

At the risk of generalising, most of today’s companies are steered by management who are amongst the minority when counting members within the generation bands. Too often, members of management do not consider who they are managing, which generation is the majority and what is the best way to support this generation to thrive in the work environment as future leaders.

All generations have something positive to contribute to any company, all it takes is for employees to acknowledge the worth of their fellow colleagues and appreciate that regardless of age all employees can make a worthy contribution. Greater respect and gratitude should be extended to the older generation who will eventually fade from the workforce, taking their wealth of knowledge and experience with them. Devaluing their input and learnings risks a repeat of history and the missed opportunity to pass these learnings onto the next generation.