Gen Z’s Impact On The Future Of Work: Driving Innovation By Bridging The Generational Divide
In Episode 42 of MING Labs’ podcast Lost In Transformation, we talk to Rachele Focardi, founder of XYZ @ Work and thought leader in the multi-generational workforce.
Listen to this episode to learn all about Generational Diversity, to understand how organizations can thrive while adapting to the needs of new generations, and how innovation and transformation can be driven by creating multi-generational teams at the workplace.
3 Main Takeaways From This Episode
01The catalysts urging generational diversity at work to be addressed for businesses to thrive: Demographic trends and complexity. One factor that urges us to start addressing this topic are shifting demographic trends. With baby boomers working past their retirement age and Gen Z’s starting to work, we now have for the first time in history up to 5 generations working alongside each other. Organizations not only need to understand how to address these demographic issues in the workplace, but also need to know how to recruit and retain young talent. Gen Z serves as the main catalyst, demanding change that is linked to purpose and impact. Having a strong employer brand won’t be enough. Businesses need to ensure to empower Gen Z’s and drive the change they need.
The second catalyst is the complexity of the current times. “Digitalization and the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic mean that organizations are likely to face challenges that cannot be addressed through the traditional and hierarchical way of conducting business.” For them to thrive, it’s critical to combine the drive, resilience and social mindedness of today’s youth with the skills and experience of senior employees. With a wide range of skills, experiences, perspectives, and the drive for innovation, organizations now realize the benefits of a multi-generational workforce in relation to the success of their business. “It will be about unleashing the power of their human capital through intergenerational collaboration.” (Listen from 14:01)
02 The first step towards bridging the generational divide: Create space for awareness and mutual understanding. “Generational diversity is diversity. Intergenerational conflicts are real,” highlights Rachele. “And they stem fundamentally from a profound lack of knowledge and understanding that we have from one another.” Given these discrepancies, Rachele advises organizations to first ensure cross-generational awareness and allow people to put all stereotypes on the table. In these awareness sessions, every generation is given an opportunity to weigh in on a topic and see how people think differently.
See these curated conversations more like a context setting tool. “It’s only when you sit down and really talk to one another and understand why certain behaviors are the way they are and where they come from, that then true understanding and collaboration can take place.” So before getting into specific initiatives, create a safe space for awareness, mutual understanding and respect. As a next step, this culture can be fostered through various programs, such as collaborative decision-making, cross-generational learning opportunities, and building emotional connections. (Listen from 33:20)
03 5 steps that help create winning multi-generational teams to drive disruptive innovation. Redefining Talent Acquisition as a global function, Rachele shares the example of how Siemens’ global Head of TA brought different generations together to combine their strengths and drive innovation. “The way he managed to create a winning multicultural and multi-generational team that brought this disruptive innovation at record speed was doing five key things,” Rachele explains. First, you need to articulate your vision. “If you are able to align everybody behind one vision, you already are halfway there to solving the problem.”
Secondly, have fun: try bridging the generational barrier by creating opportunities for team members to spend time together. As a third step, you want to break boundaries. It’s important to address everyone’s insecurities when it comes to collaborating in a multigenerational workforce and to bring in coaches that really sort through problems and differences. The fourth step is all about leveraging each generation’s strengths. Get rid of hierarchies, let people do what they’re best at and create a winning team. And lastly, reward joint success! This could include recognitions to show how much the generations learned from each other and innovated disruptively. (Listen from 37:54)
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